Participation in an exhibition is the most powerful tool for promoting your company in the market. The result of your work at the exhibition largely depends on the preparation for it, the attractiveness of your stand, the activity of your staff during the exhibition and the correct handling of the contacts you receive.
We have prepared for you brief information on how to effectively participate in the exhibition.
We have prepared for you brief information on how to effectively participate in the exhibition.
Exhibition organizers are your main friends and assistants. You can always ask them to publish your company's news on the exhibition website and social networks, make a mailing to your target audience on behalf of the CEO or another official representative, ask for advice on effective participation in the exhibition (according to statistics, most participants answer the question "Who taught you how to participate in the exhibition" - nobody).
Many exhibitors believe that attracting visitors to an exhibition is the organizers' responsibility. Certainly, the organizers of the exhibition conduct large-scale advertising campaigns to attract the target audience to the exhibition.
However, the organizers deal with attracting visitors to the exhibition as such, not to someone's individual stand. It is in the interests of the exhibitors themselves to increase attendance at their own booths. This does not require additional funds, you only need to use the available information resources of your company to announce your participation in the exhibition before the opening of the exhibition:
- Post the exhibition banner on your website with an invitation to visit your booth (we will prepare an individual registration link for you)
- Write an invitation on the home page of the site (you can find a sample letter in the banners and logos section)
- Publish news about your participation in the exhibition and the products you will demonstrate in your social networks
Send an invitation with your booth number and a link to a free ticket to your partners and clients.
Clients who receive information from both sides (organizers and exhibitors) are more likely to come to the exhibition exactly to you.
Of course, the main goals of participation in the exhibition are to attract new customers and increase sales. Set realistic goals for yourself. To do this, ask the organizers for information on the visitors to your target audience, calculate the average cost of selling your products, estimate the average number of real potential customers, and you will find out the approximate benefit of participating in the exhibition. If you set the right objectives and personnel at the exhibition, you will not only recoup the cost of participation, but you will also attract new long-term customers, retain the old ones, and earn excess profits.
Applying for a trade show is good, designing a stand that is attractive to visitors is even better! We have prepared a few simple tricks for you to design an effective exhibition space.
The opportunity to see "live" and "feel" the exhibit will never leave visitors of your stand indifferent.
And in conclusion, the main recommendation. Use a customer-centric approach when presenting your product. Put yourself in your customers' shoes and evaluate your product from their perspective. Determine what is of most interest to them. What is most important to them? What are their fears and doubts? What guides their choice of products or services? Understand what your customers "buy" and "sell" exactly what they "buy.
- Demonstrate the properties of your products
- Demonstrate equipment in action;
- Allow the visitor to handle the product himself
- Show samples taken from your equipment or raw materials
- Talk about new products or new and unique features of your products
- Sign your samples and their specifications. In case all the employees at your booth are busy, an expert can look at the exhibit, study its properties and then discuss the details with you. Moreover, it is often the case that the visitor is too shy to ask a question and feels more comfortable studying the content of the accompanying sign
- Arrange a large assortment vertically and secondary goods in catalogs
- Large-size equipment can be presented on a photo panel, broadcast on the screen, create a reduced model of the exhibit;
- Your merchandise should look impeccable. Most people judge by association - looking good means it works well.
- If the product is "intangible" - show photos of completed projects, how the staff works, customer reviews, publications about your company in the press, certificates, letters of appreciation, awards, etc.
And in conclusion, the main recommendation. Use a customer-centric approach when presenting your product. Put yourself in your customers' shoes and evaluate your product from their perspective. Determine what is of most interest to them. What is most important to them? What are their fears and doubts? What guides their choice of products or services? Understand what your customers "buy" and "sell" exactly what they "buy.
The results of participation in an exhibition depend at least 80% on the work of the staff. Visitors remember the exhibitor through communication with an employee of the company.
Any company's goal for participating in an exhibition is sales and clients. Then why is there a marketing specialist at the exhibition in most cases? Because he's in charge of trade shows? But how can he become a salesperson in one day? You can't.
For quality work at the exhibition, you need a whole range of competencies; in addition to active sales skills, you need in-depth knowledge of the products, the target audience, the competitive environment, and the state of affairs in the industry.
The exhibition is a test of professionalism, a responsible "public performance" of several days. Do not choose your exhibition staff according to the principle "the booth person is someone who is not needed in the office right now". Send the best employees to the exhibition.
Any company's goal for participating in an exhibition is sales and clients. Then why is there a marketing specialist at the exhibition in most cases? Because he's in charge of trade shows? But how can he become a salesperson in one day? You can't.
