Exhibitions are a powerful resource for marketing, but many businesses overlook the possibility and put their time and money into other areas such as advertising. In fact, exhibitions can be used to advertise your business but can also benefit you in ways that no other marketing can provide.
Nearly 100,000 businesses market themselves at exhibitions every year in the UK, although many people will tell you mixed stories of their success.
Do not let any negative stories put you off: every business will run their exhibit differently and so it may have been their poor organization or attitude that prevented them from any benefit. On the other hand - maybe it was just a bad day or as the case may be, their product was simply no good!
Why Attend an Exhibition?
Let us see it this way- people attend exhibitions to see what businesses have to offer. At a majority of exhibitions, particularly the larger events, it has been researched that over 60 per cent of visitors are from middle management or above, of which 90 per cent of these people are in a position to buy. This paragraph alone has just opened a potential door to sales leads but the benefits have only just begun.
Research further suggests that one-third of visitors are looking for new suppliers. These figures will vary from place-to-place but you can guarantee that potential customers (people just there to browse) will also be visiting and so you may pick up a few sales during the exhibition.
You have to appreciate that some of the visitors will be attending for educational purposes such as students and new business starters (looking for advice and tips). You should therefore treat these people with respect as they could form the basis of viral-marketing (word of mouth) for your business: having a prepared fact-sheet with your business/product/service/contact details will always suffice pure window shoppers.
Your exhibition stand should allow people to see, handle, and experience your product or service: just like a web site, give them something to do when they (the viewer) get there. This type of marketing gives you the benefit of a hands-on response with potential customers and therefore, sales leads. Any further information they seek can be clarified with you in face-to-face communication. How many other forms of marketing allows this - are you seeing the opportunities already?
There are hundreds of exhibitions held every year in the UK at various locations and cover every business industry available. Consequently, finding an exhibition should not be a problem. Exhibitions are advertised in business newspapers, the business section in your local, regional and national newspaper, trade and business magazines, and on the Internet.
Many of the exhibitions will provide a contact number to apply for a position and some will provide an address to send for an application form. Either way, you should apply early to avoid disappointment or to get a favoured position at the event.
In the UK, some of the most popular exhibitions are held at the following locations.
The degree of preparation will be the difference between getting the most from the exhibition and being a complete waste of time. Preparation will require considering the following:
How many people will you take?
Who will you take?
How will you display your exhibit with respect to design, size and interactivity?
What information will you display?
How much stock will you take for possible sales?
How will you deal with potential sales leads?
Will you give away any freebies, say; leaflets, brochures, snacks, etc
Write a press release
What other forms of marketing can you conduct whilst you are there?
You have to decide what is important to you over the course of the exhibition. Are you:
Gathering potential sales leads
Conducting research by interviewing visitors
Establishing your name in the industry
Launching a new product
Testing exhibitions as a marketing option
Looking for new partners and alliances (if so, say so on your stand)
If you are attending a two-day exhibition it may be useful to have two display strategies: say, main strategy to get sales, but if you are not successful on the first day, change to gathering leads, or use the concentration of people in your industry to gather research.
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