How to Exhibit
How to Optimise Your Presence, Energy And Budget
Every customer that visits our shows spends an average of £100 per person are you getting your fair share of this on the day? No other medium brings customers to you face-to-face ready to purchase. So what is the secret to optimising your energy, financial investment and resources.
Making Connections
Exhibitions provide you with the greatest opportunity to make new connections not only with new customers but also networking with distributors and retailers. Building personal relationships are vital to success in today's competitive environment. It is not just about selling on the day; you can convert enquiries into extra business after the show when you know how! Visitors have the opportunity to harness all the five senses; see, touch, taste, smell and hearing at an exhibition and a majority of the visitors that come to the Exhibitions are looking to you for the answers. Your product or service might be just what they are seeking!
Prime Impact Events & Media have recognized that some exhibitors are more successful than others, this is usually due to a lack of goals, objectives or a lack of pro-active organisation and planning as well as after-show follow-up.
We have provided this exhibitors guide to help you maximize your investment at our shows. You are the professionals and can generate new business at the exhibition if your approach, exhibition graphics and presentation of yourself and your products/services are in line with your objectives.
What Are Your Objectives?
Selling products or service? How much and to whom? Networking? How many new contacts do you want to attain? Creating awareness of your new products or service?
How will you get a response from the customer? What are the benefits of your product or service? Why should a customer purchase from you? What is your unique selling proposition?
How Are You Going to Achieve Your Objectives?
Pre-planning prior to the show is vitally important to successful exhibiting.
Memory Jolt - Reminding Your Clients
Inviting your customers to the show and giving them advance warning that you will be launching some new products, gives them a reason to visit and buy! Recent research has shown that 83% of the most successful companies at a range of exhibitions (in terms of business generated and leads collected) were the ones that took the trouble to mail to their prospects and customers before the show. [Source: CEIR] If every exhibitor invited 10 of their clients to the exhibition this would increase visitor attendance by 1,000 people. If you all invited 50 of your clients to the exhibition this would increase visitor attendance by 5,000 that's a lot more business for us all.
Some exhibitors have also found this method creates more business before the exhibition it acts as a memory jolt. Out of sight out of mind! Writing to your customers prior to the exhibition is an excuse for you to contact them and renews contact in the present.
Stop Them In Their Tracks! 
Customers are attracted to attractive stands not just your energy! Exhibition graphics plus general stand layout and presentation are a major influence over whether a customer stops to speak with you.
Customers should be able to read the exhibition panels from 10 feet away otherwise the customer cannot read what you have to offer from the isle.
To attract the customers and stop them in their tracks use less words, and make the graphics as large as possible. Impact of photos and pictures also help create interest.
The panels should also outline what product or service you are selling/promoting?
We often hear customers asking exhibitors what they do? This should be obvious from your exhibition presentation. Use colour, motion, sound, bold graphics and benefit statements.
The aim is to attract them on to your stand so that you can provide them with the information, brochures, leaflets, product samples and promotions that you have on offer.
Stand location, design and all activities should reflect your objectives.
Don’t over clutter the stand, sometimes “less” is more effective than “too much”
Make the stand look interesting, new, fresh or original.
Plenty of stock or additional supplies nearby in your vehicle.
Remove unnecessary packaging, clothes or items, give yourselves space.
Making An Impact - Be Professional
Business cards ~ More people keep business cards than brochures. Make sure that any literature that you give out creates impact and remember to bring enough brochures, cards, newsletters and flyers.
Giving away product samples allows the customer to feel, sense and try out what you are offering. It might also be worth considering giving a promotional giveaway e.g. pen, pad, sample with your name and number printed on them.
Run a promotion: free sample treatments, reduced price treatments and coupons providing a percentage off after the exhibition. gift vouchers for use after the show. show offers giving 10% off if a purchase is made at the show.
Reach Your Potential Before and After the Show
Maximize on pre-show coverage through the marketing mix of Advertising, PR and the World Wide Web.
