The exhibition setting can be one of the most challenging arenas a business will ever encounter, and this is for lots of reasons: for example, you will be competing in close proximity with competitors to reach your potential clients/customers and you will also find that exhibition success can be about keeping various “plates spinning,” such as point of sale as well as general stand management.
Like much in business, exhibition success can be quantified, and there are plenty of tried and tested things you can do to ensure that your exhibition displays reach their potential, and get the kind of results that you expect for your brand.
The initial, and arguably most important step, is to plan; essentially the more intricate your planning strategy is at this stage, the better you are likely to perform on the day. Therefore, when planning for an exhibition, you should take into account everything from choice of trade show, to targets in regards to client leads to things like event insurance.
Beyond the planning stage, there is still plenty that you can do to optimize your exhibition presence. On a practical level, ensuring that you are at the exhibition punctually, and that you have a clear understanding in regards to how to build your stand will all ensure that you streamline your operations on the day.
At this stage, the layout of your exhibition displays will start to sink or swim. And, if your have neglected the planning stage, and chosen an incorrect pitch, then you will clearly begin to notice the ineffectiveness of your exhibition presence.
Essentially, although it may seem obvious, the closer that your stands footprint comes to your potential clientèle the better. With a single stand, this could be a challenge, however by incorporating banner stands etc, you can considerably increase the “footprint” of your exhibition setting. With this in mind, try positioning your stand close to walkways etc, which will ensure that potential to reach passers by is optimized.
You should also ensure that the visual quality of your displays are up to standard, and that they fulfil the criteria for good advertising. On a simple level, this means that graphically they should be high impact, and that your brand message/logo is visually attractive enough to appeal to your customers over other stands.
If you want to really make a visual impact, you could look at novel ways to advertise your stand. For example, you could utilize lighting to illuminate your pitch; this will have the effect of both highlighting your stand (thereby making it more visually appealing) as well generating a high quality edge to your display. This makes lit stands especially suited to certain brands that want to exude a modern edge, or just ideas of general high quality.
Whilst your exhibition displays might be optimized, it is also important that you have the personnel to back up your setting, and therefore it is important that your staff both have an acute knowledge of your brand, as well as an in depth understanding of that particular exhibition environment.