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How to Exhibit at a Trade Show in 7 Easy Steps

If you’ve got the chance to promote your business at an exhibition, you may be searching for more information on how to exhibit at a trade show. As one of the UK’s largest venues for exhibitions, we thought we’d share some of the top tips we’ve picked up over the years. 

Exhibiting at a trade show doesn’t need to be a daunting task. With advice from our team of industry professionals, we’ll help you make the most of your investment in 7 easy steps. 

Why Exhibit at a Trade Show

Trade shows offer a huge amount of business opportunities you don’t get elsewhere. It’s a chance to promote your brand, products and/or services while engaging directly with your target audience. After all, the visitors at trade shows have a genuine interest in this area. 

If you’re still wondering why exhibit at a trade show, there are more perks! They generate leads and increase awareness in a face-to-face environment, providing the ideal platform for networking. We’re not just talking about conversations with potential customers, it’s also a chance to mingle with industry peers and decision makers.

Now you know more about the pros of getting yourself to a trade show, let’s go into more detail about how to exhibit at a trade show. 

How do You Promote Yourself at a Trade Show?

Once you’ve decided a trade show is a route you want to try, there are 7 easy steps you can take to promote yourself and make the day a success. Ultimately, you want to maximise the number of visitors to your stand to get the most from your investment. 

Let’s take a look at the steps we’d recommend on how to exhibit at a trade show.

Step 1: Do Your Research

What’s the best trade show for your business? In short:

  • One covering the right industry 
  • Delivering a good amount of traders 
  • And also a good amount of attendees!
  • It must be appropriate for your business objectives and goals

Researching the above factors in advance is absolutely crucial to your success. If you turn up at the wrong exhibition, your chances of making a good ROI are severely reduced.

Lots of trade shows provide information on the demographics of the people attending, so you can even do a deep dive into job descriptions. Ideally, you want the attendees to be decision-makers. 

At the National Conference Centre, our central location makes us ideally positioned for attracting large numbers of attendees to exhibitions.

A suited male researching how to exhibit at a trade show

Step 2: Secure Your Location Early

Once you’ve chosen your exhibition, it’s worth registering early to secure the best possible location. Ideally, choose a stand near busy intersections, toilets and refreshment stations. Anywhere with high footfall and where lots of people are likely to congregate! 

Another top tip for how to exhibit at a trade show is to book your stand next to big-name brands that will draw the crowds in. If you choose to follow this tactic, make sure your stand is equally as eye-catching and won’t get lost amongst the hubbub of the industry leader. 

Step 3: Publicise Yourself in Advance

Make sure customers and clients know you’re going to be at the trade show. Publicise it on your website, in your email signatures, via dedicated email marketing campaigns and, of course, social media. 

This step is especially important if you’re planning on running competitions at the exhibition to build that awareness.

Wherever you publicise yourself, make sure it’s crystal clear where people can find you on the day. For example, include the stand number, location and the dates and times you’ll be there.

Step 4: Map out Your Goals

It’s vital to understand what you want to achieve by attending an exhibition. Set goals for you and your staff! It might be deciding how many email sign-up forms you want your staff to gather, or collating data on competitor brands.

Staff discussions should focus on this so everyone knows exactly what their purpose is and why to exhibit at a trade show.

A bright yellow interactive trade stand

Step 5: Attractive and Interactive Trade Stand

It goes without saying that you need an eye-catching stand to draw attention to your business. An attractive display visible from across the room stands the best chance of bringing the crowds in. 

When considering how to exhibit at a trade show, think about how you can interact with attendees. Interactive elements, such as touch screen tablets to gather customer information or product demonstrations are hugely successful. 

Take a look at our virtual tour to understand our spaces for yourself. 

Step 6: Trade Show Networking

An exhibition is a chance to meet face-to-face with new prospects and key figures in your industry. The power of in-person persuasion should never be underestimated! Engaging with people in this way is the fastest way to build new relationships. 

Trade show networking is a chance to make lasting connections and swap business cards. You never know who could become a future customer, supplier or partner. 

Step 7: Make Sure You Follow Up

Finally, the follow up. Don’t let all your hard work from the exhibition go to waste by not contacting the people you said you would. 

Even if you didn’t say you’d contact anyone, you need to keep your business at the front of everyone’s minds. Use the data you collected to reach out and convert those leads into sales. 

How to Exhibit at a Trade Show – The Recap

These steps are designed to help you maximise the return on investment from a trade show. As a leading exhibition venue, the National Conference Centre is here to help you make the most of the unique opportunities exhibitions bring businesses. 

Rather than wondering how to exhibit at a trade show, contact us today to discuss your requirements. 

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