Taking a stand at a tradeshow or exhibition is a significant investment in terms of both time and money, so it’s important to ensure you put a lot of effort into planning and preparation. This includes how the stand will look, how you will interact with visitors and how you will make those interactions work for your business in the long term.
Having a successful exhibition is as much about preparation as it is about your activities during the event. To help you make the most of the opportunity, here are some key factors to consider when preparing a stand for a trade-show or exhibition.
Make contact with the organisers
When you arrive at the event to set up your stand, find the organisers and introduce yourself. This is not only your opportunity to get answers to any questions you may have, but also to make sure that you build a rapport. This will be useful should you need any more help or advice later in the event.
Include seating
The attendees at the exhibition will be on their feet all day and will probably cover a fair few miles. If you can offer them a seat at your stand during the times of presentations or during meetings, then they will be much more likely to stick around.
Get to know the schedule
The exhibition will have a start time and an end time as well as quieter or busier periods. Assuming that this exhibition has happened in previous years, try to find out what the usual footfall and schedule is. You can get this information either from the organisers or other exhibitors who have been before.
Brief your staff
Make sure your staff know what they should wear, what their role is, and how they should be approaching visitors to the stand. Choose members of your team who are confident and have good people skills as well as a sound knowledge of your business.
Consider data collection
You need a way of collecting data from visitors to your stand as they could be potential leads for your business. You could use pen and paper, but a more professional method is to use a tablet or computer. If you don’t have this equipment, you can rent a computer for a week.
Keep it simple
Keep your display uncluttered and make sure that your product and/or marketing materials are the star of the show. Roller banners, for example, convey key information about your company without taking up a lot of space and reduce the need for printed booklets or brochures to be displayed. They can also be useful if you want to hide some items from general view.
Offer appealing giveaways
Bring along some giveaways which will attract people to your stand and make you stand out from your competitors. Choosing items like bags or stationery with your logo printed on them could also mean that people will use them in the future, reminding them of your company and raising brand awareness.
For more information on renting or hiring IT equipment, including tablets, laptops and computers from Smart Computers, from as little as one day upwards, take a look at our rental pages and complete a quick quote form.
