How to use exhibitions to grow your business

I’ve always used exhibitions as a core part of my marketing strategy. At my first exhibition I picked up 100 leads and converted 70 of them into paying clients over the course of the year. When I tell this story people are always astounded – they don’t often find they have such a profitable experience! So I’d like to share with you, in a nutshell, how I did it, and how you can do the same.

1. Be clear about why you’re going. Set yourself realistic goals and make sure your marketing collateral and stand design is set up to help you achieve them.
2. Understand why the visitors are going to the exhibition. What do they expect of you? How can you fulfil their needs (most people get it wrong by pushing what they want to sell at visitors – try coming at it from a different angle!)
3. Create a stand with wow factor. A couple of posters you printed out at home won’t cut it. Be creative, set the scene and allow a little time for wow factor. Think styling! You can see an example of a stand we designed for Photographer Matt Pereira on our blog.
4. If you want to sell products on the day, run a compelling offer (10% off won’t cut it!). Think big discounts, gifts with purchase or bundle offers that compel people to buy now.
5. Selling a service? Think about what you want people to do next – book an appointment perhaps? Create a small “taster” session so that people can try you out without too much commitment. Most of the 70 people that bought from me spent �49 on some business cards. It was a low-value order that enabled people to try us out without having to think too hard. What could you do?
6. Bring your product or service to life. Offer tastings, trials or demonstrations.
7. Run a relevant (not bottle of champagne) competition to gain targeted leads.
8. Try and get a speaker slot if that’s your bag – you’ll boost your exposure and demonstrate your expertise.
9. Be creative with the giveaways. Do people really want another pen? Try and think of something creative that reinforces your brand message. We give away seeds because we help people grow their businesses!
10. Schedule in time before the exhibition for the follow up. Make sure you’ve blocked out at least a couple of days to follow up on all your leads – if you don’t, your competitors will!
11. Have a robust communication plan and be persistent. I converted 70% of my leads because I kept in touch, I called every single one of them and I made sure I kept them on my postal and email distribution lists.
12. Review the event and think about what you could do differently next time.

Getting this right is hard work, but it’s absolutely worth it. If you’ve got an exhibition coming up why not join me on 18th March for a morning of exhibition planning! I’ll walk you through each step to ensure you get the most out of the opportunity. Workshop: How to use exhibitions to grow your business.

This post was taken from my Marvellous Marketing Tips newsletter. If you’d like to be added to the list simply email the studio studio@flourishstudios.co.uk and ask to sign up (just until we get a more sophisticated mechanism in place!).

Tagged as in Business Strategy, Exhibitions, Fiona's Book, Marketing