Checklist for a Brand Exhibition
Talking to potential customers face to face is way better than online chats and phone conversation, because you get to meet them for real and have a better chance of convincing them to try out to product and services. What better way to meet them face to face than a brand exhibition?
Exhibiting at trade shows is one of the best and fastest ways to introduce your brands to so many people at the same time, increase your sales and sway more customers to your camp. While participating in exhibitions has so many mouth-watering benefits, you still need to checklist so many things before participating in one, that is if you want it to be successful and profitable.
Participating in a brand exhibition can be expensive and stressful; you need to be prepared for that. Also, you need to pick the right trade show that would really boost your sales and client base, customer approach, the perfect exhibition booth design, etc. All these all some of the things you should checklist before participating in an exhibition if you want to get the best out of it.
These might seem foreign to you, especially if this is your first time exhibiting at a trade show, but do not worry below is a total breakdown of things you need to checklist for a brand exhibition.
Here are some things you should checklist for a brand exhibition;
- Exhibiting aims and objectives
First and foremost, before you decide to participate in an exhibition you need to set your priorities straight. Know your aims and objectives for exhibiting, this would keep you in line and direct whatever decisions you make concerning the exhibition, else you would easily lose focus and make horrible decisions.
To make your brand exhibition a success, you should know if it is targeted at making new customers, introduce new products and services, face to face interaction with customers, direct sales, etc. When you know have check listed your aims and objectives, every other thing falls into place.
- Set a budget
This is a very crucial thing to check of the list. Whatever your objective for exhibiting, your business still needs to make a profit, so it is advisable to not spend more than you would get back. Exhibition booths can be very expensive, you also need to consider logistics and some other incentives that would attract potential customers to your booth like giveaways or gifts, all this goes into your budget. So you need to calculate all this and set a budget, so you know what you are working with and not exceed it.
- Exhibition show related to your business
A wedding vendor has no business participating in an exhibition show for home appliances because most people attending are coming to buy appliances for their homes not buying wedding dresses or checking out cake designs. This is why it is very important to carry out a proper research to decide on the exhibition that is relevant to the products and services you are rendering. If your target audience is not going to be at an exhibition, there is no point participating because it would just be a waste of your money and resources.
Also, you need to check the success record of any exhibition you decide to participate in, even if relates to your industry. Research online or ask other people who have participated in it, was it successful? Because if an exhibition has always had poor sales and low turn up, your participation is not likely to change that. Since you are going there to get more customers and sales, you need people to actually attend in their numbers to make that possible.
- Book early
After picking an exhibition show to attend, make sure you book a space very early. This is not because you are richer than other exhibitors but because the early bird always gets the best. Booking late means you do not get to pick a good spot and that might cost you potential clients and sales.
Book early so that you can pick a good space with a clear view of the entrance, so potential clients can easily spot your booth. And also, booking early gives the organizers time to include you in their publicity material, which means more publicity for you.
- Decide on an exhibition booth design
When participating in an exhibition show, you need to bear in mind that everything is about marketing, so you booth design should also be part of your marketing strategy.
There would be so many exhibitors and booth designs, you need a booth design that would not be drowned by the many designs there but stand out and catch the attention of potential customers at the exhibition. It should be attractive but not overly flashy else it would look tacky. It should be also inviting enough to draw in more customers.
- Promotions
You need to promote your presence to your customers and also potential customers, even if organizers of the show are giving you publicity because there is no such thing as too much publicity. The more publicity you get, the more sales and clients you get. You can also add some incentives to the promotions to get people to attend and come to your booths, like free gifts and giveaways. This is one checklist that most exhibitors neglect but you should not if you want your exhibition to be a success.
- Prepare your products
After all, is said and done, the products and services you would be giving is the main reason for this exhibition, so you need to get it ready. If you are going to be introducing a new product, you need to make sure there are enough to sell and samples to hand out to people on that day. And if it’s a particular service you would be rendering, you should be well prepared so that there would be no failures.
Also, make sure you are going with your best team, they should be an expert in your products and services, to better impress the potential customers.
Conclusion
Exhibition shows are the perfect way to boost your business but you need to be well prepared and to do that you need to checklist these things, to make it a success.