Exhibitions and trade shows are attended by millions of people each year; most of whom have the buying power to invest in your product or service.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you attract visitors to your exhibition stand and maximise the potential return on your investment:
1. Organisation is key
Having all your ducks in a row is absolutely essential if you’re going to be in with a chance of succeeding at an exhibition.
First and foremost, you need to ensure that you are familiar with the dates. If you know your event is in two months’ time, don’t leave it until the week before to order your trade show display and pick out who will be staffing the stand.
Unforeseen issues can crop up at the last minute and can push either the production or delivery of exhibition stands backwards. For this reason, it’s always best to allow yourself breathing room.
It’s important that you pick team members who are knowledgeable and confident to staff your display in order to attract people to your stand. Make sure they are familiar with your marketing strategy and know the products well enough to give in-depth product demonstrations.
In addition to all this, you need to make sure you hit all the other deadlines than come along with attending an exhibition. These might include confirming your space, submitting your risk assessment forms, securing lighting, sending over your company bio for the event brochure and booking parking and/or accommodation. You also need to ensure that your payments are made on time to avoid being chased by an exhibition accounts department.
2. Manage your leads effectively
A massive amount of money is lost by companies not following up their leads effectively. If you are going to be in with a chance of closing sales, you need to make sure your communication is top notch.
Most large events and exhibitions will have lead scanners that exhibitors can rent out to easily collect visitor’s contact details. Whilst the temptation is there to scan every visitor pass, it’s a good idea to stick to those who show a genuine interest in your business.
Alternatively, you can store leads on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet on an iPad or laptop. Simply log the company name, contact name, email address and phone number, and make a note of what specifically they were interested in.
After you’ve collected your leads, it’s important that you follow them up in a timely manner. It’s worth setting up a generic email template to send to all of your new leads thanking them for their time at the event and letting them know to expect a call within the next two weeks.
Waiting longer than two weeks to contact a lead means that you run the risk of them forgetting who you are.
3. Engage your audience
Use your knowledge of your target audience to come up with an effective exhibition stand design that will grab people’s attention and engage your audience.
Make sure you maintain a strong branded presence through the use of corporate colours and logos so that people recognise who you are, but at the same time, try and inject some fun into your display.
Don’t overcrowd your exhibition stand with big chunks of text; stick to your logo, strapline and contact details. Anything more will look messy and unappealing.
Once people are drawn in, keep them engaged with a competition or giveaway. People love free stuff, and it’s an easy way to keep people interested in your stand and to make your business memorable.
Don’t forget to make the most of social media. Tag the event you’re attending in your posts and engage with those who are also attending the same event as you. Social media can be a huge driver of traffic at exhibitions, so make sure you use it to its full potential.
Are you attending a trade show in the near future and need more advice on what to expect and how to design an eye-catching stand? Contact us or talk to our dedicated sales team on 01733 511030.
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