Exhibitions - do they still work?

[Jacob Evans]

So my mum has started a business a couple months back and she insists on finding exhibitions nearby. I've tried to convince her to take other approaches but I'm still trying to understand how relevant something like an exhibition could be to this day? I've read up on a few things and obviously I do understand that certain traditional forms of marketing are always a sure shot win but I'm not entirely convinced on this yet

 

[fisicx]

We went to a local exhibition last month and it was rammed. One chap selling cables ran out of stock.

A lot depends on what you mum is selling.

 

[MBE2017]

No such thing as a sure shot in marketing. As for your question will it work for your mums business, it will depend on her audience, the event, and most of all on your mother.

 

[WaveJumper]

Should be part of the overall strategy there's nothing wrong with getting your product out there and letting people seeing it and obviously engaging with customers is an important part of business. It would help maybe if we knew what type of product you are talking about

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Yes, but it depends on the exhibition, its visitors and your business.

 

[Mister B]

Absolutely.

As a small business I find that exhibitions are great ways of finding new products, andt also for finding inspiration too. Factor in the opportunity to do some networking too and the argument to go is even stronger.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Exhibitions are extremely effective but they need to be worked. You can't just rock up and wait for people to find you. You need to go there with a strategy to attract eyeballs and ultimately start a conversation.

My in-laws regularly go to cross-stitch shows (and I have dutifully attended them as a supportive son-in-law to keep the peace). They have many loyal customers who order online / eBay / letter / phone, having fund them at the shows.

My advice would be:

• Be memorable
• Run a show offer
• Run a show competition (But make the prize something that ONLY the target audience would want so you collect quality data. Use a QR code.)
• Collect data (this is key to after-show sales)
• Use clear signage (Not always sales-focused. Be creative. Think French Connection's FCUK campaign)
• Drive people to your website using url and a QR code.
• Create buzz around your stand (lighting, centrepiece product, product demos)
• Maybe offer a small branded giveaway - Cupcakes? Ice-breaker and everyone loves food.
• Follow-up on your leads within a couple of days

Hope that helps in some way

Matt

 

[Mark T Jones]

It depends

1 what you are selling.
2 which exhibition
3. Your strategy

That applies to any form of marketing your mother undertakes

 

[Martin Patfield]

Definitely if they work for you.

We sponsor a couple of trade shows along with other businesses in order to keep brand loyalty and support back and forth that has been built up over the years.

But like all things, some things work well for some people but may not be everyone's cup of tea.

 

[AlanJ1]

We returned to the NEC Spring Fair this year and it was fairly successful from the face of it before forgetting about future re-orders and leads generated so we are very happy with our first one back.

 

[Socio South West]

Exhibitions are hard on the pocket, hard on the planning and execution, hard on the feet, hard on the throat and head..... but oh so rewarding in the long run if you follow the list from @WebshopMechanic above. It's all about getting your face and products in front of as many targeted potential customers as possible for a short time.
Especially for physical product, there is very much a place for exhibitions still, and if you can harvest good targeted data as well at the same time, win win!


My only tip... avoid putting contact details in a show guide. The only contacts that ever seemed to come from them were stand fitters, accommodation agencies and show support suppliers badgering for the following years events.

 

[Deleted member 335660]

You have been given several tips and as a marketing person who has worked exhibitions for 30 years I would say firstly you have to ask yourself why do you want to go to this particular show.

Some exhibitions are trade shows and often the visitors are others in your industry. If you want to meet them and find other suppliers then fine. Other exhibitions are for the public, and if they are your customers then by all means go. Ask the exhibition organiser for details of who goes too the show.

Having decided that you want to goo then follow @WebshopMechanic list which is pretty thorough. Don’t expect people to visit your stand, many will just walk pass if they cannot see anything of interest.

One of my simple ideas was to have bags ( plastic in those days) with cooompany name on and go round handing them out. Good way to get your name in front of a customer and it holds all the literature they pick up.

Demonstrations, videos, special deals and freebies are all ways to get attention.

Business card boxes, or freebie if you leave your details also help on follow ups.

 

[BustersDogs]

Not sure if a dog show counts as an exhibition, but hope this helps. Obviously you will have to ignore the dog related info and just read the other bits.

Busters Dog Walking Services - Running a Successful Stand at a Dog Show

brentwooddogwalker.co.uk

 

[Mark T Jones]

Having decided that you want to goo then follow @WebshopMechanic list which is pretty thorough. Don’t expect people to visit your stand, many will just walk pass if they cannot see anything of interest.

One of my simple ideas was to have bags ( plastic in those days) with cooompany name on and go round handing them out. Good way to get your name in front of a customer and it holds all the literature they pick up.

Demonstrations, videos, special deals and freebies are all ways to get attention.

Business card boxes, or freebie if you leave your details also help on follow ups.

This is an interesting point on strategy.

I attended 2 significant (expensive) shows last year. My strategy had absoutely nothing to do with getting people on my stand - which flumoxed the organisers when I made it plain that I had zero interest footfall or 'senior buyers' - (tyre kickers).

I've yet to see a penny in return, but will almost certainly attend one of them again this year.

Hopefully with someone on stand to homour the walk on time-wasters.

Of course, if you turn up with a van load of widgets to sell, my strategy is unikely to work.

 

[Fagin2021]

Many years ago I visited an oil-drilling equipment exhibition in Stavanger, Norway. One exhibitor was selling bearings – ball-bearings, sleeve-bearings and so on.

Now, bearings are important. The RAF went to a lot of trouble destroying German bearing factories in WW2. But they are not, let’s face it, the most exciting product.

So how did this bearing company attract visitors to their stand? Eschewing the traditional engineering custom of skimpily-clad young ladies with sashes, they used their imagination. Picture this...

At the back of the stand were laid out the products – various bearings, and technical brochures. The floorspace in front was empty – except for half-a-dozen, loosely spaced, upright cylindrical tubes of varying heights, like the cylindrical cigarette-butt receptacles you once found in airport waiting lounges. Each of these tubes had an angled, flexible metal plate on the top.

From a bucket at the rear, a ball-bearing was launched into the air. It rose to about 10 feet, following a parabolic trajectory until landing on the first angled plate, then bouncing up and landing on the second, then bouncing up and landing on the third and so on around the stand until finally landing in the bucket and being re-launched.

Every day for the duration of the exhibition, that stand was packed with visitors admiring the show. Of course most, including me, were not remotely interested in metal bearings but if we had been, that simple, inexpensive, creative and above all, precise display would have put the company on the short list.

Just shows what can be done.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

It's relative. We attended one exhibition and it cost £5k. We had a speaking slot. To win an award would have cost us another £1.5k (you can buy awards).

If we'd spent £5k on traditional marketing, we'd have expected much stronger leads. And much more of them. The issue is that at an exhibition, it's pot luck. Anyone can be there. So we had a terrible time because it was the wrong demographic.

We saw a few of our competitors and they found it pretty mediocre as well.

So relative to our traditional digital marketing, in our business (video production), I would say definitely not. Digital is much more effective for us.