You Are Running Your Exhibition Stand All Wrong! (Here’s Why)

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You may think that just turning up and handing out a few leaflets, and smiling at a few people is enough to succeed at attending a commercial exhibition, but you’d be all wrong. In fact, there is a lot more to achieving success at these short but valuable events, and sadly a lot of ways to get things wrong too. Something you can find out more about in the post below, as well as get a guide on the right way to do things to make your time and financial investment worthwhile.

You go small

When it comes to commercial exhibitions, the adage ‘go big or go home’ truly applies. After all, paying for a tiny stand that is set back from the main entrance is not going to get potential customers’ attention in the way you want.

In fact, if you think of the space that you occupy in a commercial exhibition like the space you would purchase for an advert in the printed press, you can see why it’s so important. After all, if your stand takes up three units and a corner, then you have longer contact time with passers-by in which you can engage them, tell them about your product, and collect valuable information from them like contact details.

You’re understaffed

Putting one member of staff behind your booth for the whole three days is always a bad idea. For one, having the correct amount of staff is essential because it means the cabin will be left unattended while they grab some lunch, a drink, or avail themselves of the facilities.

Secondly, an exhibition can be exhausting, and there is a great deal of interaction to be done if your booth is to be successful. Therefore having one single person on their own with no one else to take the strain or to bounce off of is not going to be as effective.

In fact, it’s much better to have at least two staff members for every one unit of space you are renting for the occasion. Then you will have someone behind the desk to talk to people and can have someone else roving the fair or standing downward of your stand, handing out information and discount code and referring people over.

Now, it does go without saying that the people you choose to attend the exhibition need to be well presented and personable as well. A topic you can learn more about at zendesk.com Although, I would stop short of anyone that is hot on the hard sell, as many potential customers could be put off by an over the top presence, as they can feel pressured to buy or participate when they don’t want to. Remember you are looking to make a positive connection that you can leverage to your advantage late, not annoy people and put them off your brand!

You don’t brand everything

If you are not branding everything you can with your logo and company colors, then you are missing an opportunity at a commercial exhibition. After all, exhibitions are very visual places, and you need to have your aesthetic and logo spot on to make the most of this opportunity.

Of course, your booth needs to be branded with banners. However, it’s not just your physical space that needs this treatment, but the people who are working it as well.

What this means is that you need to find a company like Topprint2000.com that can create good quality and professional-looking designs on shirts that will allow your staff to look smart for the entire period of the exhibition. It’s always a good idea to get a few extra printed up as well because you may need clean spares, and offering them as part of a freebie pack for potential customers never hurts either. After all, everyone loves a practical item of clothing that they can wear, and it’s just another way that you can get your company’s name to stick in people’s minds.

You don’t provide entertainment as well as information

Those who are familiar with online marketing will know that there has recently been a considerable move towards content that not only promotes products but also entertains or informs potential customers as well. Of course, this is an ethos that can also be used to significant effect during a commercial exhibition.

For example, offering an entertaining experience that hooks visitors in and gets them to prioritize visiting your stand can be hugely useful. Now, what you choose to do for this will depend on what fits your brand, but it could be something like a dunk tank that has a comedic edge, or a VR experience that references the progressive attitude of your brand to technological developments.

Similarly, if you are going down the information route, be sure to steer clear of pages and pages of A4 instructions printed in font size 11. Instead, offer live demonstrations that visitors can film, something you can read more about doing at entrepreneur.com, or even workshops that they can participate in. These are, after all, much more engaging, useful, and entertaining than being handed a paper guide that most people won’t ever read through anyway.

You don’t offer freebies

Look, let’s be honest, we all love freebies. It’s doesn’t matter whether we are well off or not, or even need the items or not. If something is being offered gratis, then it creates a desire that can be leveraged to get people to your stall and your name to stick in their heads.

Of course, if you want to go about this intelligently, you will avoid the more traditional free gift items like mugs, and mouse mats and go for something with a bit more edge like the suggestions at metroexhibits.com.

Some market leading company have found success with brand specific items like wristbands such as the one Zox produce, customized USB sticks, and even power banks. After all, wouldn’t you like your company to be associated with an on-trend product, be something customers can wear or keep with them at all times, or even link to saving the day when a customer phone is on 1%, and they need to make a call or use Google maps? Your answer should be yes because it can genuinely make all of your efforts at such an event much more effective.

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