The Do’s and Don’t of Planning an Expo
With the growing trend of slumping sales in all industries, leaders in product sales have realized that industry trade shows and product expos have become a very important part of their product's eventual success or failure. An excellent product can still fail of it is not presented to the world in a professional manner with a concise and consistent message. A trade show or expo is a brilliant way to deliver that message to a mass group of people.
Trade shows and expos have built in client bases because these events are tailored to your product and the people there are looking for that product. So, how do you make your particular product stand out from the hundreds or thousands of products at a trade show or expo? There are three main ways to enhance your product and grab people's attention.
The first is exhibit design. There are many exhibit manufacturers out there that will help you with anything from small exhibit designs for start up companies to extravagant exhibits for large shows. An exhibit design should reflect your company's image and mission as well as enhance your products image to the public. You should work with your set designer, not for them, to determine the best size, color scheme and lay out to fit your vision. You should always have creative input as well as the final say during the drafting stage. Also, plan for the future. Keep several questions in mind when planning your exhibit. Will you be attending several exhibits with this product or is it a one-time show? Will you need your people to set up and break down the exhibit or will you need assistance with setting it up or tearing it down? Many designers will offer these services.
Second, a well trained sales staff or product development staff will do wonders for your product once that beautiful exhibit gets them over to your corner of the expo. No matter how well your exhibit is set up you will lose potential clients or customers if your staff appears to be out of their element. Extensive, proper training is a must for your sales staff to drive home success.
The third part of a successful trade show or expo is collateral. That's a term for literature or take-home items that clearly describe your company goals, mission and current product line. Simple black and white photocopies won't do here. Full color professionally done literature will grab your potential customer's eye every time they look at it. Not every customer that walks into your expo is interested in buying on the spot and not every customer that walks away from your expo is disinterested in your product. With those potential customers the best thing you can do is give them something to walk away with to keep them thinking about your product. This will drive up future sales for your product.
As it becomes more difficult to pull in that consumer dollar the method of advertising used will become more important. A trade show or expo gives you a built in demographic that is tailored to your product. Make the most of it and you will be able to drive success to your business.
About the Author:
K. Green has a great deal of experience in setting up trade exhibits and choosing exhibit manufacturers
