The marketing team have decided that getting a stand an exhibition will generate loads of leads, but you want to know how to maximise your exhibition stand?
You’ve paid for the space, the stand, the staff time and the travel. So how do you make sure your exhibition stand actually pays off? Exhibitions are one of the best places to meet potential clients face to face, but only if people come over, stay and remember you. Check out our quick, easy wins for how to maximise your exhibition stand with some Dos and some Don’ts!
Start with what not to do
Let’s get the two biggest mistakes out of the way.
Don’t sit behind a table. It’s a barrier. It makes you look closed off, and people will walk straight past.
Don’t hand out leaflets to everyone who walks past. It’s not a conversation, and a lot of those leaflets will end up in the bin before the attendee gets home.
Give people a reason to come over
Sweets, chocolates and freebies are classic, but be clever about it. What is the one thing you really want when you go to an exhibition? Not a bag of plastic landfill, I’m sure! So what would entice you to go over to someone’s stand?
One of the best answers is to be genuinely useful. Sponsor something from the event organisers, like a hydration station or a charging station. People ALWAYS need water and somewhere to charge their phone, and they’ll remember who made their day easier.
Other ideas that bring people in:
- Host a coffee cart
- Host a juice bar
- Host drinks as the exhibition is getting towards the end of the day
Give people a reason to stay
Getting people to your stand is only half of it. Now you want them to linger, because that’s where the conversations happen.
- Have something for people to do. A competition or something to participate in works well.
- Have a demonstration and let people “have-a-go”.
- Host a 5 minute interactive presentation and encourage people to sit down.
- Have engaging content on a screen.
If people have a reason to stop, you have a reason to talk to them.
Get the practical stuff right
The small details make a big difference, and they’re easy to forget until you’re on the day.
- Get the branded fascia board, so people know who you are from across the hall.
- Make sure any graphics are readable and above waist height.
- Have a lockable cupboard for your bags, and enough sockets to charge your laptops and phones.
- Position yourself at the edge of your stand, not hidden away at the back.
- Don’t overload your stand with staff. A crowd of people in matching shirts can feel intimidating.
Be human
Smile. Be friendly. Be willing to talk about something other than your product or what you’re selling. People buy from people they like, and a stand is one of the quickest places to show them what you’re like to talk to. Nobody wants to be pitched at by someone who looks like they’d rather be elsewhere!
Track and follow up
Have a quick and easy way of tracking the people who come to your stand. Whether it’s a badge scan, a form on a tablet or a competition entry, make sure you capture who they are while they’re in front of you.
Then follow up quickly, that evening or the next day, with a clear offer. The exhibition isn’t the finish line. The follow-up is where the conversation turns into business.
So what’s the one thing you’d change about your stand before your next exhibition?
