The 4 Rules on how to make your next exhibition a super success!

Many of you know the trade show exhibit rules by heart and many of you are still gearing up to start your first exhibition. In both the scenarios, the trade show fundamentals given below are going to help you take your exhibitions to super success.

These steps are simple yet logical. It doesn’t matter if you are a regular exhibitor and highly customize your booth or you take a pre-built-up space or you build up your booth on your own with the help of portable structures, it is going to help you in all the scenarios.

Trade show rule #1 – Know your WHY!

Ask these questions first: 

• Is my trade show display the launch site of my most significant new product or business service? 
• Do I have a cutting-edge industry breakthrough? 
• Do I need to herald a major change in strategy for my company due to a merger or acquisition? 
• Or do I merely want to make sure my company is noticed and included in my industry?s key networking trade show so as not to be left out of the competition? 

Once you are clear on why you are exhibiting and what your trade show objectives are, make sure your customized trade show booth reinforces your overall marketing objectives. Set goals that are attainable, share them with your trade show team and set up systems to measure your results and validate your objectives. 

Trade Show Rule #2: Know your audience!

• Your exhibition booth staff should be highly competent and should have the capability to educate your customers or prospects well. 
• Make sure you have the most qualified team available to meet your key prospects at your booth and they should be able to give an informative presentation that will lead your prospects to make a great impression about your company.
• Match up your representatives well with the positions of those who visit your trade show display. For example, if engineers visit your booth, engage them with your engineer personnel. 
• Prepare your trade show exhibit staff on how to engage, identify, and qualify important leads and how to courteously dismiss those who are not qualified business prospects 

Trade Show Rule #3: Know how to attract prospects at your booth! 

Process of attracting visitors at your booth should ideally start as early as six months before the exhibition through a set of email campaigns, social media engagement and a series of invitations to what new you will present at your exhibition booth.

Once they are near your exhibition booth in the hall, you could do a lot of things to attract them towards your booth. Here are some of them below:

• Many countries and organisers allow hanging signs and that is a great idea to attract prospects. Try some dramatic and attention-getting hanging signs and it is a sure way to have people entering into your booth.
• Your overhead sign can be a beacon with its unique design, shape, and movement. Gobo lights travelling across tension fabric can provide changing colour and mesmerizing interest.
• Technologies such as 3D video/laser image displays suspended above, your interactive website on a large screen, robotics, holographics bring high drama to your trade show booth. 
• Planning presentations and demos at your booth at regular intervals builds interests of the passing visitors and many of them do stop by to have a look.
• Hospitality at the booth is also a great idea to have visitors and make them stay for long.

It’s always a good idea to look at the design trends which are prevalent in the current times and implementing those is definitely going to give you a modern and technologically advanced company tag. Reach out to your stand design company for the ideas and also do your research so that you know what’s best for you.

Trade Show Rule #4: Know how to qualify visitors! 

• Seven different kinds of visitors come on your booth and it is very important for your booth staff to be able to qualify them accurately and have a great conversation with them.
• Based on the qualification, your booth staff should be prepared to give an awesome product pitch as this will define why visitors will decide to stay longer at your booth or just choose to go away within seconds.
• Choose one of the many lead management apps to make sure all your data is captured and all of the prospects are followed up instantly during or post the show by setting up demo meetings. 
• Follow-ups should happen in 2 to 3 levels. The first level should be your top qualified prospects which should be connected instantly and once you have addressed them you must move to the second and the third level prospects.

Gagan Kapoor – Exhibition Consultant

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