Advertising is available in the London MBS programme. Again assess your objectives if you want a response, you must use a response mechanism e.g. “call for free newsletter” or “10% off with this coupon”. 25,000+ customers receive The Exhibition catalogues and 50,000+ will read it. That is a lot of prospective clients!
Preparing a press pack or press release with news of new products or services. If you would like national press coverage then this needs to be given to Prime Impact five months prior to the exhibition. Remember to send photographs; pictures can speak louder than words. If you have news then send out press releases to your local press, find an angle, send it to the editor and then follow-up it with a phone call. Invite the editor for a free treatment/session or send them a sample product with your press release.
Websites - Prime Impact Events & Media will include all exhibition details on the www.primeimpact.co.uk and www.mbsevents.co.uk websites
If you have a website, it’s a great place to promote your presence at the show.
Manifesting Abundance at the Show
The exhibition has arrived, so ensure that you arrive early enough and allow enough time to set up your stand so that when the doors open and the visitors stream in. You are relaxed and ready to go.
Stand staff are they up to the job? Have they been briefed on the objectives and how to achieve them? Are they dressed accordingly, do they smile and provide a positive environment on your stand? Or do they sit there reading the newspaper and looking bored or dis-interested in the potential customers?
Workshops & Lectures
Here you have another captive audience, if you are giving a workshop/lecture captivate them and then give them your brochures and product samples, or an introductory offer reducing the cost of their first treatment. If you are selling courses offer them a discount if they book and pay at the exhibition.
Don't Forget
1. Table Covering
2. Exhibition Graphics
3. Velcro
4. Pen & Paper
5. Brochures, leaflets, Business Cards
6. Leaflet holder presentation is easier for the clients to see
7. Food & Drink
8. Fresh Plants and their life force also help the ambiance of stands
9. Small wastebasket is often useful
10. Comfortable Shoes
11. Arrive early
The Big Day Has Arrived
You have set up your stand everything is in position and the doors open to the general public. You are clear about what you want to achieve this weekend; your team have been fully briefed and are ready to make a success of your investment. Your objectives are clear, you all know what the message is and how best to maximize your potential business, networking and contacts. Remember it’s a good idea for staff to report on their progress and how your new approach and marketing initiative is achieving objectives. Remember that the biggest smiles are the warmest ones! People can't see you smiling if you have your back to them or are busy chatting to your friend on the stand. Every hour that you spend at the exhibition is costing you money, think about how much you could be wasting or gaining while those doors are still open.
Spend the optimum amount of time with visitors, its important not to waste time or your energy, there are more customers coming down the isle that might be more interested in what you have to offer and you do not want to miss them! Avoid too much time talking to friends and Acquaintances.
Eye contact is also very important and a willingness to give information but most importantly the power of positive thought and attitude will get you a long way to achieving your objectives. This is also an ideal opportunity to do some research and find out exactly what your clients want, marketing is about giving the customer what they want, not what you want to sell them! Have your visitors book handy so you can create a database of interested customers for after the show. Getting an email address can also make follow up easier for you. If a customer is really interested in what you have to offer they will give you their address and telephone number.
Adding to Your Exhibition Investment - After the Show
Measuring the results after the show are just as important as preparing beforehand.
Did you meet your planned objectives? How many products did you sell? how many new connections did you make? Now its time to follow-up the leads that you gained, how are you going to approach this? By letter, phone call or a fuller information pack? It is vitally important that you stay in touch with your customers keeping them informed of what you have to offer. Often out of sight is out of mind!
If you had a poor response to what you are offering, ask yourself why? What could I have done better? Did people just walk straight by? If they did, then maybe your exhibition graphics need to be more eye catching or dramatic. Now is the time to review and re-plan, How did your prices compare? Were they competitive? Did you have enough stock or did you sell out? If the exhibition was a tremendous success for you then remember to repeat the formula at the next exhibition.
Don't forget to reserve your stand for next year, maybe its time to look at a bigger stand and/or a better position.
