Whilst trade shows often look like quite an expense for one or two days out of the office, they pack a large punch when it comes to marketing your business, sales generation, and business development.
We’ve put together the top 10 reasons why you should be considering exhibiting at shows and events and some handy hints and tips on exhibition stand installation and design.
Top 10 reasons to exhibit at events
1. Brand awareness
Presence at events displays your brand in the market and improves your prospective customers brand awareness of your business, service, and product.
2. New leads
The great thing about exhibitions is that they attract many, many people that are likely to be in your target market. As people often make an effort to get to the events or may have even paid to attend they are obviously already in a frame of mind where they intend to get the most from the experience and are likely to talk to you for longer about your offer.
3. Customer feedback
If you don’t get much chance to catch up with existing customers face to face, trade shows are an ideal place to take some time and grab a coffee with valued clients. It’s an ideal time to gather feedback, positive or negative, that you can use once you get back to the office.
4. Networking with partners
Like customers, networking with partners is ideally done face to face. Trade shows offer an opportunity not only to speak with existing partners but to start conversations with other businesses that may be ideal partners in the future.
5. Competitor intelligence
Exhibitions are a great place to glean competitor information. Firstly, take a look at the exhibition stand design, are your competitors advertising a new product or service? What information have they highlighted – that is what they think is most important to your customers. If you are lucky enough to have a face that will be unrecognisable to the competition you could always check out their exhibition stand in person.
6. Media publicity
Often people who run trade shows like to advertise names of attending businesses not only on their exhibition guides but also on the local media – in some cases exhibitions and trade shows have even been known to host their own radio or chat shows with exhibition attendees, not to mention the opportunity to speak at talks and demonstrations which will help you reach prospective customers.
7. Experience
Exhibitions are ideal for gathering experience of the industry or sector you are working in or promoting to. If you have started to target a new client market a show is the ideal way to get a feel for what is important to that market and what they are most interested in.
8. Face to face
Face to face interaction with prospective customers, clients, partners, and industry leaders is by far the best way to generate rapport and to build working relationships that may be beneficial in the future.
9. Community generates conversions
Being part of an industry community may benefit the industry as a whole, skills and experience you have learned may be useful in conjunction with another member of your sector community. Exhibitions are the ideal place to generate ideas that may seem a little out of the box.
10. Tiring but fun
Exhibitions are tiring but fun. There is a real buzz at, and adrenalin rush from, exhibiting that cannot be matched elsewhere.
Things to consider when you are planning on attending an exhibition
Exhibition stand design
If you stand is boring or dour it’s unlikely you’ll get many visitors, and certainly not from passing trade. Your exhibition stand design should be professional, practical and should have your brand written all over them.
Don’t forget to allow plenty of time for set up and take down
You should leave plenty of time to set up your stand in the way you want and should be aware that most exhibitions won’t let you close your stand early – in some cases this can even leave you with a fine. If you are struggling to fit in the time for set up and closedown many exhibition stand contractors offer this service as an extra.
Make sure there are enough people on your stand
Make sure you have enough knowledgeable staff on your stand to deal with enquiries and to cover breaks, you don’t want prospective clients to get bored and wander off whilst waiting to speak with you.
JOHN E WRIGHT
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