Getting ready for a business exhibition? – here’s what you need to know

Posted by Cynthia Madison on January 20th, 2020

Any business, no matter how big or small, needs to be promoted in order to survive. Reaching new customers and gaining visibility are vital for all types of companies, but especially for those who are at the start of their journey. Good marketing strategies are vital if you want your business to keep growing and be successful in a competitive market. There are many ways to make your products and services known to the public and create new valuable business relationships.

Out of the numerous marketing strategies used by entrepreneurs, exhibitions seem to be regarded as an essential promotion method since they give you the chance to showcase your business and can lead to new business opportunities. Exhibitions and trade shows involve direct interaction with people, something most businesses don’t get to experience on a daily basis, so they’re the kind of occasion that you can’t afford to lose. Obviously, making a good first impression counts a lot. Therefore, everything about the way you present your business at an exhibition, from the materials you use to the staff that is involved needs to be on point. 

However, lack of experience or insufficient preparation can make you miss important opportunities or not reap the benefits of a business exhibition to the maximum. That’s why you need to do your homework thoroughly and make sure you have enough time to put everything together. Preparing an exhibition requires a lot of time and effort and a good understanding of the key points that will make you stand out at such an event. Here are the most important aspects you should consider when getting ready to represent your business at an exhibition.

Chose the right exhibition

Not all exhibitions are created equal. It’s a matter of the right people at the right time and place and since planets don’t always align the way you want, you must do a little research before choosing the best exhibition for your business. 

It’s crucial to make sure that the event is suited for your type of business and the people attending it are ready to listen to what you have to offer. Imagine a business who specializes in providing extreme sports equipment at an exhibition geared towards healthcare or education. You’ll probably stand out like a sore thumb and gain zero engagement, not because you’re not well prepared, but because you’re not in the right place and the attendees are not interested in your domain of activity.

It’s also important to mention that some exhibitions and trade shows have greater visibility than others, some are better promoted or are located in areas that will attract the kind of audience you’re targeting and these are the kind of aspects you should pay attention to. A thorough enquiry of what happened at past editions, what businesses attended and how the event was presented in the media will help you decide if you should consider making a presence at the exhibition or if you won’t gain any benefit out of attending.

Promote your business

Usually exhibitions have an army of trained professionals who know how to create great marketing strategies and promote the event. But as mentioned before, not all exhibitions are the same and they don’t always offer the same benefits. Therefore, it’s good to take matters into your own hands instead of relying on the team organizing the exhibition to promote your business. It’s your job to do it in the first place, so make sure that you spread the word about the event and let everyone know that you’re going to attend it.  

Besides, if you want to do something right you should always do it yourself. A marketing team that is not familiar with your business won’t know all the ins and outs of your activity and if you want to get the right message across and build the image of your company the way you want it, it’s better to be in charge of it yourself.

Prepare your presentation carefully

Getting to the fun part of any exhibition: the presentation of your business. It’s clear that first impressions set the tone and you’ll probably meet a lot of new people that will base their opinion on your business solely on the way you present it at the event. To start with, there are two important rules you should follow: don’t be boring and don’t be cheap. It’s vital to invest in your brand’s image and make sure your stall stands out from the competition, in a positive way. 

If you want to attract people to your exhibition stand, pay a lot of attention to the visual elements. Everything that goes into creating the design of your business stall has to be impeccable, because it’s a strong reflection of your business and it directly influences the way people perceive it. Your exhibition equipment, from signage and display boards to banners or brochures has to be high quality and communicate the right message in a clear and original manner. 

Train your staff members

You can have everything set up perfectly and create the most impressive exhibition booth, but all your efforts would be in vain without a well-trained team to represent your business. The staff members really make the difference, so it goes without saying that you should choose your best people to promote your business at these events.    

The staff is also a reflection of your brand, so investing in their training will definitely pay off. Besides having a thorough understanding of their responsibilities, your staff should be well presented, friendly and interested in engaging with the public, but not in a manner that can seem forced or aggressive. The interaction with the attendees can be a good starting point to building new relations from which your business can gain numerous benefits. After all, creating connections and building a contact network is all these exhibition shows are about.