Trade Shows and Exhibitions: How to Avoid Embarrassment
Exhibitions and trade shows are a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about products and services. The problem is that they also carry a lot of risk. This is because you are meeting both customers and competitors in a space dedicated to your industry. Think of it as a super targeted high street, you not only need to stand out, but you need to stand out in the right way. The last thing you need is for people to remember your stand for the wrong reasons!
Just like on the high street there are two opportunities to grab attention and leads. Your first is the presentation of your exhibition stands. If it helps then you can think of each stand as a shop front. It is there to grab the interest of passers-by and show of your brand, as well as your products and services. The second chance that you have is the people you have manning the stand, your shop assistants. However these are more specialised. If you have helpful and enthusiastic staff who really know your company and the product that creates a great impression. Think of the Apple ‘Geniuses’ who act as product evangelists as well as shop assistants.
Despite the high street analogy there are some important differences between the high street and a trade show. Whilst it is possible to make a sale, at many exhibitions most of the attendees won’t interested in buying then and there, but rather are researching the options that are available. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff will help to create a great impression which should make chasing up leads easier. The Flipside is that aggressive sales techniques may turn people off and lower the number of leads you get. (Again you want to think more like an Apple Store than a used car dealership.)
You also want you staff to be performing at their best, Trade shows are usually busy, and require long hours, which means that it is easy for staff to tire themselves out. There are ways to avoid this though. For example using scripts when you are training your staff gives them some opening questions to allow them to gauge potential customers. This then allows them to devote their mental resources to engaging with customers rather than approaching them.
You also need make sure you bring enough people so that everyone will have enough breaks from the stall. A good amount is to bring enough people to allow everyone one hour off for every two hours on. This gives staff a chance to either walk around the hall spying on the competition or to have a break and a sit down. Well rested staff will find it far easier to be enthusiastic and engaging and if they are away from the stand on their break then they won’t put customers off whilst eating.
First impressions count and are essential for any marketing opportunity. Exhibitions, if done well, give you a great chance to showcase your brand, done poorly they offer a great chance to embarrass it.
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