First Exhibition Advice

[CumulusUK]

Hello,

Business is doing well since our launch, and am very pleased to have confirmed a stand at our first Exhibition taking place in MAY.

We have never exhibited before and we are all a little nervous.

Can any seasoned pros on the forums be able to offer some advise on what to do and not do?

We would like to get it done right first time as the show is expensive.

Look forward to your help and tips.

Craig

 

[ethical PR]

It's like any other marketing activity

Think about what you want to achieve
Think about the audience you are targeting and how you will capture their interest for longer term marketing.
Think about what activities/exhibition would help you attract your target audience to your stand
Think about the costs involved - staff, display/exhibition, accommodation, food, competition, promotional literature, AV/IT
Make sure you have evaluation mechanism to measure the success of your investment

 

[RogerBa]

There really are 100s of things to consider but just a few....

Set your objectives and make them realistic, be they sales, inquiries whatever is important to you.

Don't ever measure success by the number of brochures given out.

Have enough staff, exhibitions are tiring so take regular breaks.

Give people a reason to visit your stand.... something to do on the stand, a reason to stop, freebies, chocolates, competitions, anything that's different, be creative.

Be proactive, don't sit down on your stand ever, unless it's talking to a customer who is also sat down, and don't have staff chatting amongst themselves on the stand, do that in your breaks your there to talk to customers not each other.

Greet everybody who passes by your stand in a cheerful relaxed way, don't pressure them, and maybe have a simple tag line to see if they are interested in your product/service.

Take time to look at all the other stands, see what they are doing and get ideas of what to do next time. Talk to other exhibitors and see which other events they go to and ask their opinions.

I've seen staff, (usually from big multinationals) sitting behind desks on stands, playing with their phones and laptops, and hardly speaking to a person all day; while on the stand next door the staff were working the audience and having a resounding success, exhibitions are what you make of them, they are hard work but can be very rewarding.

Finally make sure you have all the materials and logistics in place well before the event, no picking up literature on the way and hoping the stand is delivered the day before.

 

[quartzdata]

Hi Craig,

I would advise visiting http://www.facetime.org.uk/ - a fantastic online resource geared around ensuring exhbitor success at events. There are a number of guides to help first time and seasoned exhibitors get the most out of exhibiting. Well worth doing some research so that you get the best ROI.

Good luck

Ian