It has been a month since we exhibited at Venues + Events Live Exhibition. This was an incredible opportunity for us to showcase One Moorgate Place and meet and greet guests who are interested in our venue.
We learnt a lot from the event, particularly on how to set up and run a successful stand.We share our top tips on how to design, produce and man an effective stand which gaurentrees results.
1.DESIGN
It’s important your stand stands out! When exhibiting at the Venues + Events Live Exhibition last year, we realised how many fantastic stands there are out there. Therefore,we went above and beyond to secure a beautiful stand which was themed and carefully put together over a period of six months.
It’s important you plan your stand with your brand teams and agencies so you can create an exemplary design which is engaging, interactive and adheres to company guidelines and budget constraints. You want to be competitive, particularly if it’s a similar product to yours so research what your competitors did last year so you can make yours bigger and better.
It may be advantageous to use some digital software like a TV to showcase your product. We used our virtual tour to showcase our events space. Have a look here. Some other stands used virtual reality which, as you can imagine, drove a lot of visitors to their stand!
2.EARLY PROMOTION
One aspect we looked at is promoting our presence at the event way in advance. You want to gain traction for your stand and get people thinking about attending as soon as possible. Create an annual communication plan where you can plan out promotion across all of your marketing channels. Ensure this includes design, artwork, budgets, digital marketing, customised emails and MPU leader boards, branded e-signatures and more for maximum exposure. Perhaps start with a save the date campaign to get people to calenderise the event months before. You can then produce a campaign which builds up slowly and becomes more vigorous and frequent towards the date of the event.
3.CONTENT DRIVES PRESENCE
Have you considered contacting relevant publications to promote your stand? Perhaps you can contact the event organisers directly and see if they will help you to promote your stand through their promotional material? It may cost a bit extra to be included in the programme, but it will enhance your exposure and hopefully traction to your stand. There may have a cost attached, but if you book an advertorial space in advance, their events team may be happy to receive additional content!
4. INCENTIVISE YOUR STAND
Everyone loves a competition! At Venues + Events Live Exhibition we saw plenty of stands run business card competitions based on pick-of-the-draw incentive. Prizes include dinner for two or a hotel stay. We opted for bespoke champagne moulded chocolate to fit into our theme. They went down a treat! You could do a product demo, a chance to test something out, an experiment, game or quiz. Give them something to remember you by!
5. HAVE A QUICK DEBRIEF
Make sure you debrief your team on what you want out the day. Do they need to sell a particular product or package? Perhaps you could put together a rota, so your chosen exhibitors get to have a break. Make sure your exhibitors are all on the same page, so the information they are giving attendees is both relevant and consistent.
6. PAY ATTENTION TO VISITORS!
Make sure you are paying attention to customers at all times! It’s very easy to get distracted by other stands, glitches or just general chats with colleagues, but remember appearances matter! Try and find a position which is comfortable and open, so you are approachable and not thinking about how painful your feet are! We recommend seating which keeps you at eye level with visitors and keeps it welcoming, informal and ache free. Don’t bombard passers-by. If you ask a relaxed question like how are you, they are more likely to feel they can approach you.
7. CATCHING LEADS
At every event, you will need to capture all data. Most exhibitions now use a technology of scanning badges using a Handiscan which captures attendee data on your behalf. They can be expensive have proved to be time-efficient and GDPR compliant. You can also use an electronic device like a tablet with a feedback form to capture your leads.
8. KEEP POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure you keep posting throughout the day, so your followers are aware of your presence and encourage more visits to your brand. Be careful not to overdo it! Perhaps send a post in the morning, mid-session and after the event across your channels. This could be in the form of several images, a video, or an Instagram story to get across your message in a creative and engaging way!
9.POST EVENT ACTIVITY
Once all leads are collected, you should communicate with those who may be potentially interested as soon as you can. Perhaps thank them for attending and allow them to get more information on your product and visit you at your offices to get leads further down the sales funnel
Have fun! Showcase your business or product by speaking to people who may have otherwise been difficult to capture. Take advantage of understanding the layout of the whole exhibition, so you assess competitors and seem very knowledgeable of the event when people visit your stand.
We hope to see you at our stand next year at the Venue + Events Live event 2020!
