Ensure success at a fashion trade show
by participating in trade shows you can reaffirm existing business relationships, identify new and potential customers and best of all check out your opposition. Regine Vandenberg, managing director of Exhibition Management, explains how to get the best results at a trade show.
Choose the right show
Make sure you choose the show with a good record of attracting your kind of buyers and book your display site early. You will have a better choice of stands, lots of time for planning and may be eligible for an early booking discount.
To judge a show's potential obtain a list of exhibitors from the organiser to determine whether the show covers your particular industry. Speak to companies who exhibited at the last show, to gauge how successful it was. Obtain an audited breakdown of show visitors from the organiser, to see if the visitors are your target audience. Most importantly, ask the organiser for a list of current, confirmed exhibitors.
Select a position
Position is all-important. Establish how much space you ideally require to display your products/services and check whether this then fits within your budget. Select a stand with high traffic flow, ideally with more frontage than depth for better exposure and design your stand so it looks professional ? a corner stand is one of the best options, as is a stand positioned anywhere within the ?V? area extending from the show entrance.
Then having made this valuable marketing investment, get on with exploiting the opportunities it provides.
Design your stand
When designing your stand, remember, trade shows are a competitive environment. You only have seconds to attract visitors? attention and engage them with your message. When it comes to graphics, the rule generally is larger, bolder, simpler. And remember; leave plenty of room for visitors (buyers) on your stand. At least 50 per cent of your floor area should be left for visitors. Remember, stand design isn?t a state-of-the-art interior design competition. But you will be competitive if your stand functions in terms of attracting, retaining and communicating to show attendees.
Pre-show strategy
Bear in mind many exhibitors make the common mistake of spending more time and effort on booth design than on pre and post show strategy.
Your pre-show strategy should include promotion of your participation in the event. Start by sending out letters to all your current and potential clients to let them know you will be there and don?t forget to let them know your stand number. You may even want to set up appointments, securing the attendance of key contacts on your stand.
At the show, make sure you have selected the right people to staff your exhibit. It helps to conduct pre-show meetings to brief your staff, identify your major goals and objectives, agree on guidelines for interacting with visitors and qualifying customers and most importantly, leads capture.
Post-show strategy
Sales leads, and the resulting business, are the real payoff from an effective trade show performance. The show is the first big step, but to get real results, the key is contacting all the buyers you met at the show.
So plan ahead ? show leads often take second place to other management activities that occur after being out of the office for several days. The longer leads are left unattended the colder and more mediocre they become.