Trade shows and exhibitions are expected to be distinctly beneficial for almost all businesses around the world. That is only if everything goes well according to the plan as exhibitions generally do not guarantee breakthrough and more business yet gives a chance to accomplish both. In this article, we will focus more on the different ways to prepare for an exhibition.
As is the case with product development or marketing etc., planning is a key element in assessing how things will turn out on the exhibition day. Businesses focus a lot on their pop up display stands or pop up exhibition stands to improve their brand awareness and brand recall.
Let us see the top 7 tips to prepare for your first exhibition
Extensive Research
Firstly, it is difficult to oversell the importance of conducting extensive research about the exhibition and determining your business requirements. It makes no sense just to participate in each and every trade show that comes along your way. Instead, you should focus on giving enough time for research and be selective about your choices so that your business can get maximum advantage through an exhibition. It might not always be the best option to participate in high engagement shows, rather you should focus on quality more than quantity.
Budgeting
Truth be told, renting a booth at an exhibition will cost you a small fortune but it is a small price to pay for the exposure that you can get. Print agencies work round the clock to provide pop up display stands, art display stands, banners etc. It is important to not get carried away when choosing a crisp display stand for your booth and budget sensibly. When you think about your exhibition budget, you must include things like the size and location of your booth, manpower, transportation, banners and display stands, marketing etc.
Early Bird Catches the Worm
There are two primary reasons why you should book your spot early. Firstly, you get to choose a prime location in the exhibition hall. Location is more important than you think as you do not want to set up your booth at the end of the hall or in a dark corner away from people. Additionally, once you book your booth or space for the exhibition, you can start your market research, competitors, marketing activities etc to give you a competitive advantage over other stalls.
Aggressive Marketing
Don’t think that as you have participated in an exhibition, you have taken care of your marketing. But, you need to market your brand further at the exhibition so that you are noticed by the target audience and end up getting more leads. Ideally, you are looking for new customers for your products/services but you must not forget your existing customers in the process. To do that, you can start by informing the audience of your location and timings along with explaining the reason why they must visit your booth.
Exhibition Booth Planning
It is important to conduct a ‘dress rehearsal’ of the event before the D-Day. The idea here is that you might get a single chance to appeal to your target audience and you do not want to get lost in a sea of businesses at the event. It is better to have an aesthetic and professional booth at business events. Additionally, you can think about including items like TV stands, interactive iPad holders with your presentation, creative and crisp display stand etc. These things will ensure that your brand is difficult to ignore at the event.
Pitch-Perfect
Imagine you have the best location at the exhibition hall and have prepared aesthetic banners and display stands along with marketing material but you haven’t prepared your pitch properly. It is crucial that before the event, your employees must know about the objectives of the event and what you plan to achieve as a brand. This will allow you to showcase your products/services in an effective manner. At events, you must also prepare to answer questions raised by the target audience and always have a pamphlet or a brochure to support your arguments.
Team Selection
Lastly, you must spend some time deciding who will represent your brand at the event. The team member/s interacting with the audience at the event will be the face of your brand so it is important that they provide correct information and always maintain good composure as it is key to good customer service.
Conclusion
Now that you have gone through the important tips to prepare for your first exhibition, we believe you will prepare accordingly and excel at the event. After the event, it is crucial to follow up with the leads and re-pitch them again by offering something valuable. Trade shows are a huge investment and we feel that you will be able to create an impact if you take care of these 7 essential things before your event.