Make your trade fair appearance a success

Preparation – the best way to prepare for exhibiting at a trade fair

• Plan well ahead by thinking carefully about which trade fairs or events your target audience will attend. Focus on these events during your planning.
• Be clear about your budget. In addition to the costs for your stand space and construction, also factor in costs for any trade fair discounts, competition prizes and the like.
• Set yourself realistic goals. Goals can be either quantitative or qualitative. Think in advance about how you will measure their achievement.
• Consider which products or services will help you achieve your goals most effectively. Focus on presenting these key offerings and avoid trying to present your entire range – less is more!
• Talk to the trade fair organiser or your stand builder about how best to showcase your products. Even modular stands can be customised and adapted to your needs. Or you can rent reusable stand systems that offer even more customisation options while staying within budget.
• Let your customers know that you’ll be exhibiting at the trade fair. Send them personal invitations. Exhibitors often receive a certain number of free or discounted tickets. Use these tickets for your best customers.
• Look for ways to actively involve your stand visitors in the experience. This could include competitions or interactive tasks or challenges related to your products or services. If your business already has sales tools, such as apps, consider integrating them into the trade fair experience. Offer incentives like prizes or discounts. In return, you’ll gain valuable contact information.

During the trade fair – there’s no need to hide!

• A trade fair is THE place for making contacts. So rather than waiting for people to visit your stand, actively seek them out and invite them to visit it. For this, come up with an “opening line” that you’re comfortable with – and that you can deliver authentically. This is a way of breaking the ice and getting people to talk to you.
• Think about the simplest way to collect and quickly process contact information. Does the trade fair organiser provide suitable tools for this? Do you have your own system that works well? Otherwise, you can prepare a printed contact form that visitors can fill in themselves. The contact information you collect is your most valuable asset. Look after it!
• For the trade fair, choose people from your team who feel comfortable selling and are good at approaching people.
• Make sure your team is familiar with the stand, the available presentation tools and your goals.

After the trade fair – seize the moment

• Thank everyone who visited your stand. Recap the highlights and emphasise that any appointments arranged during the trade fair will be followed up promptly.
• Stick to agreed callback times and send requested materials promptly. Make the most of this unique opportunity to position yourself as a reliable partner.
• Extend the life of the trade fair by sharing videos and photos on your website and social media. Continue the story by showcasing prize handovers or other highlights from the event. Content created specifically for the trade fair also deserves a second life across your own media channels.

Some of these points may be familiar to seasoned trade fair participants. But for businesses exhibiting for the first time, it’s valuable to revisit these basics. In the hectic weeks leading up to a trade fair, such essentials often get lost among countless tasks.

What’s more, you’re not alone! Your stand builder can advise you on many other things besides stand construction. They can provide input on how to best implement your ideas and tailor the stand precisely to your needs. However, the biggest success factor will always be your stand team and the way they engage with visitors. It can therefore be worthwhile to organise a pre-event workshop to prepare your staff for their roles.