Autumn is here – which means that the autumn exhibition season has started. Around this time many industrial exhibitions and fairs are organized all over Europe. These events offer great opportunities for companies to meet their potential (and also existing) customers, to map the activity of their competitors and the trends on the market.
Attending such an event as an exhibitor is not cheap, but if the booth is well implemented and the company pays proper attention to the visitors, the event can have a great effect on brand awareness and, consequently, the company can get a lot more customers. But how can this be achieved?
First of all, the stand must capture the attention of the visitors. Among hundreds of exhibitors those companies get the most attention, which have a stand that – let’s say so! – stands out. A few tips to achieve this:
- Stand design. The appearance of your exhibition stand is a main factor in capturing visitors’ attention: with attractive colours, interesting equipment or special elements you will attract many more visitors, than you would with a simple design. If your budget lets you do so, use 3D solutions instead of traditional 2D graphic elements and choose custom-made, curvy or special-sized walls instead of pre-made – so-called installation or modular – walls. Make sure to present one or more showpieces of your products so the visitors can actually see and try them instead of just watching them on pictures. Do not forget that the first impression is key: people have to understand who you are and what you do at the first glance. The inscriptions should be simple and concise, still, they should attract curiosity.
- Entertainment. Offering beach holidays? Create a seaside atmosphere with beach toys and hammocks. Selling digital solutions or electric devices? Make sure that the visitors have the opportunity to try your products through an entertaining or creative task. You can also organize mini-events like presentations or discussions with experts of your field, or even flashmobs. The point is to give the participants a unique experience which impresses them and makes them remember your company. Moreover, if they have the opportunity to try your product during the event, there is a higher possibility that they will buy it later.
- Technology. Spectacular and unique multimedia or technological solutions attract people’s eyes, and make them curious about your stand. You can simply use different visual elements like light effects or LED-walls or you can add interactive devices like consoles or simulators. All of them will increase the number of visitors.
These ideas can help you to attract the potential customers to your exhibition stand (to collect more ideas, you can also browse our references). Still, this is not enough. You have to keep the attention of visitors, and make them speak with your representative. There are multiple strategies to achieve this too:
- Games and championships. There are a lot of exhibitors who organize prize games or small championships on their exhibition stand – and most of the time these are really effective in attracting visitors because who does not like to play? Additionally, in exchange for the participation you can ask people to give you some data (e-mail, phone number) you can use later in your campaigns.
- Promotional gifts. A special, interesting gift can attract a lot of visitors (and many companies ask them to give data in exchange for these gifts too). Most people also appreciate free snacks and coffee as these events can easily make them hungry or tired. As they enjoy what they got they will be more opened to listen to your message presented by the representatives of your company.
- The right representatives. It is really important to choose wisely when deciding who will represent your company on the event. They have to be able to communicate with visitors easily and be persuasive at the same time. It is necessary to educate your reps about your goals and products/services before the event.
Of course, the proper strategy is also dependent on the profile and goals of the company – you may want to involve a communications expert in the exhibiting process to make sure your money is well spent. If you think you may need some advice about how you should set up your stand on professional events do not hesitate to contact us.