Tips to make exhibitions work for your business

Taking part in an exhibition is a great way to build a brand, gain visibility and attract customers.

But it can also go horribly wrong – anyone who has visited an exhibition, whether it is a trade or consumer show, will be all too familiar with the sight of sad looking exhibition stands with a few brochures on top, and the exhibitor sitting bored behind the counter with nothing to do and no one paying any attention to their wares.

Yet such scenes of despair can be easily avoided. All you need to do is to take a few simple actions in order to maximise the impact of your exhibition participation.

Begin by doing your research

Every exhibition is unique. What works at one exhibition will not necessarily work elsewhere. Do your research first. Choose your exhibition carefully and make sure that the projected target audience matches your requirements. For example, a company focused on selling motorcycles is unlikely to do well if they are taking part in a wellness exhibition based more on alternative health and associated activities. If it is a trade exhibition, consider also the merits of the speaker line up – will they draw people in. Find out too, how the exhibition is being marketed and visitor numbers maximised.

Having identified your exhibition, choose the best display space you can afford. End of rows tend to be more attractive than a stand in the middle of a long row, simply because the end of row site offers access to greater passing footfall, and has two entry/exit points.

Make sure that you publicise your attendance at the exhibition

Do this via your social media channels and your existing client list. Look out too for any pre-publicity undertaken by the organisers as often you can arrange for your company’s name to be mentioned, or highlighted to any media journalists who might be attending.

Check out every potential publicity opportunity

Find out if there is a press & publicity office within the exhibition where you can leave samples and information about your products. Such press offices tend be to be good places to attract attention from journalists simply because they provide a space for relaxation, where stories can be written and information checked out.

Hire temporary staff

Whatever the size of your business, taking part in an exhibition offers considerable benefit as long as you have the staff available to deal with potential customers. Hiring temporary exhibition staff to act as demonstrators, data capture staff, promotional staff ensures that every potential sales lead obtained. The quality of the staff on your stand can make a major difference in ensuring that visitors become loyal, long-term visitors. Trained exhibition staff can capture data, sales leads, names and contact details, which can be followed up later. Such exhibition staff can also talk to as many people as possible throughout the event, promoting and making your product or service known.

Having such staff on hand gives you time to concentrate on potential orders, meeting existing customers and generating new business. Remember that exhibitions are not just about selling a product; it is also a way of finding information, building new business, making new contacts and carrying out basic market research. Take the time to have a stroll around the show yourself – it will provide lots of ideas, marketing concepts or even product ideas that you can introduce into your own company. There might also be the opportunity for potential collaborations with other businesses.

Choose your exhibition carefully, and you could well do an enormous amount of business. It is human nature to value face to face contact, to actually see, touch and try things. Where better to do this than at an exhibition?