Blog Post

What the Longest Existing UK Exhibitions Business has Learned

Jenna May Taylor • Oct 24, 2018

Attending an exhibition can be a little overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a clear strategy.
The key to success is careful planning for all your event activities and identifying the role in which
the exhibition plays in your marketing and sales strategy. Exhibitions allow you to interact with your
audience face to face and build lasting relationships, so we’ve put together some useful tips that will
help your brand stand out and succeed at every event.


1. Evaluate the Opportunity

Even for a large company, taking a stand at an exhibition is a big investment, not only in money but
in time and organisation. Therefore, you need to ensure that the opportunity sees a good return on
investment. Research the exhibition thoroughly. Make sure the event will match your marketing
objectives and reach your target audience. Question the anticipated number of delegates and how
they are planning to attract this audience (and specifically your target customers). If possible, visit
the exhibition as a delegate first, so you know what to expect. Contact previous exhibitors to explore
how successful they found the event. Research the exhibitors attending- are they your competitors?
The more homework you do before the event, the more likely the event is to be successful for your
company.

2. Set Specific Realistic Goals

Now that you have decided to go ahead with the exhibition, start planning WAY in advance. Begin
with creating realistic objectives, relating to topics such as sales generation, customer relationships,
brand building, market research, media relations and PR. Through these themes, create more
specific objectives such as:
- Generate 300 sales leads
- Meet 50 qualified prospects
- Hand out 2,000 samples
- Research 10 competitors
Prioritise your goals as it might not be realistic to achieve all in one event.

3. Plan Your Stand

Follow the exhibitor manual carefully when you receive it and ensure you organise everything you
need on your stand. Your stand should represent your prioritised goal, for example the launch of a
new product or campaign. Ensure you constantly have well-presented literature at the front of your
stand for delegates to browse. Accessories to your stand such as plinths and brochure holders can
really impact the audience. Size everything to fit the stand. Do not overcrowd the stand with small
tables and displays, however using bars and displays that are too big can dwarf your stand and your
staff. If you are having trouble organising your stand don’t hesitate to contact SD Displays on 01628
673864. Lighting can increase awareness of your stand between 30-50%, so ensure your lighting
maximises your stand to its best potential. Customise your stand to create a professional, ‘finished’
look.

4. At the Event

Make sure your staff are enthusiastic and welcoming-ensure they have frequent breaks as manning
a stand can be very exhausting. Keep a positive attitude and ask open (not closed) questions to keep
your audience engaged. Try to prioritise your leads as you go, for example keep a 6 tier system:

1. Hot prospects: with a large order and ready to buy
2. Warm prospects: with a large order and longer decision time, or smaller order and ready to buy
3. Luke warm prospects: with a smaller order and not yet ready to buy
4. Cool prospects: with the potential to become customers but not ready yet
5. Other “useful” contacts: media, potential associates, etc.
6. Other: people selling to you, browser, etc.

Perhaps colour code each lead for each section as a more subtle approach. This will make refining
your leads after the event a lot quicker and easier.
Make the most of publicity services during the day. Invite press along to view your stand and maybe
have something exciting happen at your stand to attract media attention. Film or live-stream the
event, as reactions to your products and testimonials can be incredibly useful in the future. Ensure
you take photos and post on all your social media platforms about the exhibition.

5. After the Event (Time for a beer)

The work isn't over, sorry!
Hold a debrief, with sections such as ‘successes’, ‘improvements’ and ‘lessons learned’. Follow up
the priority leads immediately to avoid losing sales. Warm leads need following up too, at least in
the next couple of days. Your ‘other’ leads should be filed and followed up with some useful info not
included at the exhibition, or a copy of the presentation to remind them of your presence. Put all
leads in your ‘keep in touch’ system.
As you go to more events you will build up your own expertise, and can elaborate on these initial
exhibition techniques, catering specifically for your company’s priorities and objectives.

