8 Top Tips for exhibiting at B2B events

Tips for
exhibiting at
Business
Events
8 Top Tips
to help you
optimise your
outcomes
By Tony & Kathy Haines
Liverpool BA

Table Of ContentS
2.
Table Of Contents
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7.
Tip 1: Think First
Tip 2: Everyone loves a take away
Tip 3: Less tiger more pussycat
Tip 4: Take a step back
Tip 5: The sooner the better
Tip 6: Don't miss any opportunity to engage
Tip 7: Make the event your own
Tip 8: Don't forget to follow up
8.
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#1 Think First
In order to get the most out of exhibiting, think about what you want to achieve and
what your priorities are. For example, are you looking to:
Promote a new business?
Get contacts & prospects?
Enhance your business profile & reputation?
Market test a new product?
Launch a new product or service?
Connect with specific sectors?
Your target outcomes should be reflected by what you do at the event and how you
promote your attendance.
Don't be afraid to ask your Event Organisers for help with achieving your goals.
#2
Everyone loves a
Take Away
Bear longevity in mind when choosing promotional gifts for
your stand.
Pens, pencils, coasters, & mugs remain popular giveaways.
But mugs and coasters will have a longer lasting impact
than pens and pencils (which eventually run out).
And although mini chocolates with your own printed wrappers
may disappear quickly from your stand, the wrappers are
probably thrown away just as quickly.
So try to make sure you have a good mixture of items.
From things that will entice people to your stand (like sweets, chocolates & treats), to
things which will remind people of your business for years to come.
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#3
Less Tiger
More Pussycat
You've invested in an exhibition stand and want maximum return.
So you send out four of your keenest sales staff & tell them to get as many people to
the stand as possible.
But put yourself in the visitor’s shoes and you would realise that the impression
being given can be one of tigers ready to pounce.
At the other end of the scale, we've seen exhibitors with one
person on the stand, sitting with their head down
concentrating & working on their laptop.
And exhibitors with two team members who position their chairs facing each other at
the back of the stand so they can talk to each other more easily.
They might as well just put up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign!
Obviously it's much better to be somewhere between these extremes with one or two
people on your stand that look friendly and ready to talk to visitors without putting
them in a headlock.
#4 Take a Step Back
When thinking of what to put on your stand, take a step back and look at it as though
you were a visitor to the event. Pretend you're scanning the room just to get a quick
view of what types of companies are there and any offers that may be available.
If you're say 10m away from a particular exhibition stand, you should be able to tell
what that company does & if there are any offers available (& roughly what they are).
This raises a number of issues such as... Is the type you are using on displays etc big
and legible enough and does it convey the message that you want?
Do your pop up banners and displays work with a table in front of them, or does the
table obscure important text or messages?
If you are running a special promotion or offer, are you advertising this on your stand
and is it clear and visible?
Taking a step back and thinking in this way enables you to address these issues in the
planning stage. And avoid making any costly mistakes!
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#5
The Sooner the
better
Although it might not always be possible, the earlier you can book on to exhibit at an
event the better.
For a number of reasons...
It gives you plenty of time to promote the fact that you're going
to be there exhibiting.
And time to invite your customers and prospects to come and
see you on your stand.
It also gives the event organiser plenty of time to promote that you're exhibiting.
And more time for them to help you achieve your event objectives e.g. by targeting
particular types of visitors you'd like to meet.
Lots of event organisers promote their exhibitors on social media and the event
website etc.
So booking earlier means you'll benefit from this extra profile for a longer period.
Some things you can't leave until the last minute!
You may need to refresh your branding and/or replace
printed materials such as leaflets and pop-up banners.
Even if you do manage to find a way to turn these
things around quickly, it's likely to come with added
costs (and stress)!
So when is the best time to book on as an exhibitor?
Booking 3+ months before the event is probably the ideal.
This gives you and the organiser plenty of time to let people know you're going to
be there and sort out anything needed for the day.
Booking 1-3 months before is also fine and still gives a good amount of time to
promote your presence and prepare for the event.
Booking any closer than this means that even though you will still get lots of
benefits from exhibiting on the day itself, you'll miss out on some of the added
benefits.
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#6
Don't Miss any
opportunity to engage
One of the main benefits of exhibiting at a business event is to grow and build your
business contacts.
It's great if you've got some nice leaflets & brochures etc. As well as some eye-catching
promotional giveaways.
Sometimes though, you can be talking to someone when there's someone else
hovering about your stand who would also like to talk to you.
So why not have a sign on your stand that says 'please take a XXX (e.g. pen etc) with
our compliments, and it would be great if you could leave a business card in our box'
This achieves 2 things...
Many people are polite and may feel self-conscious about taking something off your
stand, especially if you're there but talking to someone else.
So it encourages them to take away a promo item & leave a card without feeling the
need to ask.
Having their card then gives you a chance to contact them and start the conversation
you weren't able to have at the time.
And who knows how valuable this conversation could be???
#7
Make the event
your own
A key benefit of exhibiting at a business event is to make lots of new contacts.
But it's easy to forget about - and miss - another great opportunity...
The chance to catch up with your existing and lapsed customers, contacts, suppliers
and partners.
Like most companies you're probably in regular contact with a good number of your
customers.
But we suspect that there are a lot who you haven't had a chance to meet or speak
to in person for a while. Plus lots of prospects in your pipeline.
So why not combine all of these and turn the event into your very own open day?
Send out a personal invitation to all of your customers & prospects - new & old - to
come and see you on your stand at the event. 6

#8
Don't forget to
follow up
So you got everything ready for exhibiting. You were there on the day &
engaged with lots of people.
NOW WHAT?
It's important to keep up the momentum.
Don't leave it too late to get in touch with people you met
both on your stand and through general networking at
the event.
As a first step, as soon as you can after the exhibition is over sort through all the
business cards and details of the people you've met.
Maybe sort them into urgent and non-urgent categories. Add them into your chosen
CRM system or spreadsheet etc.
Then make contact with those you met as soon as you can, and keep in touch.
Obviously prioritising the 'urgent' contacts, who've expressed a strong interest in
your products or services.
If you send out regular e-newsletters or updates, you might want to ask
all your new contacts if they're happy for their email to be added to
your subscriber list.
Connecting on LinkedIn and other social media platforms can also be a
good way to maintain contact.
It's great when you can actually do business on the event day itself.
But we've had exhibitors in the past who've told us they got business from
contacts made at an event 12 or 18 months after it took place.
So never underestimate the importance of following-up
and maintaining contact after an event.
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We hope you found this book useful.
For more information about our
B2B events please visit
www.businessfairsuk.com
Or call us on 0151 709 8932
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