TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITION

There’s no doubt that the online digital world is fantastic for brand exposure and advertising, but nothing quite beats seeing and talking to someone face to face and sealing that deal.  This is why exhibitions (though a huge investment in time and costs) do still offer additional benefits that you just can’t get online.

Setting up and running a stand at an exhibition is enormously hard work and requires in depth planning and preparation beforehand to ensure a great return on your investment.  Here are some of our top tips to make your exhibition a success:

1. Select the Right Exhibition

Make sure you research and choose the exhibition that will attract the right type of visitors for you and your brand.  You might want to consider factors such as the number of visitors, the sponsors and don’t be afraid to ask how they will be marketing the event themselves.  London Excel hosts lots of shows throughout the year, so there’s something for everyone!

2. Set Quantifiable Goals

Prior to the show, you need to sit down and figure out why you want to attend, what you intend to exhibit and what you want to achieve from it. Setting measurable targets, such as number of potential contacts, leads or new partners, and how you plan to achieve them will help to make your event a success.

3. Your Stand Should Reflect Your Objectives

Your stand has to make a great first impression on visitors to attract them. It should reflect your brand’s objectives with a short and targeted message.

4. Attract People to Get Them Talking To You

Something quirky (like an entertainer) will draw people to you out of curiosity. This gives you an opener to start a conversation and draw in a crowd. Just be sure it’s not too gimmicky as you still want to be credible and professional to potential customers. 

5. Advertise and Promote

Use social media to let everyone know you’ll be at the show!  Send invites, emails to everyone who may be interested – you want your stand to be full and busy!

6. Use Open Questions

Using questions that require more than a one word answer is a great way to get people talking. It’s a way to find out more about prospective clients as they will talk about their company, issues and needs giving you lots of valuable information!

7. Use all the Senses

Don’t be limited just to sight and sound.  Exhibitions give you the chance to interact with potential customers and use all the five senses.  Try some interaction that involves touching, tasting or smelling, which can make your products or services come to life in a memorable way!

8. Well Briefed Stand Staff

80% of a stand’s success will be a result of your staff, so you need to ensure they are well briefed, look the part and approachable. They need to interact with as many potential clients as possible, so instruct them to keep conversations short and concise, whilst listening and noting any key requests and information. Mobiles should be off as they need to fully focus in order to sell the benefits of your product or service rather than its features.  At London Exhibition Staff we fully brief our exhibition staff prior to the event so the can hit the ground running!

9. What Not to Do

It may be stating the obvious, but make sure staff know that they must NOT be on their phones, eating, sitting or have their back to people. The stand should be kept tidy at all times.

10. Record your Data

You will encounter a stream of people to your stand who leave their contact details – this is invaluable but you also need a way of classifying and saving this data to follow up later.  For example definite leads, potential leads, general contact etc.

11. Don’t Forget to Follow Up

This is probably one of the most important steps! An exhibition is a big investment, which will be a total waste of time and money if you don’t follow up on all the leads collected.  These leads can be the decision makers of their company and may well be interested in placing an order so don’t waste the opportunity to contact them soon.

12. Review and Reflect

After the stand is packed away its time to reflect with your team.  Was it worth doing? Did you achieve your goals? Were there any other surprise benefits/leads.  You may have learned something new about your target audience which could be used to fine tune your marketing strategy. Would you attend again?  Is there anything different you would do next time? 

Around 75% of trade show attendees are there to buy or plan to buy in the future.  So its super important their impression of your brand is a positive and memorable one!  Hopefully following our tips should lead to exhibiting success!  If you want to talk through some staffing options we’re ready here at London Exhibition Staff to help and advise you to make your event at London Excel a success!

Contact our team on 0844 800 0071 or complete the contact form below.

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