By Jenna May Taylor 16 Dec, 2019
Our office hamster Syd would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. At SD Displays, we understand how quickly calendars get filled up around this time of year, so here are our special Christmas opening hours to help you plan accordingly: We are shut for Christmas from Monday 23rd December to Thursday 2nd January.
By Jenna May Taylor 19 Nov, 2019
SD Displays have been working with GEWISS for the past 3 years providing them with exhibition stands, graphics and Point of Sale (POS) boards. GEWISS is a well-established leading market player in the international electrotechnical industry, with offices, subsidiaries, and production sites in more than 80 countries. The POS boards are by far the most work we do with GEWISS as we make these in large quantities at a time. We create two sizes of boards with them – the large ones being 1100 x 800mm and the mini ones being 800 x 400mm. These eye catching and lightweight boards are used to display their products such as industrial plugs and sockets and rotary isolator switches, in electrical wholesale outlets, exhibition stands and demos. We print directly onto 19mm Strada boards and then attach their products to create the final display. We process about 50 – 100 boards per order and it takes on average 20 minutes to produce one board. These are a great example of the bespoke displays we can produce for our customers, so if you have an idea in mind for your own products, get in contact to see how we can help.
By Jenna May Taylor 17 Oct, 2019
Flexible working and working from home is becoming more and more popular within our modern world, yet so many companies still don’t know how to deal with the requests from their employees. On 4th October, the UK’s first flexible working conference was held at Sandown Park Racecourse. It covered everything from interview tips and tricks, how to get back into a career after a break and how to handle being refused flexible working. SD displays became involved with the conference after Maddy Cole from Venture Business Events gave us a call in search for some shell scheme stands. Flexpo were excited to have Anna Whitehouse aka MotherPukka chair the overall conference and after learning more from Maddy about the event, we were excited to get involved. We supplied the conference with 3m x 2m shell scheme stands as well as graphics for the stands. We also created a theatre area which allowed speakers from the likes of Amazon, Linked In and HSBC to present. After speaking with Maddy, she said “We saw 427 visitors and 19 exhibitors across the show. We had over 30 speakers, so we are pleased with the support and the feedback we had from what was an inaugural event.” After such a successful event we are looking forward to working with Maddy again in the future.
By Jenna May Taylor 05 Sep, 2019
Whether you are a first-time exhibitor or regularly attend events, you will know that trade shows are one of the best ways to connect face to face with your target market. Therefore, you will be aware of the costs behind hiring floor space and involved in building a stand – so why do so many exhibitors throw away their stuff at the end of a show?
By Jenna May Taylor 04 Jun, 2019
We have had such an amazing start to the year and can’t believe we are halfway through 2019 already. So much has already happened and we are excited to see what the rest of the year has instore for SD Displays. At the end of 2018 we started talking with a new agency called We Are Process to supply a T3 stand for their event in February. We had 5 working weeks after the initial enquiry to turn around a 6m x 5m L shaped stand, counter and graphics. Like true champions we had the stand built and graphics supplied a week before the show.
By Jenna May Taylor 29 Jan, 2019
On 9th and 10th January 2019, the UK Veterinary Vaccinology Network and International Veterinary Vaccinology Network hosted the UK & International Veterinary Vaccinology Network Conference 2019 in The Tower Hotel, London and we’re proud to have helped out.
By Jenna May Taylor 02 Jan, 2019
Recently, we were lucky enough to spend a Discovery Day at Tecna UK, our T3 display system suppliers. Tecna UK host a number of these interactive training experiences at their Farnborough premises. These are helpful events that Tecna run for all of their partners, where they showcase their offices and warehouse space, as well as do a bit of training with us regarding their systems.
By Jenna May Taylor 21 Dec, 2018
Christmas is here, which means the festive season is heating up. At SD Displays, we understand how quickly calendars get filled up around this time of year, so here are our special Christmas opening hours to help you plan accordingly: We are shut for Christmas from Monday 24th December to Wednesday 2nd January. Everyone at SD Displays wishes you a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year! There’s a lot to look forward to in 2019!
By Jenna May Taylor 23 Nov, 2018
SD Displays recently completed a fantastic job in Kent at the first ever regional Tattoo Convention! Not only did it feature general tattoo stalls, demonstrations and entertainment, it also hosted body painting, art competitions, live bands, burlesque shows, craft stalls and all kinds of food and drink. Award winning tattoo artists from all over the world came to exhibit their skills, so they needed a space to unleash their creativity on willing subjects! Below was the setup we created, and although it looks quiet now, it was soon buzzing with visitors looking to get inspired!
By Catherine Dove 26 Sep, 2018
At SD Displays we understand how every project is different, having unique and specific requirements. Therefore we can see the benefits of having strong relationships with companies that offer services in the same sector as ours, such as audio-visual and event management companies. Through working with these businesses, we can offer a full range of services to our clients, knowing that our partners are reliable and responsive, ensuring even the most unique and challenging project can be completed to the best standard. Audio-visual Services We have strong connections with two audio-visual companies, ITM and City AV, and are always looking for ways to further benefit each other. ITM’s projects are often large and complex, so they will always come to us for large amounts of poster boards, booths, shell scheme stands, and for one project, bus stop signs. We will always recommend these companies if clients are looking to create a more interactive display with screens and lighting.
Show More
Share by: