Exhibition Tips: Reasons for attending exhibitions

There is one very important question that I always ask my customers and it is a very simple one.

“Why are you attending this exhibition or trade fair?”

Here are some of the wrong reasons to attend:

• Our competitors will be exhibiting (this is also sometimes offered as a reason for not going!)
• We want the exposure
• We’re running one of the seminar sessions
• We always go to that exhibition or trade fair
• People will notice if we don’t have a stand
• We’re going in order to show support for our trade organisation
• We’ll meet all our colleagues from around the country / world
• Because the show is in Honolulu!
• It helps maintain our image
• It offers an opportunity to train new sales staff

So, here is my exhibition tip of the day!  There are only three PRIMARY reasons to attend an exhibition or trade fair:

1. To make new sales
2. To make appointments
3. To make new contacts

There are also a number of SECONDARY reasons:

1. To raise awareness of your product service
2. To do some market research
3. To do some industry research
4. To introduce new products/services to the market
5. To recruit staff/agents/distributors

Importantly, these ‘secondary’ reasons never justify the cost of attending an exhibition in isolation.  But it’s surprising how many companies base their decisions on whether or not to attend an exhibition on the wrong factors.

As one of the UK’s leading exhibition services providers, we add value by helping our clients to target the right exhibitions and for the right reasons.  Get in touch to find out how 200m2 can help your business.