The wait is over. The big day has finally arrived and the trade fair, where you are also represented with your fantastic exhibition stand, is finally starting. Just a few more minutes and the doors open and visitors stream into the exhibition hall in droves. Your employees look relaxed. They are nervous. Positively nervous, because they can hardly wait to present their trade fair appearance. To present themselves to “old” and hopefully new customers. 60 seconds to go. Your pulse is rising.
And then the time has come. The doors open and you hear the visitors streaming in. You wait patiently until visitors reach your stand. The first visitors pass by. The next ones take a quick look and move on.
Your nervousness turns. Into annoyance. “Why doesn't anyone come to us?” Your employees stand in the background and joke around to pass the time. Then the first visitor arrives at your stand. “What do you do? What does your company offer?” Inwardly you are annoyed by the question, but as a professional, you are friendly and explain it to the prospective customer in a few short sentences. The prospect listens attentively, thanks you and moves on.
This is how it goes all day at your stand.
6 pm. The first day of the trade fair comes to an end. You leave your stand disappointed. Your employees also seem disappointed. “What did we do wrong?” you ask yourself.
To help you avoid this in the future, we have put together a short checklist of things you should definitely do before your trade fair appearance to attract visitors in droves.
As you probably know, there are many ways to announce your trade fair presence. The decisive factor is that you use the right media and the optimum time.
In soccer there is the saying: After the game is before the game!
For your trade fair appearance this means: After the trade fair is before the trade fair!
Start communicating your trade fair presence early on. The guideline here is 8 months in advance! That's right: 8 months! Why?
The probability is very high that your customers and interested parties will not have any appointments that far in advance and will therefore be able to make a firm note of your date.
But what is the best way to communicate this?
For existing customers, sending a “save the date” email or a messenger, such as WhatsApp, is ideal. As a rule, you have carefully maintained your customers' contact details. A recommendation from us: Don't send a simple standard email or message. Do something different. For example, record a short video. It doesn't have to be particularly long. 30 to 60 seconds is completely sufficient. State in this video: When, what, where and give your customers a reason to come. Make the video interesting and make them want to find out more!
Tip: Why not offer something that only trade fair visitors can get if you make a firm appointment commitment in your video. Of course, you will only receive the surprise once they have visited your stand.
Social media platforms are another powerful tool. Depending on the industry, not all platforms are suitable. If you are active on social media and have a community, then use it. As a rule, a social media community consists not only of customers, but also of potential customers. Let them know when your next trade fair appearance will be. A video is also suitable here. Use various posting options in social media. On Facebook, the story function is suitable, but also the normal image or video post in the feed.
It is not all too rare for trade fair exhibitors to assume why their target group is coming to their stand. Unfortunately, they are often wrong!
Don't just assume that you know what is best for your target group. Test out in advance what your target group expects at your stand. How can you do this? Quite simply. Again, use the power of social media to do this. Post 2 or 3 surveys with ideas and see what your target group chooses. Design your trade fair presence based on these results.
Specifically: Is your target group more likely to be “attracted” by product tests or giveaways? Would they prefer a presentation or an active panel discussion with experts? What is more interesting for them? The targeted, active interaction of visitors can also make them curious for more.
Test it out in advance via social media and/or an email survey to be the number 1 exhibitor at your trade fair appearance.
Don't do everything on your own. Even if you are a brilliant event planner and very well organized, you do not have to and should not do everything on your own. Put together a team in your company to take care of the trade fair appearance. Distribute the tasks with deadlines and expectations on your part. This will give you more time for higher priority tasks.
A must at every trade fair: The giveaways! They serve as a lure and keep your company and product in the (potential) customer's mind. But this only works if the giveaway has been chosen carefully. Classics such as ballpoint pens, writing pads, jelly babies etc. always work and are gratefully accepted by everyone. But will they make you stand out from the other exhibitors at your stand? Rather unlikely. Be creative and offer something that not everyone is offering. It is important that the giveaway offers the trade fair visitor added value.
Leave nothing to chance. You probably have very good employees who give their best at every trade fair appearance. But train your employees before they go to the trade fair. Make it clear what the right approach should be at the trade fair. Don't let your employees be too brash and make prospective customers feel pressured or frightened. Role plays that can be practiced a few weeks in advance are suitable for this.
Find the optimal balance between direct approach and restraint. If your employees are too pushy or too reserved, this will have an irritating effect on trade fair visitors and tend to put them off.
You know how it is: only 3 seconds are often enough to make a first impression. It must be the same at your trade fair stand. The trade fair visitor must understand what you offer within 3 seconds. What your company offers.
Keep that in mind when communicating to the outside world. Because the question from a trade fair visitor: “What do you do?” is probably the most annoying thing that can happen. It is also important that you incorporate this messaging into all communication. And at an early stage. In other words, even when you are promoting your trade fair presence.
Even the best planning can go awry. Even if you have taken everything into account, you should definitely have a plan B up your sleeve. Plan C and D wouldn't be bad either. Every day at a trade fair can be different. A different audience can visit the exhibition halls every day. Be prepared if plan A doesn't work.
There are always situations where not all customers or interested parties are able to visit your trade fair stand. There can be various reasons for this. One reason may be that you have international customers for whom it is considerably more effort to come to the trade fair than for someone who lives nearby.
This is why it is possible to offer virtual events or hybrid events. It's unbelievable what is possible virtually. The advantage is that you can still offer customers who are unable to come to the trade fair the opportunity to visit you and exchange ideas with you. International customers and interested parties in particular benefit from this.
Another option is to get to know your target group via a virtual event. What does that mean? In addition to the section “What your target group wants!”, a virtual event can also be used to find out what your target group prefers. For example, visitors are more likely to respond to flyers or be inspired by video sequences. All of this can be created in a virtual world to clarify the decisive questions for you.
Of course everyone wants to sell at a trade fair! To win new customers! That's why you present your stand at a trade fair. However, never lose sight of the following:
Arouse interest and offer a solution for your target group! It must also be an event for your visitors! Be different from the others.
The days of “market criers” are over. Preparation is everything! So, prepare well and offer interesting and exciting content for your target group as well as an inviting trade fair stand.