How to make a success of your next event

An exhibition is a substantial investment for you, especially if you are an SME and are likely to be measuring success by the number of leads or the number of converted leads.

To make a success of your exhibition stand, there are a number of areas that you need to focus on.

Choose the right exhibition to invest in

There is a wide range of exhibitions available to you, and a lot of them will not be suitable for your business. The crucial question to ask is whether your target audience is attending and the likely numbers.

You can normally get statistics from the organisers on previous years, and you can also see the sort of marketing they are undertaking. What is the scale of marketing, and who are they targeting?

Define clear objectives for the exhibition

It is crucial to have clear objectives so that you can get a return on your investment in the exhibition.

For example, your objective might be to generate, say, 200 sales leads over a two-day exhibition. This target can be clearly communicated to your exhibition team, and you can build an incentive scheme to help motivate your team to exceed that target.

Make sure your exhibition stand design is attractive

There is nothing worse than a boring stand that people do not want to visit. You need to ensure that your brand stands out from the other exhibitors and attracts your target audience.

There are many aspects of exhibition stand design, including lighting, displays, size, seating, positioning and many more factors. We have already written some detailed articles about exhibition stand design. I have added links to those articles at the end of this article.

Have marketing literature ready for the exhibition

Most exhibitions are very busy places, so you may not be able to interact with all the visitors who are interested. It is important to have marketing material that people can take away and follow up at a later date if they do not have the time to interact with you on the exhibition days.

You should consider using technology to help you alongside the printed material. Provide the facility to easily access and download marketing material online so people can view it on their mobile phones or computers. Remember that the marketing material available online must be correctly set up so that it is suitable for mobile phones along with other formats.

Have the systems ready to capture leads at the exhibition

Your team will need an easy way to capture the leads on the exhibition days. This will require some well-designed input forms that can be easily added to your leads database for follow-up.

Provide marketing support to the exhibition

Don’t just rely on the exhibition organiser to do all the marketing and help wherever you can. Tell as many of your customers, potential customers, and suppliers as you can and ask them to support you at the exhibition.

Get help with making a success of your exhibition

At Coker Expo, we have a of of experience in all aspects of exhibitions and exhibition design, so get in touch if you need help and advice.

Other articles you may like to read (click the link below)

Why Light and Movement will elevate your Exhibition Stand

Exhibition stands now combine digital and physical

How to design a great exhibition stand

How to create a unique exhibition stand