How to Start Preparing Before You Register for an Exhibition or a Fair?

Did you design your stand? Did you order your exhibition materials? What’s your budget? Is your team ready? There are so many things to prepare for trade fairs: exhibition stand, banners, flyers, business cards, branded furniture. It’s hard to know where to start. But before you take an impulsive decision to register and then worry about anything of the sort, let’s talk about how to prepare from afar:

1. Analyse information from prior exhibitions

Look at the data from the past trade fairs you attended. How many sales did you make? How many new customers did you acquire? What did it all cost you? Also, make sure to check out the venue itself. You can ask the trade show hosts for a floor plan and think about the areas, which will possibly contain the highest traffic rate. Use this information to strategically make decisions about your exhibition later on.

2. Establish your goals

Before everything else, think about what objectives you want to achieve with the trade show. Do you want to have 200 visitors come by your booth? Do you want to sell at least 100 units of your product? By knowing your goals, you’ll be able to better tailor your strategy and exhibition booth design.

3. Think about the city and venue

It is often overlooked, but before you decide to register for a trade show, make sure to check out the city it is held in because it is also an important factor for your budget. It can cost you to travel to places far away, but it might be worth the end result. You decide.

A quick tip: Look at the guidelines of the convention centre where the trade fair is held, before deciding on your exhibition booth. Just to make sure your super cool creative stand is still abiding with the rules.

4. Decide on your message

Direct your message to a specific audience. What’s your story? Also, think about how to tell it to your target audience and how you can show it through your exhibition display. Your message should also help you meet your marketing goals for the trade fair. 

5. All for one and one for all

Have you written up your story? Great! Now is the time to sit down with your team and actually develop a strategy. It will help you stay on track and have a clear view of the goals of the exhibition. Create your strategy by providing short answers to these questions:

• Who are we?
• Who are we targeting?
• How does this exhibition help to achieve our overall business goals?
• Who is our competition at the fair?
• What is our message and how will it be delivered?
• How will we measure our achievements?

6. Friendly next door neighbours

Competition at exhibitions is real. You have to be aware of the fact that everybody at a trade show is trying to win the attention of all attendees, no matter the product being sold. We recommend selecting neighbours with a similar or smaller size booth so that they will not be able to steal attention from your own stand. Also, if you personally know your colleagues, choose neighbours with whom you can have fun. The good vibes will attract more people to your stands and both businesses can benefit.

Ready? Set? Go! We hope you aren’t as stressed now and you have all the tools to start preparing for your next trade fair.