The planning of a fair participation needs a lot of time and money. If you want that the investments are worth it, you should pay attention to some basic aspects while planning your presentation. In the list below, you find six typical faults you should avoid.
1 – Late beginning of preparations
Actually, you can’t start the preparation of your fair project too early. Starting betimes means to have enough time to compare offers, negotiate prices and realize changings without spending too much money. Furthermore, prices for hotel rooms, flight tickets and tariffs for renting special locations are less expensive and/or you still have a bigger choice. When the beginning of a fair approaches, amendments and requests get more and more expensive. Regular meetings of the project team help to identify problems and realize improvements in time.
2 – Inefficient conception and use of the stand
An experienced stand builder knows useful tricks to make your stand special and to look high grade even if you have only a small budget. Some stand constructors also offer discounts for early bookers. It is important to think about a stand concept and design that helps to use, at best, the stand or parts of it for other fairs again. Stand builders can often store the stand or parts to use them for further fairs. Of course, this decision has an impact on the used materials and the construction method. But this long-term strategy could quickly worth it.
3 – Too less attention
Before the beginning of a fair, a company should inform existing customers, prospective customers and business partners about the participation by putting in action different communication and advertising activities. Depending on the defined goals, mailings, information on social media, personal invitations, advertisements on TV, radio or in newspapers and specialised magazines and a short information in the mail signature and on the printed items of the company can be used to spread the news of the fair participation. It is important to start all these activities early enough. Appointments on the stand with important customers and business partners should be made beforehand. Thanks to a good communication and advertising campaign you can entice a lot of visitors to your stand.
4 – Insufficiently trained stand members
Not only a unique and eye-catching stand design is important, but also a well trained and professional stand crew which addresses the visitors correctly, looks always friendly and motivated despite the high requirements and knows about the company’s main messages regarding the presented services and products. Often, this aspect gets neglected. The careful choice and training of the stand members does not only concern the staff coming from the own company but also the hostesses and hosts. All tasks should be clearly defined before the beginning and elements such as the clothing should fit with the global concept.
5 – Wrong advertising material
You should always have enough information material such us flyers and leaflets. These items should be accessible to all stand members. Furthermore, you should think about the appropriate give-aways. To distribute balloons, biros and sweeties with the company logo only because your competitors do it could miss your defined objectives. Give-aways that are more special and represent the company’s image and values have a better memory effect. Of course, they are more expensive, you don’t have to give them to every passing visitor but only to important and relevant people.
6 – Incomplete follow-up work
After a fair, the normal business routine must be done and there is little time for the follow-up processing. A good follow-up work doesn’t only mean to deal with the collected contacts and to realise agreements made at the fair but also to reflect on the entire fair project. Which aspects were good, which things didn’t work, which competitors had interesting ideas? If you neglect this global reflection, you let pass a high potential for improvements for future fairs.
Fairs are always complex projects that are often organised in passing. Doing so, unnecessary costs are generated and the defined goals can quickly be missed. In the end, there is a disappointing result. But if you start your preparation early enough and if you follow some basic aspects, a fair could bring a high return of investments.
We are happy to advise you – your exhibition construction team from Leipzig.
