Submitted by: Be Exhibitions  (https://www.beexhibitions.co.uk/), Post published: 5th August 2019

It’s very easy for individuals and businesses to shrug off trade exhibitions, but as an industry that still generates billions of pounds for exhibitors, should they be so quick to dismiss? In this article, I want to make sure that if you are attending an exhibition, you have the right tools in place to get the most out of it and earn a good return on your investment.

I’m going to focus on the three key reasons you attend an exhibition as a company:

Purpose – Be clear on why you’re attending the exhibition in the first place
Aim – Set out clear goals for what you want to achieve
Execution – How to make sure you effectively capture data on visitors to your stand.

Purpose – What is your purpose for attending?

So, you’ve decided to pay for a shell scheme or space only stand – why? Are you there to promote a new product, new website, new service or to promote the company to new and existing customers? Or are you simply there to make your mark on your industry? Whatever the reason, be clear on it because it will be easier to measure your success later. For example, if you are promoting your new website, you can log on to your analytics software after the event and track the interest that has been generated and therefore tracking how successful the event was for you in your promotion. Of course, that’s quite a simple example but it can be extended to product and service.

As well as measuring the success of the event and being clear on the reason for exhibiting, you’re also giving your team a goal and purpose to reach on the day, which leads us on to…

Aim – Setting out clear goals
This may seem obvious but when you’re attending an exhibition, make sure you have clear goals in mind. Are you there to sell a product and service there and then or to just generate leads to follow up on later? Set out clear goals for the exhibition, so that as a team, you can work towards meeting them. For example, if you are there to generate leads, then put a daily target of taking down 100 people’s details that day between the team, or if it’s to sell products, make sure you put a daily revenue target in place. This gives you better focus on exhibiting and makes sure that you are getting the best out of your investment of time and money!

You can also break down your goals into more manageable chunks by assigning individuals their own tasks to make it all add up to the purpose of your attendance. If your goals are clear, it makes planning your method of work much easier and your time more enjoyable.

Execution – Effectively data capturing visitors to your stand

Nowadays, data capturing is simple and easy with the use of technology with apps from the likes of LEADR Data Capture*. This app allows you to take down the details of visitors that walk on to your stand and you engage with while being data compliant and effective for your business. It has customisable options to make it relevant to you. With instant email communications and a dashboard to track your progress of capturing leads, you can follow them up and easily measure the success of the event. With no contract, it’s a great option for any exhibiting company.

You can of course still effectively capture data from a visitor by using the badge scanners that some exhibitions provide and scanning the badges of any visitors – and if needs be, you can always use the humble pen and paper! No matter how you plan to do it, if you capture the correct data, you can follow it up after the event and make new customers, relationships and of course sales.
Remember that every visitor at the exhibition will be a warm lead. Exhibitions are dedicated industry and sector events – it won’t just be anyone visiting, so make the most of their time and yours.

*LEADR Data Capture is a FREE App that securely, accurately and compliantly capture sales leads/enquiries. You only pay for what you capture, no contract or monthly charges.