马景涛版张无忌:Top tips to make the most of your Exhibition attendance

Having booked your stand weeks ago at your preferred show you are now looking forward to speaking to many potential franchisees, right?  Wrong.  Unfortunately, just booking your stand does not guarantee your success at an event especially during tough times, says Victoria Bel Gil, franchise marketing specialist from Coconut Creatives. Here are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd.

Pre-show preparation
An external event is a key opportunity for your company to recruit new franchisees and the best recruiters always plan their exhibition attendance like a military operation.

Set a budget for the whole event – stand, transport, hotel costs, expenses, staffing, merchandise and material and stick to it!

It’s essential to book your stand early to ensure you benefit from any early booking discounts that organisers are likely to be offering.  It is also worth taking a look at any other opportunities to reach attendees such as pre show email reminders to registrants or online show website advertising.  Often your stand booking includes a free show guide entry and again for another fee this can be enhanced but make sure you take the time necessary to write a easy to read and to the point entry or get someone professional to do it for you!

Plan your stand material carefully – you can buy inexpensive small pull-up exhibition stands, which are very light and easy to set up.  Or you may wish to invest in a more elaborate stand with flexible panels however remember whatever you use you will need to be able to transport it to your venue and most need at least 2 people to assemble.

A5 flyers are a useful and inexpensive option as a giveaway at the stand – you may also want to investigate costs of inserting your leaflets into the main show guide.  Buying your leaflet in bulk to use at a few events is an easy way to save high printing costs.  Keep your flyer colourful and eye catching and it is worth getting this material professionally designed.

How to stand out from the crowd
The most successful stands at events often have chosen a theme or have used their own brand image to innovate.  Choosing a theme might sound elaborate but it needn’t be, it could simple be a colour that you use on all your stand material and advertising – think Orange or perhaps you wish to pick a favourite sweet or chocolates and then you can use them on the stand, dress as them, hand them out, use as imagery on your leaflets or online.  The name of the game is to attract attention to your stand and steer it away from any competitors.  

To use merchandise or not, that is the question
This is definitely the most frequently asked question.  The answer depends on your budget and whether you have a logo that is strong enough to transfer onto merchandise.  The best merchandise I have seen links to the theme idea I have already explored above for example a theme of purple – could mean your merchandise is big purple sweets from quality street – a purple pen with your logo – I won’t go on you get the picture!

Maximise your exposure during the show
Getting to the show with an innovative stand design, merchandise and plenty of enthusiasm is a great start but there are a few more tricks to a successful show.  I always prefer to have two people working on a stand.  This allows for comfort breaks and also means that you can talk to twice the number of franchisees!  Brief your stand team on what you want them to do and how you want them to record the number and details of visitors to the stand remembering to cover any data protection issues. Never permit your staff to eat or drink at the stand, as you don’t want your potential franchisees put off by snacking staff.  

Another important target audience at exhibitions is the press – if you are able to gain any media attention during the show you will then benefit from extra visibility.   Most shows have a press stand for members of the press to come along and find out more about exhibitors or VIP attending.  There is an opportunity here to leave your Media Pack for any interested journalists to pick up to find out more about your franchise.  Alternatively drop off a press release to the organisers press office and ask them whether it can be included in their press packs.

Competitions
On stand competitions are a popular way to attract visitors to your stand and gain prospects details however you will need to decide if you are happy to gain prospects that may not be directly attracted to your franchise but your competition prize.

End of the show – not the end of the work!
Hopefully you have spoken to a lot of interested and attractive prospective franchisees and your exhibition has been a great success.  However, you can still get another go at the cherry on your return home.  Any details of interested prospects who have actively opted in to receive further details on your franchise can be followed up again by either an attractive branded email or personal phone call.  This can work wonders to make your franchise stand out from the crowd.

On your return go back to your original budget and calculate your total costs then take a look at the number of prospects you have spoken to – this can give you a rough return on investment snapshot to allow you to evaluate the shows effectiveness for a return visit.

For more information or to get some help planning your franchise campaigns for the next year including Exhibitions contact Coconut Creatives using the form below.