There are many ways to market and sell your product or service. But depending on your business model, some marketing techniques may be better than others.
For those with the right product or service the potential gain offered by a stand at an exhibition can be hard to ignore. In an age where shopping is commonly carried out online, offering buyers a chance to wonder around stands at an exhibition may be a desirable alternative.
Whether it be one or multiple targets such as making sales or creating interest and an email list, an exhibition stand can deliver results. So what actions and considerations are needed to ensure success at an exhibition?
Is your business right for an exhibition
This depends on what you sell and your market.
Will your product or service likely appeal to the attendees. This is true whether you sell business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C). Whether you are considering a trade exhibition or one drawing attendees from the local population. Make sure your product or service is likely to appeal to the market the exhibition is designed to attract.
Consider whether other options may serve your aims better, such as exhibition brochure advertising or event sponsorship. The cost of taking a stand at an exhibition can be prohibitive for some businesses or may just not deliver the results that justify the cost. This is all about costs and benefits and why anyone considering exhibiting at an event should carefully plan beforehand.
Is Your Business Product or Service Ready?
Assessing the readiness of your product or service for an exhibition is crucial and, to some extent, dependent on your objectives.
Whatever you want to get out of the exhibition experience, you will want to ensure that what you’re offering is not only ready to be showcased but also capable of making a positive lasting impression on potential customers. Its not a good idea to bring a prototype to an exhibition, unless it is on the back of a lot of hype and expectation. Tech giants commonly exhibit prototypes to whet the appetites of their market of tech enthusiasts.
Conduct thorough quality checks on your product to guarantee that it meets your standards and does for the buyer what you claim. For example, if your product is aimed at young children you don’t want parts breaking easily.
If you’re selling a service you want to ensure that the experience to the buyer delivers, and then some. The word of mouth marketing will be worth the effort, especially for a relatively new business trying to establish itself in the market.
Do your market research. If your offering does not appeal to the potential attendees, don’t waste your money trying to sell to them at an exhibition. Don’t just assume that because your wares are designed for the likely attendees of an exhibition that its going to be successful. Market research can identify popular alternatives, local preferences and any design, price or presentation choices that may impact sales.
Setting your objectives and targets.
What you want to get out of the exhibition is important. You should choose achievable and realistic targets. Deciding to take a stand at the exhibition should be as a result of your marketing plan and SWOT analysis.
Once you’ve set your objectives you need to decide on targets. Marketing choices should always be informed by market research and analysis. You need to weigh the costs and benefits of taking a stand which is based on an expected outcome.
Potential objectives for taking a stand at an exhibition might be:
- Raising awareness of your brand. If this is the objective you need to consider how you intend to achieve and measure this. For instance, the quality of any printed, visual or audio information and possible giveaways you will provide. You will need to consider the impression your stand might leave in the mind of the potential customer. If you are selling expertise you might run a seminar or free training event. The main objective is to build a positive impression of you and your business in the mind of the attendees.
You will also need to consider how you will measure your success, for instance taking the email addresses of those interested in what you’re offering.
- Increasing sales and building a sales pipeline. If sales are your primary objective you will need to focus your sales technique. If might mean demonstrating your product or giving away tasters in the case of food. How you measure your success may be by numbers sold. If you are also trying to build a pipeline or encourage repeat sales you may want to take contact details. Ensuring the product knowledge, service level and sales experience are of a high standard is also crucial if word of mouth marketing is to be achieved.
Once the exhibition is over you will need to analyse your objectives and whether your targets were met. It may mean your objectives and targets need to be adjusted for future events. Or that taking part in an exhibition is not the best marketing tool for your business.
Setting up your exhibition stand for success
If you’ve decided that an exhibition stand is right for your business, you need to consider the details and create a plan.
- Create engaging and informative materials that effectively communicate the value of what you offer. If you are planning to offer leaflets you will want to make sure the potential customers don’t just throw them in to the nearest bin.
- Business’ often bring giveaways to an exhibition. Giveaways with the company brand is a great way to keep your business details in front of your potential customer. This is a common approach for those business looking to estabish and build a brand. However, if your giveaway is cheap or unlikely to be of use to your potential market, the message it would convey about your business may not be the one you intended.
The cost of a giveaway might be prohibitive for some business’ if early stage. So make sure the potential gains are aligned with your business objectives.
- Don’t just stand there. If people take the time to look at your stand, interact. You don’t need to stay behind your stand. If business is slow you could try to draw attention by approaching potential customers. You could show your product or ask people if they want a taster of your service, providing it can be delivered on site.
- Present your wears attractively. Consider your stand your shop window.
- If you can, collect contact details of those who show interest. For some business’, an email list of potential customers who have shown interest in whatever you sell is worth all the investment of time and money in taking a stand at an exhibition.
And finally…
Taking a stand at an exhibition will not be for everyone. Your aims, the expected attendees, the costs of a stand and the appropriateness of your product or service for the event all play a part in your decision to do so. Even if being an exhibitor adds up for your business, if you haven’t planned properly for the event, your money could be wasted. However, for those who do plan well, exhibiting your wares at the right event is an old and still powerful marketing tool in a often highly competitive market.