Before you decide whether exhibitions are a good route to market for you at all, why not contact exhibitors from the previous year, and ask what results they achieved?
Afterwards, many exhibitors complain that there is not enough footfall, that the only people going around the exhibition are the other exhibitors, or that the only visitors are job-seekers or sales-people, not prospective clients.
If you decide that exhibitions are right for you, and you want to take a stand, read on…
Making your stand outstanding
Many exhibitors seem to think it’s OK to have display banners, A4 hand-outs, a rolling PowerPoint presentation, some branded giveaways, a bowl of sweets and a Champagne draw, just because that’s how everyone else does it.
If you’re lucky, visitors will put their business card in your free draw, or take one of your sweeties to eat as they collect more and more promotional literature and giveaways into their carrier bags. Guess what happens when they get home? They throw away all the bumpf, eat the sweets and give the freebies to the kids.
As an exhibitor, you might be exhibiting your brand, product or service alongside your direct competitors. You want to attract people’s attention so they think, ‘Ooh, that looks interesting!’ and come to talk to you, instead of the others.
So how do you make that happen? In my opinion, the ‘best’ stand is the one that says, at a glance, who you are, what you do, and why you’re good at it.
Just like magic
An accountant client was exhibiting at a business fair, and they invited me to proofread their handouts. They also showed me the plans for their stand, and it could easily have won a prize for The Single Most Boring Stand at the Show!
So I said, “You don’t want to do it like that!” and between us we changed their theme from dreary ‘business transformation’ to exciting ‘business magic’!
This prompted them to dress up as Harry Potter and hire a magician to entertain the delegates. People (attendees and fellow exhibitors) couldn’t resist joining in as they walked by. This led to lots of leads for my client, as well as useful coverage in the local press.
Word games
I was offered a display table at an event where I was guest speaker. Rather than have a stand with leaflets on and my roll-up banner behind, I decided to launch a challenge: ‘Beat the Writer at Scrabble’.
Throughout the day, my table was busier than anyone else’s, with visitors crowded round trying to win £10 by getting a higher score than me. The results were shown on a flipchart page stuck to the wall behind me.
Fortunately, no-one beat my high score so I kept my tenner! But they all went away knowing that I was a writer. Some of them picked up a business card or postcard from my table. Several contacted me afterwards for quotes. Still more signed up for my newsletter, so I can keep in touch with them every month and remind them I exist and what I do.
What could YOU do?
Think of a giveaway that is unique to your industry, your brand or your individual personality. Or think of a relevant and involving activity e.g. if you are a printer, perhaps you could have a potato print competition, where visitor artwork is displayed on your stand and judged at the end of the day.
3 top tips for exhibitors
- Consider your objective
Exhibitions are not just about winning new business. Are you taking a stand to raise your brand profile, as a networking opportunity or because it’s a good place to ‘see and be seen’?
- Cost:benefit analysis
Think how many customers you need to win to get return on your investment. Include preparation time, the cost of display materials, giveaways and hand-outs, time out of the office, follow-up time.
- Follow-ups
Don’t give everything away at once – capture visitor contact details and follow-up promptly, within two weeks at the latest.
Things to remember
- You only have three seconds to make an impact
- Wear comfy shoes
- Keep smiling!
This was originally published on Birds on the Blog