Author: Exhibition Stands

Running a successful event or exhibition stand can be complex and sometimes stressful, so the option to outsource is taken by many business owners, but what are the benefits of using this service?

Time and Cost Efficient

A big problem for many companies is the amount of time that they have to spend on their exhibition planning as well as the number of team members they can spare on the day.

An outsourced company will help your business before, during and after the exhibition. They will help to plan your stand, put it up, staff the stand as well as disassembling your stand and passing on all the information your team will require to follow up.

An exhibition requires businesses to put in the time in order to have success and get the most results possible. A management company will have the time available to put this work and planning into your stand to get the best results possible.

You and your team can work while the event is happening which means you aren’t losing a day’s work and therefore a day’s worth of payment from customers.

 Increased Focus

Many companies cannot afford to put their entire focus on an exhibition in the lead up to and even on the day of the expo. Work needs to be prioritised, and many businesses will not  have one team member spare to focus solely on the expo.

For an outsourced company, exhibitions are their sole focus, so they have the time to focus completely on your event for the planning stage but they also won’t be distracted by emails or calls on the day of the expo.

It also means you can focus on your work and building your business with the peace of mind that your exhibition stand is being taken care of.

Creativity

Event management teams spend the majority of their time at exhibitions which means they will be up to date with the latest trends and be able to find the next big thing for expo stands.

They will constantly be coming up with new and innovative ways to improve the exhibition experience for visitors at your stand and improve the number of results produced.

An outsourced company are a fresh pair of eyes for your business. They may be able to see an aspect of your business that would really appeal to consumers which may not even cross your mind. They can then capitalise on this for your event.

Results

Professionals are often used to sitting behind their desks and only really talking to customers on the phone, but at an expo they need to be constantly approaching new people and selling your brand to them. This is much easier for an agency to do as they are doing this practice every day and they know what works.

They are used to selling on behalf of other companies and will be aware of the aspects of a business which people will want to know more about or the USP’s to sell to a visitor.

The most important advantage of using an outsourced company is the fact that they will not be afraid to approach visitors in order to get the sales.

Exhibitions are a great marketing tool; they allow you to talk face to face with prospects as well as network with other industry professionals to build relationships.

However, it cannot always seem easy to find an exhibition which will suit the industry that you’re in. This blog post will talk you through a few of our tips to finding the perfect trade show for your business.

A Specific Venue

Travelling across the UK for a trade show may not be how you want to spend your day, especially if you’re a smaller company. So, decide where is the closet and biggest venue for your workplace and visit the venue’s website directly.

The venue lists future events on their website with information about the day and an option to either visit or exhibit at the event.

This can be a great way to find out what kind of exhibitions are on in your local city. You will have the bonus of being a local business to the visitors attending – this can be a big selling point, especially for smaller companies.

Remember, if you want to exhibit at one of these shows, look in advance as the exhibitor slots may sell out fast at popular events.

Companies in Your Industry

Word of mouth can be a really powerful marketing tool for exhibitions, and this is for a good reason. If a business has previously exhibited at an expo, enjoyed their day and had a lot of business from the show, it will mean more to other business owners than a Facebook campaign ever will.

Ask other owners whether they have attended any good trade shows both as visitors and exhibitors; remember to ask for extra information like how many people to expect. This can prepare you for the type of event you will be attending and give you a bit of insight as to which shows are actually worth attending.

These don’t even have to be business owners that you know well, maybe you know of another MD from a similar company, you can start building a relationship just by asking.

Exhibition Directories

Now, this may be the most straightforward and quickest way to find an exhibition to attend, but you could miss out on a few gems that aren’t listed in a directory – check elsewhere to make sure you aren’t missing any smaller events.

A directory will list a whole range of exhibitions located in the UK or Worldwide; filters will allow you to narrow down your results.

This can be interesting to find out what shows are out there and available for your business to attend.

Expocheck.com is a worldwide exhibition directory with a large number of categories and locations around the world.

Social Media

Social media allows you to find out what people are talking about and their opinions on different events.

Twitter, for example, is a great tool if you want to find out what people think about certain shows, search the name of the show and you’ll find all the tweets containing the event’s name. This may help you find new recommendations as well as answering any questions.

Another way you can use social media is to ask your followers, find out if any of them have experience at a trade show for your industry sector – remember to use hashtags to reach the most people.

Finally, most exhibition social pages will have optimised their accounts to be found using key phrases, so try using your social search like Google with phrases like “Car Exhibition Birmingham”, this will bring you up lots of Facebook pages which meet this search.

Once you have found a few exhibitions which work for your business and who can find you the right customers, you will be able to stick with these rather than trying to find new shows all the time.

There are exhibitions for all industries or hobbies nowadays, so you are sure to find at least one that you want to attend. What better time to travel somewhere else in the country to attend a new or well-loved trade show.

We have compiled a list of four of the expos taking place this summer, so hopefully, you will feel inspired to either attend as a visitor or even an exhibitor.

1. The Creative Craft Show – NEC Arena, 29^th June – 1^st July

This trade show is perfect for all enthusiasts of arts and crafts including dressmaking and paper crafting. This show offers a wide range of supplies, ideas and new innovative equipment to both the individuals who enjoy crafts as a hobby or the professionals.

Not only are there going to be hundreds of exhibitors from industry experts to suppliers, but there will also be talks and demonstrations from some of the industries best, like Bex Raven who will be taking you through a history of Japan.

