Is your company making the most of the opportunities live shows and exhibitions offer? Exhibition marketing gives you the chance to approach new clients, increase brand awareness and cultivate business relationships – so why aren’t you making the most of it? The shows are a chance to hand out promotional products and branded merchandise and make more of an impact before your next big corporate event, so should be crucial dates in your calendar. If you’re keen to attend an event in the near future but you’re unsure of how to approach it, you needn’t worry; Stay Sourced promotional idea specialists have compiled this best practice guide to help you get the most from exhibition marketing this year…
Scout motto: Be prepared
Preparation is key when it comes to live shows and it can take quite some time, as there’s a lot to consider. With human resources needed to organise the logistics of setting up an exhibition stand and putting together the perfect team – not to mention accumulating the merchandise, the biggest mistake you could make would to be leave it all until the last minute. If you act fast and give yourself enough time to plan ahead, you’ll have an increased chance of reaching your marketing goals this year with quality products.
Where’s the ROI?
In order to be able to give yourself a reasonable budget, you must first have a clear objective. This will help you to plan your marketing activities and be able to put them into action cost effectively. You also need to determine what you want to achieve while you’re there, whether it be to simply raise brand awareness or to win more clients. This will help you to effectively plan your promotional giveaways. Knowing your final goal will help you to assign how much value it will return, which will help you to set how much investment will be required.
Sing from the same hymn-sheet
Exhibition marketing is not just about handing out giveaways and branded items, it is a chance to present to potential customers and clients a professional, legitimate and friendly team. Appearances are very important, so investing in branded clothing such as polo shirts and promotional jackets available from Stay Sourced bearing your company logo that match your exhibition stand design and any promotional material will ensure people will recognise who you are and what you do at a glance.
Stand out for the right reasons
If your company boasts a dedicated environmental policy as one of its key selling points, choosing an eco-product is likely to make people smile. On the other hand, passing out countless ill-designed flyers that are only likely to make it as far as the bin may make them scratch their heads and question whether that policy is just there to make you think more of them. Exhibitions are crowded spaces, so choosing products that people are more likely to pick up will help you to be remembered well into the future.
Exhibition marketing does not have to be over complicated, in many ways it all boils down to good old fashioned politeness. Having an attractive exhibition is one thing, but having approachable people around them is priceless. If you create a comfortable environment this will put people at ease and allow them to take in the message you are trying to convey. It is also important not to have too many people as this would be over crowded. Less is sometimes more, so always keep this in mind when planning your exhibition and the staff that will be representing. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, planning is the absolute key to successful exhibition marketing.
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