Experience the power of live events. Even a company that knows nothing about exhibiting would find it easy to come away from a busy show with plenty of new business. After all, the business comes to you. But there are a few simple principles that any company can use to maximise the value of every event they participate in.
What to do before the show
Spending a little time and thoughtful planning before an event will pay big dividends when showtime comes. Ensure youâve evaluated the available events, analysed the audience profiles and chosen the right Show for you.
Setting out your goals and key considerations:
- How many sales leads do you wish to generate?
- Do you want to launch your new product to customers, prospects and the media?
- The tighter the goals, the better your chances of achieving them
- How many new business contacts do you wish to meet?
- Of how many new dealers? Or handing out how many samples?
- Events are incredibly versatile, but you need to focus on your most important goals
- How many top buyers do you want to demonstrate your product to?
- Make how many new appointments?
- Establishing SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timebound) is probably the single most important thing you can do before every event
Plan the stand to meet the goals
Your stand location, design and activities should reflect what you hope to achieve. Even if you have a company exhibition stand in storage, think about how you can tailor it to a specific audience.
Find the right partner
Choosing the right supplier to understand and deliver your goals can be a challenge.
What to do before the show
The number of staff manning the stand and the mix of disciplines should also be goal-driven. Do you need technical staff to explain things in detail? Top managers to meet blue-chip decision-makers? Energetic extroverts for maximum selling and sampling? Let your goals be your guide.
Tell people why they should visit you
The simplest and most obvious tactic of all is also, amazingly, the least practiced: tell the world what youâre up to!
Research has shown that 83% of the most successful companies at a range of events (in terms of business generated and leads collected) were ones that took the trouble to mail to their prospects and customers before the show.
(Source: CEIR)
Make the most of pre-show PR and advertising
You can mail your own lists, buy in a list or mail to the eventâs list of pre-registrants (organisers often make theirs available). Itâs common