This is not a trade show to be missed; it is sure to be a whole lot of fun as well as inspiring for all attendees. Don’t miss out on getting your tickets and maybe you will want to consider exhibiting there next year?

Go to their website to find out more.

2. Outdoor Trade Show – Event City, 3^rd – 5^th July

The Outdoor Trade Show sees a whole range of industry specialists, leading brands and suppliers as well as buyers and retailers descend on Event City in Manchester for this three-day event.

It is the perfect event for all things outdoors from clothing to equipment you will find it all here as well as being able to network with like-minded individuals and businesses.

This is going to be the 13^th year that the show has been running so you will not be disappointed by this well-established exhibition.

There are lots of events and displays happening over the course of the three days from a party to the red devils display over the hall. If you don’t want to miss the Red Devils make sure to head over on Tuesday 3^rd July!

There is still time to buy tickets as a visitor; whether it is for fun or business, it will provide you with endless business connections and maybe even a stand for next year.

Go to their website to find out more.

3. The Allergy and Free-From Show – Olympia London, 6^th – 8^th July

This is the world’s largest ‘celebration’ of free-from food and drinks that are becoming an increasingly popular and in-demand market in the food industry.

It is sure to bring new, innovative and exciting options for your free-from menus or supplies – the perfect event for anyone in the food or retail industry. This market has grown massively in the past few years, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down so make sure you are taking advantage of this niche market.

There will be experts in their fields and the brains behind some of the biggest health and well-being charities with new innovative research and information into allergies and general health; they’re ready to share their knowledge and answer questions.

It is the perfect event to meet new and interesting suppliers with something a little different which you could offer your customers. An added bonus of this event – free food samples!

Go to their website to find out more.

4. Amaze Expo – Olympia London, 17^th – 19^th August (Formally known as “Big Boys Toys”)

This is a luxury exhibition which is launching in the new location of the Olympia, London this August. There will be hundreds of global suppliers at this event, providing all of the luxurious products that you could wish for including private jets, holidays and technology.

This is one of if not the most luxurious trade show that the UK has to offer. The show is set to be full of innovative, jaw-dropping products and experiences ready for you to try or learn more about.

Whether you supply goods to the luxury market or want to learn more about what this clientele is looking for, this could be a great learning experience that we recommend. Who knows, you could walk away with a private jet!

Go to their website to find out more

Exhibitions can be really useful is they are related to the industry that you’re in or even for a hobby that you have. Attending exhibitions is a great way to broaden your industry knowledge as well as network with like-minded business owners. There are exhibitions for every industry and they are held all year long so it could be beneficial for your business to find an industry expo for you.

Having a stand at an exhibition has so many benefits for both small and larger businesses – we all approach the idea of an exhibition thinking of the leads we can gather and will follow up afterwards to bring in new clients. However, these leads aren’t going to simply fall into your lap – you need to work to bring them in and grab people’s attention!

In order to be successful at a trade show it is important to have a plan and a strategy for all stages of the exhibition from first attracting visitors to your stand, then to engaging them and finally following up after the show to try and convert them to a customer.

Here are a few of our tips for the first step in the process – attracting visitors to your stand.

‘Stand’ Out

Your stand is one of the things that will give visitors a first impression of your business so it is important to get this right. Make sure you have a professional stand – a table and a roughly printed poster probably won’t cut it.

Show your branding through your stand and your team, if you have a brand colour scheme try and use this throughout your stand; you could even give your staff branded clothes to wear. Include your logo and information on your stand, such as: what it is your business does and who you are. This will give the visitors an idea of what services you can offer and will in turn attract interested people to your stand.

When using text on your stand ensure it is big enough to read from a distance but try to hold back using too much text – use images instead. People love high quality visuals and these can be much more eye catching for a passer-by.

Run a Contest

Contests can be a great opening line when trying to attract someone to your stand. Run a contest to win a materialistic prize or it could even be your services. This covers two goals of running your stand – attracting and engaging. By asking people to enter your competition you are generating leads as well as engaging in a conversation with them. The worst thing your team can do at an exhibition is stand quietly and let attendees pass them by – a competition will help give your staff a reason to make eye contact and engage potential prospects in conversation.

To aid in your lead generation you could get the visitors to use their business cards in order to enter the competition – this way you can contact them after the show. Using your service as a prize allows you to tell the visitors a little more about your business and what you do.

Be Positive

I’m sure we have all had an experience at a trade show when there haven’t been quite as many people as we wanted and we may have felt a little deflated. A key to being successful at these shows is staying positive. You are much more likely to attract visitors to your stand if you are positive and energetic as opposed to looking moody, sat in the corner hunched over a phone.

Trade shows are all about networking and building relationships so it is important to present the best version of yourself. Start the conversations with visitors as they pass by and find out a little more about what they do for a living – this will also help you market to them.

Spread the Word

Don’t rely on the event organisers to promote the show, get the word out to your audience. You could use social media to post about the upcoming event and make sure people know that you will be there – prospects may see this and decide to come along because they need a service you offer and want to talk to you about it.

Don’t forget about your clients either, you can promote the show to them via your mailing list – just because they are your clients doesn’t mean you can’t upsell to them or they may even tell their own customers about it. Personally invite a number of your clients or prospects to come along and see what the show is all about – all visitors give you a chance to get your name out there and network.