This document provides guidance on planning and attending exhibitions as a marketing tool. It discusses thinking about objectives for attending an exhibition and measuring success. Key steps include budgeting costs, pre-marketing to customers, creating an eye-catching stand with graphics and samples, being friendly and engaging with visitors, and following up with contacts within a few weeks to determine the results. The overall goal is to get quality leads from exhibition attendees rather than just handing out materials without developing relationships.

1. itin.co.uk
www.colour
how to...
Make an
Exhibition of
Yourself

2. INTRODUCTION
This is a user friendly guide compiled to help you plan, attend and evaluate
the reasons for using exhibitions as a marketing tool for your company. This
information has been gained over 23 years of hard work and personal
experiences. The most valuable of which, exhibiting on my own, on a
Saturday in Eldon Square, Newcastle (Newcastle United playing at home and
losing) with a small modular stand that had a TV and video. The morning was
fine lots of mums and children, everybody was happy. From 3.15pm onwards
the place was like a scene out of The Charge of the Light Brigade. All the shops
pulled down their shutters as the "Toon Army" started to vent their
frustrations. Needless to say, I arrived back at work on the Monday minus one
exhibition stand, no TV and no video.
That may be an extreme example but exhibiting is not for the faint hearted.
It's time-consuming, hard work and very expensive. So use this guide to help
you prepare and avoid some of the pitfalls.
Mark Lancaster
Sales & Marketing Director
Colour It In Ltd
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c

3. Index 3
Think 4
Plan 5
Do's and don'ts 6
What to do next 7
Colour It In Ltd
Hartwith Way
Harrogate
HG3 2XA
T 01423 813 515
info@colouritin.co.uk
www.colouritin.co.uk
© Mark Lancaster 2010
No part of this document may be copied or reproduced without
written permission of the copyright holder.
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c

4. THINK
Why exhibit?
There are 4 main reasons for taking your company to an exhibition.
! Face to face contact with existing and potential customers
! Launching new products
! Increase sales
! Heighten brand awareness
These are the cornerstones, but what are your objectives and how are you
going to measure success? You must be clear about your aims before you sign
on the dotted line.
Look at the type of exhibition you want to attend and think carefully about
what you want to gain from it. For example a specialist food producer would
need to attend two types of exhibition, ones that are open to the public and
trade exhibitions. Public exhibitions or regional food fairs will give the
producer a chance to meet the consumer face to face and gauge reaction and
maybe sell some stock, whereas at trade exhibitions they are more likely to
meet buyers and retailers who want quantity. So research the exhibitions
you are considering attending and ask questions. If it's not right for you don't
do it.
Measuring your success is always hard, but a simple rule is quality not
quantity. So many exhibitors fall into the trap of handing out brochures, bags
and gifts like confetti but who did you give them to? By taking something
from you, you have now earned the right to speak to the visitor and at the
very least get their details. This gives you something to follow up and start to
develop a relationship, without it, all you have are sore feet!
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c

5. PLAN
You have now decided to go to an exhibition but do not book yet even if the
organiser is on the phone offering you the deal of a lifetime. Without
planning, that deal could end up costing you a lot more than you are saving.
Budget, how much should I spend? What do I get for my money? Can I afford
to be away from the business? The average cost for a 3m x 3m shell scheme at
a 2 day national exhibition, manned by 3 members of staff, using hotel
accommodation is £5,000.00. So when you are budgeting remember to add
up all of your costs, look at what your stand package includes: lights, plug
sockets, carpets and furniture if not get, estimates. Graphics, advertising,
logistics all add up to the overall cost so only when you are happy that
exhibiting is affordable, book your space.
Now what? Well you have taken the plunge and paid the organiser the first
instalment, now the work really begins. First thing to do is make sure your
customers know that you are going to be there so write and tell them or look
out for PR opportunities in the exhibition or trade press, this can often offset
the cost of advertising. Pre-marketing is vital to the success of your exhibition
experience so be canny, get to know the organiser, look at sponsorship
opportunities in fact anything to increase your profile.
What are you going to tell visitors when they are at the exhibition? Have you
got an eye-catching stand? A visitor takes approximately 3 seconds to walk
past your 3m stand so you have to make them stop and look. Good graphics
and a well lit stand are a must to get you noticed. You have now got them onto
your stand, have you got stock or examples to show them? Rehearse your
lines and remember to take their details even if you already know them -
things change!
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c

6. DO'S AND DON'TS
The day has come the lights are on you've polished your shoes, it's show
time! But you can't let it go now, it is sad walking around exhibition halls when
you see a great deal of time and effort wasted by a lack of attention to detail.
Remember you have paid the organiser and all attention now falls on the
visitor.
When you are on your stand these simple things mean a lot to the visitor
Do
! Be friendly and welcoming even if your feet are hurting
! Listen to what people have to say about you, your products
and your competitors
! Be aware of what is going on around you
Don't
! Sit down
! Hide at the back
! Use the phone
! Eat or drink
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c

7. WHAT NEXT?
It's over, you're back in the office and the words never again are ringing in
your ears. Wrong! This is where you start the follow up.
A well planned letter together with any information or samples requested at
the exhibition must go out within 5 working days. You should also aim to
make all follow-up phone calls within 14 working days. If you do not do this
you will have wasted your time and money.
Now you can start to measure the success or failure of exhibiting. There are
many ways of doing this, some are very analytical and form part of a greater
corporate strategy, others are far simpler. I would keep it simple, 3 or 4 key
indicators will give sufficient information. You really need to be performing
this task within a month of returning from the exhibition although this can
vary with market sectors. At the end of the day you want to know what you
got for your money so simply dividing the cost of the exhibition by the
number of positive leads will give a rough idea as the viability of exhibiting as
part of your overall marketing strategy.
o.uk
olouritin.c
www.c