Ins and outs of exhibiting

Well. What a week I've had. Plenty of time has been spent on my website this week. If I had to describe the style of the site it would be retro-clean. have a look for yourself and see what you think. Comments are always welcome. www.buildpr.co.uk

This week I've been working on getting a company to Ecobuild. Exhibiting anywhere is always much more difficult than you might think. Here's a couple of random tips to consider when planning for an exhibition.

1. So you know your products and all the techy words that describe them but do your customers? If your target is "consumers" consider the fact that they need great explanations of your products and services. Try using simpler words to describe the things you sell or explain what the techy phrase means. 
2. Always have a contingency plan for all aspects of the event. From ill staff to missing product. It can all have a detrimental effect on your success so try and plan for it. Often just doing this makes everything run a little smoother and shows up potential issues.
3. Give someone responsibility for planning and management. Often people do a great job when they have overall control. 
4. When designing your exhibition stand is the back wall necessarily the best place for your product or service info? Think about how people will approach your stand. You'll find that people walking down the corridor will see either the left or right walls or areas first. If you’re on the corner look at using it as well. It’s the first part of the stand your customer will see. Your stand might be larger and centrally placed but equally so getting a third party to look over the design might give you a better understanding of what people will see. Designing your stand in 3d and "walking" through the design really helps to get things in the right place.
5. Don't rely on the event managers to get your customers there. Do some work on getting prospects to attend your stand yourself. PR, direct mail, and advertising, if your budget can stretch to it, all have their part to play. 
6. Give people a reason or incentive to attend. This can really be anything. But think about what your customer might like. Put a sofa on the stand and ask people to come and relax with a coffee or similar. A simple coffee maker on the stand could be just the thing to attract your customers. 
7. Remember to put in place an after show plan. Can you handle all the leads yourself? Do you have enough literature? Who'll send it out and how will you follow it up?

Of course there is plenty more to consider. And if it all gets a little more than you can handle you can always get in contact with me and I'll be happy to help out. From initial design to manning the stand.