For quality work at the exhibition, you need a whole range of competencies; in addition to active sales skills, you need in-depth knowledge of the products, the target audience, the competitive environment, and the state of affairs in the industry.
The exhibition is a test of professionalism, a responsible "public performance" of several days. Do not choose your exhibition staff according to the principle "the booth person is someone who is not needed in the office right now". Send the best employees to the exhibition.
During the exhibition, there should be a thorough collection of information about visitors to the booth. Registration forms, customer priority questionnaires, etc. are useful for this purpose.
The questionnaire will allow you to specify all the necessary information about the client's activities and wishes. During three days of the exhibition a flow of visitors can be very large, so do not rely on your memory - it is better to specify every detail yourself (fill out the questionnaire yourself during the conversation with the client, it will not cause rejection of your stand visitor).
You can download a ready-made visitor questionnaire or prepare your own.
Don't put off processing the questionnaire for too long. Resolve any urgent business in your office and get down to entering the information into the database and communicating with the client.
Note. The leading companies (especially in highly competitive markets) are known to start processing the contacts right during the exhibition! Questionnaires collected on the first day, such as Tuesday, on Wednesday are already passed to the office, and on Thursday they send commercial proposals and phone calls!
Time is money! If you are able to generate contacts during the trade show and during the first few days after the show, all the better. This will only increase your chances of getting ahead of the competition and gaining an advantage in the fight for customers.
The questionnaire will allow you to specify all the necessary information about the client's activities and wishes. During three days of the exhibition a flow of visitors can be very large, so do not rely on your memory - it is better to specify every detail yourself (fill out the questionnaire yourself during the conversation with the client, it will not cause rejection of your stand visitor).
You can download a ready-made visitor questionnaire or prepare your own.
Don't put off processing the questionnaire for too long. Resolve any urgent business in your office and get down to entering the information into the database and communicating with the client.
Note. The leading companies (especially in highly competitive markets) are known to start processing the contacts right during the exhibition! Questionnaires collected on the first day, such as Tuesday, on Wednesday are already passed to the office, and on Thursday they send commercial proposals and phone calls!
Time is money! If you are able to generate contacts during the trade show and during the first few days after the show, all the better. This will only increase your chances of getting ahead of the competition and gaining an advantage in the fight for customers.
Many people think like this: "We pay money, and the organizer has to provide us with the result. Otherwise what are we paying for?".
Of course, organizers are obliged to provide exhibitors with the most favorable conditions for business development and to attract to the exhibition the specialists who are of the greatest commercial interest to them.
But can the organizer guarantee that on coming to the exhibition, a visitor will visit the stand of a particular company, will be interested in its products or services and will buy exactly from it and not from a competitor at the next booth? Can the organizer influence the production process, pricing and sales of the companies participating in the exhibition? Of course not!
It turns out that a large part of the responsibility for the result of participation in the exhibition lies with the exhibitors themselves. Unfortunately, not everyone understands that in order to achieve great results, it is not enough just to buy a stand, sit down and "wait by the sea".
At an exhibition, even if you just "make your presence known", there may be visitors who will pay attention to you, who will come to your stand themselves and decide to buy your product. But it's not enough to work only with customers who are more or less loyal to you.
To attract those who have not yet decided with whom to work or allow the possibility of changing suppliers. Fight for those who work with your competitors. Here is a significant resource for expanding your customer base and increasing your sales.
But in order to attract these customers, it's not enough to just sit back and wait for manna from heaven. You have to put in the extra effort. It may not be easy, but it's worth it!
Of course, organizers are obliged to provide exhibitors with the most favorable conditions for business development and to attract to the exhibition the specialists who are of the greatest commercial interest to them.
But can the organizer guarantee that on coming to the exhibition, a visitor will visit the stand of a particular company, will be interested in its products or services and will buy exactly from it and not from a competitor at the next booth? Can the organizer influence the production process, pricing and sales of the companies participating in the exhibition? Of course not!
It turns out that a large part of the responsibility for the result of participation in the exhibition lies with the exhibitors themselves. Unfortunately, not everyone understands that in order to achieve great results, it is not enough just to buy a stand, sit down and "wait by the sea".
At an exhibition, even if you just "make your presence known", there may be visitors who will pay attention to you, who will come to your stand themselves and decide to buy your product. But it's not enough to work only with customers who are more or less loyal to you.
To attract those who have not yet decided with whom to work or allow the possibility of changing suppliers. Fight for those who work with your competitors. Here is a significant resource for expanding your customer base and increasing your sales.
But in order to attract these customers, it's not enough to just sit back and wait for manna from heaven. You have to put in the extra effort. It may not be easy, but it's worth it!