10 tips (and more) for getting your trade fair ready

How to turn your trade fair into a powerful tool for generating turnover

 

10 tips (and a few more) for preparing effectively for a trade fair

A trade fair often provides an opportunity to meet and make contact with potential customers and business partners. To ensure these meetings are a success, the first step is to choose the right trade fair, followed by thorough preparation.

To help you with this, we’ve put together a checklist of simple tips.

Preparations for a trade fair start several months in advance!

It all starts well before the trade fair; you need to choose one that has a proven track record of attracting an audience relevant to your sector.

The best way to ensure this is to visit the trade fairs the previous year.

Once you’ve selected the trade fair, make sure you register as soon as possible. Trade fairs with high potential are often fully booked as soon as they finish. Places are limited and the best ones are usually reserved year on year, so they’re already taken.

As soon as you’ve registered, it’s important to draw up a reverse schedule, as there will be numerous tasks to complete:

• A stand layout and a budget – stand fit-out costs between €300 and €500 per square metre, regardless of the stand’s size.
• In your plan, include a reception area and a cosy seating area where you can chat with your visitors at your leisure;
• You’ll also need to allow for storage space to keep leaflets, spare bulbs for projectors, consumables, etc.
• A schedule for staff attendance at the trade fair – this is bound to be disrupted at the last minute by unforeseen events, so make sure you have alternative arrangements in place;
• Name badges showing your name and role within the company; this will allow your contacts to know straight away who they are dealing with;
• Contact forms to record the information you collect at the exhibition (make sure you have a stapler to attach business cards);
• All your marketing materials: press kits to leave at the trade fair’s press centre or hand out to journalists, stand backdrops or pop-up stands, signs, banners, kakemono, display stands for your brochures, video screens or projection screens…

Don’t forget that your stand must be clearly visible to attract visitors…

• Choose the products you’re going to showcase and have the relevant documentation produced so you can hand it out at the stand;
• Also have videos or presentations of your products produced to show on the stand; this will attract visitors;
• Remember to top up your stock of business cards and those of your colleagues; it’s not uncommon to hand out several hundred business cards at a major trade fair;
• Plan to update your website to announce your presence at the trade fair;
• Send out invitations by post or email; these invitations also provide an opportunity to engage with your customers and prospects;
• Finally, use the exhibition floor plan to identify potential partners to visit, as well as your competitors, so you can carry out some competitive intelligence.
• And above all! Bear in mind the time required to produce and print your promotional materials.

During the trade fair, you’ll no doubt be very busy, so you’ll need to ensure that:

• Check the day before that everyone will be present at the stand the following day,
• Set aside time to meet trade journalists and spend time walking the aisles of the exhibition, particularly near your competitors’ stands…
• Visit potential partners you’ve identified in advance and arrange meetings for after the trade fair,
• Take photos of the stand, as well as of visitors at your stand; plan to make a video if your budget allows – these resources will be useful for promoting your stand on your website after the event.

After the trade fair:

• It is essential to carry out a review both internally and externally. You will need to publish information on your website such as: the number of visitors, contracts signed, etc. This will be an opportunity to upload the photos and videos taken during the trade fair.
• You’ll need to follow up on all the actions initiated at the trade fair, such as sending out additional documentation and arranging meetings. This must be done within the week following the trade fair; otherwise, you will lose the quality of your contact with your prospects. To this end, invest in a CRM solution – we have opted for the Tecalys CRM solution.
• Finally, do not forget that whilst you may have gathered information on your competitors, they may well have done the same with any information you may have inadvertently disclosed. Therefore, to protect your industrial assets, consider engaging specialists in the protection of your know-how, such as our partner, Sôter.