How To Maximise Your Exhibition Participation - a special guide for event venues and suppliers

HOW TOMAXIMISE YOUR

EXHIBITIONPARTICIPATIONa special guide for event venues or suppliers

STORY EVENTS LTD - WHITEPAPER

REMEMBER: People buy from people!

In a digital age exhibitions provide companies with a rare

marketing opportunity to…


WHY EXHIB IT IONSARE ST ILL V ITAL TOTHE SALESPROCESS. . .

Meet face–to–face with your target market!

“WE HAVE MORE WAYSTHAN EVER TOCOMMUNICATE WITHPEOPLE, YET THE MOSTEFFECTIVE REMAINS FACE-TO-FACE.”Mark Hunter, thesaleshunter.com


Creates a personal connection

Helps form stronger/more meaningful

relationships

Ensures the customers undivided attention

Allows for offering to be explained in more detail

Able to gain gaining a better understanding of the

customers needs

Benefits of face to face selling

“LOTS OF SME'S THINK EXHIBITIONSDON’T WORK FOR THEM AND THEYOFTEN HAVE QUITE UNREALISTICEXPECTATIONS (.) MANY PEOPLE DON’TPLAN THEIR EXHIBITION STRATEGY,THEY DON’T CAPTURE DATA ORFOLLOW IT UP.”

Fiona Humberstone, Florish Studios (taken from www.marketingdonut.co.uk)

A LEAD GENERATIONTOOL


Does the event have lead capture tools/devices? - this makes leadcapture much easier and allows you to keep track of what you havediscussed with whom.

If your main reason for attending an exhibition is tomake on the spot sales then you will most likely leavedisappointed. Exhibitions give the best results whenapproached as a lead generation or marketing tool.

THINGS TO CHECK BEFORE EXHIBITING:

How does the exhibition share data with you after the event? I'veknown people to wait to be sent their leads only to discover thatthey already had access to an online system. Time = money.

REMEMBER: the quality of your database andlists has a huge impact on your results as abusiness.

Rather that worrying about making a sale right thenon the spot make your main objective to capture asmany leads as possible! You can sell later!

INVESTMENT VS ROI Investing in the short term can be hugely beneficial in

the long run


Brand Awareness - It's a great way to get your name out to theindustry and your target market

Research – Use it as an opportunity to gain feedback from theindustry. Ask people the opinion of your brand, have they heard ofyou? If so, where have they learnt about you?

Exhibiting at an exhibition can seem like a biginvestment but the benefits of exhibiting are endless.

YOU CAN GAIN MUCH MORE THAN LEADS...

DO YOUR RESEARCH...

Does it match your marketing objectives? - for example, there is nopoint in exhibiting at an exhibition that only has visitors fromLondon, if you are looking to sell to an international market. Makesure you research the event in advance to ensure it's the right onefor you.

PLAYING THE LONG GAME


Exhibitions are great for building brand awareness andbuilding / keeping a healthy pipeline.

Always look at the long term strategy of exhibiting

lead nurture marketing is unlikely to result in a quickreturn but can result in orders 12 months in the futureor even longer. Meaning you will feel the effects of the

exhibition long after you have exhibited.

REMEMBER: 80 percent of prospects who eventually buyare originally marked as bad leads. So even if a lead doesn'tbook an event with you this year, don't totally count them

out. If they don't buy straight away use it as an opportunityto lead nurture.

"FAIL TO PREPARE,PREPARE TO FAIL "

Benjamin Franklin

PLAN AN EXHIBITIONSTRATEGY

Preparation is absolutely key to success at any exhibition.

Being prepared will increase your ROI ensuring you get better

value for money.


A MUST READ - Containing an abundance of useful information,the manual will help you to avoid any last minute panics/surprisesand allow you to get the most out of your exhibiting experience.

Whether this is gaining a specific number of leads or having a certainnumber of show-rounds booked etc. setting objectives is key toattaining whether this has been a useful marketing/sales tool. BEREALISTIC with your objectives! It is unlikely that you will walk awayfrom the event with immediate sales.

Boring or half finished stands do not inspire sales! If you have spentthe money to exhibit then make sure your stand represents yourbrand in the best light possible.

1. Read the exhibitor manual

2. Set objectives

3. Plan you stand

TOP 5 ESSENTIALS

PLAN AN EXHIBITIONSTRATEGY


Plan these in advance! Marketing messages should be consistentacross your stand & in any hand out materials. Make them appealingand quirky but not too complicated.

FOLLOW-UP, FOLLOW-UP, FOLLOW-UP! The hard work actuallybegins after the event. It's essential you make a plan before theexhibition on a strategy to follow up leads. Prompt follow-ups willmake your company stand out. TIP: Try and tailor each follow-up tothat specific person by highlighting things you discussed at the eventexclusive to them. Generic, blast emails are easy to spot and rarelyeffective.

4. Plan your marketing messages

5. Plan your post exhibition strategy

CONTINUED...

DOS & DON'TS

When approached correctly, exhibitions can be such a

valuable marketing tool. Here are a few valuable dos and

don'ts to take away which are so often got wrong.


Follow-up on leads - it would be a shame not to make the most ofthe hard work you put into exhibiting

Build relationships - it's a great opportunity to not only meet potentialcustomers but also other venues and suppliers in the industry

Dos

SO TO SUM UP...

Stand out from the crowd! This will attract people to your stand

Have a clear objective and know what you want to achieve

Be pro-active and approach people walking past

DOS & DON'TS


Don'ts

CONTINUED

Don't look bored - visitors are attracted to energised people. Even ifyour venue or product is the most exciting in the world, visitors willnot feel this if you and your stand staff look bored or unengaged.

Don't assume anything - be sure to fully read your exhibitor manual orask the exhibition team on anything you are not sure of. This will avoidany last minute panics and make the experience all the more pleasant.

Don’t wait a month to follow up - or worse don’t ignore your leadscompletely. Hot leads become less and less warm as time goes on.

Don’t jump in and sell too early - ask questions and listen to theanswers, this will enable you to tailor your pitch to each visitorsprecise needs.

Don’t waste time on the wrong people - if you are a venue for300+ and the visitor has a company of 25 employees, then abusiness conversation would be imprudent. Help out otherexhibitors, by directing the visitor to stands that would bettersuit their needs.

ALL THAT'S LEFT TOSAY IS...

HAPPY EXHIBITING!


ARE YOU A VENUE OR SUPPLIER?WE 'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

The events are boutique trade events designed specifically for top event venues and suppliers in Londonand the South East to present their event offerings to over 700 pre-qualified event buyers.

SMALL BOUTIQUE SHOWS making it easy for visitors to find youEVERY VISITOR PRE-QUALIFIED limiting time-wasters & increasing ROIMATCHED WITH RELEVANT VISITORS ahead of the eventsGREAT VALUE FOR MONEY compared to other events in the industryA SPLIT EVENT FORMAT allowing for targeted marketingA RELAXED EXHIBITION ATMOSPHERE making it easy to network

Story Events exhibition series comprises the London Summer Event Show and London ChristmasParty Show.

Contact our team at [email protected] for more information

www.londonsummereventshow www.londonchristmaspartyshow.com

https://www.londonchristmaspartyshow.com/

https://www.londonsummereventshow.com/

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How To Maximise Your Exhibition Participation - a special guide for event venues and suppliers