You will come across myriads of ways in which you can go wrong while planning your exhibition stand. Things can be forgotten quite easy as they generally seem to tip away from your mind while looking at the aspects there.
Do not worry; we have brought for you the following ways in which the mistakes can be avoided while planning an exhibition stand UK:
1. Going to the wrong event
Exhibiting at the wrong expo will mean you risk presenting your brand to an audience who may not be interested in your products or services due to the different values they hold, compared to your ideal target market.
This can impact your exhibition experience as it will limit the number of attendees you are able to engage with at your stand.
How you can avoid this mistake:
Before choosing which expo to put up your exhibition stand at, research the demographics of people who attend. This will help you gain insight into the audience that the event engages with.
Think about whether their values and attitudes can align with your brand, and whether they will resonate with the products or services you are presenting to them.
2. Not having clear expo goals
Not having a clear outline of what you hope to achieve can make the process of deciding where, when or how to exhibit quite difficult. Your expo goals will help you determine everything from the design and location of your stand to your marketing plan and sales approach.
Without knowing what you want to achieve you risk having unclear creative ideas that a designer may struggle to interpret; therefore, your design won’t reflect your brand and provide the results you desire.
How you can avoid this mistake:
Before deciding where or what to exhibit, spend time defining why you want to exhibit and what you hope to achieve. Analyze your sales, marketing, and reputation to find areas for improvement or enhancement.
Start outlining your goals 12 months before exhibiting and make sure your team is aware of these.
3. Missing the design mark
Having an eye-catching bespoke exhibition stand is one of the most important parts of exhibiting. If your stand can’t capture the attention of attendees then you lose opportunities to interact, gather leads or generate sales. Your stand needs to be highly visible, approachable, practical and suited to your brand.
How you can avoid this mistake:
You can still have a great stand on a low budget by allocating your money where it matters most. Choose a smaller stand with high-quality graphics, furniture, LCD screens, and bright lighting to create an eye-catching space, rather than a larger stand with a boring look and feel.
4. Not engaging with visitors to gather leads
Expos are the perfect opportunity to gather contacts for future sales and business opportunities. You may not be gathering leads because your method of approach isn’t suitable for the demographic, or maybe you don’t have a method of approach.
How you can avoid this mistake:
Be proactive! Engage with attendees, educate them on your brand, share your company vision and ask them about their own. Exchange business cards and contact details of those who visit your stand.
Avoid speaking to the same prospect for too long, you can easily follow up with them at a later date.
5. Not having a marketing plan
Creating a marketing plan and implementing tactics is essential for promoting your brand and your attendance at the expo. No matter what your identified goal is, marketing can help you achieve it.
Without marketing, you risk your target audience not knowing about your exhibition stand and gaining enough interest on the day of the expo. This will impact your ability to gather leads and communicate with your target audience.
How you can avoid this mistake:
Invest time in developing a marketing plan that reflects your goals. Research marketing tactics that have been successful in a similar business and how they might work for your exhibition.
Marketing doesn’t have to be difficult or daunting. Start simple by sending out emails to existing customers, write blog posts, or post on Instagram.
6. Poor stand placement
Having a poorly located exhibitions stand at an expo can affect your ability to attract visitors, communicate with your audience and obtain leads.
Often, the stands towards the far back or sides of a venue receive a lower rate of foot traffic; therefore, depending on your goals, this won’t be an ideal placement for your stand.
Tip to avoid this blunder:
Startup early! Organizers will often sell space to their expo a year in advance. They will also sell space at their own expo for the following year’s event, so it’s a great idea to attend this expo and snap up the best location and also get in touch with the exhibition stand companies UK who will help you build the best exhibition stands.
Work towards building a positive relationship with the organizers to increase your chance of receiving any early offers.
As you can see, there are many common mistakes that exhibitors make when planning their exhibition stand. Whether you’re a first-time exhibitor or an experienced exhibitor, you will make mistakes and come across challenges. Just remember, that each obstacle can be overcome, and you can still have a worthwhile exhibitor experience.
