Obvious things can be not so obvious. Main secrets of successful participation in trade fairs

If you want to participate in a trade fair but don’t know where to start and worry about missing something, this article is for you. We will explain how to prepare for trade fairs effectively to get maximum return on investment.

The goal of each company is development. The purpose of each business is profit. To achieve them, professionals have invented and tested (and this process is continuous and endless) a staggering number of different marketing tools. However, trade fair (trade show, exhibition) is still the only direct tool for business development. It allows you to communicate with each of your potential customers, to affect all five their senses, to give a good showing to your product, to answer questions, to remove objections and, most importantly, to build personal relationships with your customers. Usually, if a company has prepared for a trade fair correctly, it will receive not only an updated database of potential customers, but also several dozens of concluded contracts at the end of the fair.

Some companies never participate again after getting an unsuccessful experience (commonly they refer to weak return and bad organization). Others come back again and again. Some exhibitors participate in BABY EXPO for 10, 15 or even 20 years in a row. What are the secrets of success and the reasons for failure, provided that initial opportunities and general conditions are equal for all exhibitors? Everything is simple — you have to PREPARE for trade fairs. Careful and well-thought-out preparation is a basis of your success.

Just by coming to a fair, displaying products at the stand, or putting down the booklets, you are unlikely to achieve desired goals and results. Remember, participation in a trade fair is only one of the tools of complex marketing and PR work, not a “medicine” from low sales or absence of customers. In this and subsequent articles we will talk about how to maximize return from trade fairs by taking a few simple steps.

Participation in a trade fair can be divided into three stages:
Preparation prior to a fair;
Work during a fair
Work after a fair.

Preparations prior to a fair should include:
Advertising idea
Drawing of a stand layout
Signing of a contract with organizers, ordering of equipment and services
Production of promotional materials: information leaflets, posters, booklets, etc.
Production of information materials: technical descriptions, price lists, folders, etc.
Staff training
Costing

Work during a fair should include:
Staff scheduling
Staff briefing
Delivery and removal of exhibits
Work at the stand
Collection of information on customers

Work after a fair should include:
Registration and communication with visitors interested in your products during the fair
After-action review
Analysis of errors and successful solutions (own and seen at the stands of other exhibitors)

In the following articles, some of these components will be discussed in detail.