Trade shows can be something of a Marmite experience for many companies. But it’s not just that you either love them or hate them, shows either bring in real, tangible benefits to your business or they feel like an awful lot of hard work for very little in the way of return.

In this article, we won’t be trying to convince you to exhibit, we’ll let 22 trade show statistics that will convince business owners to exhibit immediately  do that but instead we’re taking a look at what you need to make a trade show or exhibition run successfully.

The Right Team

Quite simply you need your best, most people friendly sales team on the case for this job. It’s not easy to keep up the level of energy and enthusiasm required to staff a stand all day over several days, so choose wisely.

Your team isn’t just there to chat and smile a lot, they need to know that they also have targets to reach. That might look like capturing the email addresses of 300 potential new customers or giving away a set number of information packs to visitors to the stand. Whatever your target, make sure it isn’t just there for the sake of giving your team something to do but is created with the idea of giving your business a real and measurable boost.

The Right Design

You will be among a lot of stands so you need to stand out from the competition. Speaking of competition try and get a hold of a floor plan in advance of booking your stand and figure out the very best location for your team. If you can then get a sense of where any competitors are then even better.

In terms of your stand design, think about how your media boards will look and the message you want to portray. What are you selling about your business today that’s going to attract potential clients? What is unique to you that your rivals can’t offer?

There’s no reason why your stand shouldn’t be interactive and feature video, demonstrations or live features.

Merchandise

Finally, think about merchandise and what you’re giving away. You know your client best so try and steer clear of the traditional, boring pens and so on. Look for sporting equipment, clothes, mini Bluetooth speakers and so on. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and figure out what you’d want as a reward for interacting with you at your stand.

Yes, exhibitions are hard work. They take time and effort to design and install and just as much time and effort to break down at the end. Your staff need to be on their game every minute of the time they spend there and you need to have prepared clear objectives.

But get it right and you’re potentially in direct contact with hundreds of new customers. Customers who may have heard of you before or who might just need you to introduce yourself. Get exhibiting, get it right and get results.