A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TRADE FAIRS: FINAL DETAILS BEFORE YOUR TRIP

16 Sep 2016

You’ve taken precautions when it came to planning your business trip, you outlined your goal and you have learned all about location, planning and getting early deals. All topics we looked at great length in our Beginner’s Guide to Trade Fairs. If your area all our previous articles, we are sure you’ll get a good grasp at what it takes to plan a business trip.

While we move away from the bigger topics, we’ll focus on the smaller details to consider as you plan along and the last weeks before you’re bound to travel
Define Roles and Organize Staff
To make the organization process more efficient, you need to choose a single person who’ll run the entire planning and budgeting stages – this keeps you focused and on track. Having more than one person handle this creates weak points, delays as well as miscommunication. You also need to plan how many people are travelling with you – a crucial consideration when it comes to being an exhibitor. Your stand needs to be staffed to full capacity to handle any and all enquiries promptly. This creates a very positive impression.

Budget, Budget, Budget
We told you how to best land lower rates on your accommodation, but there are so many expenses involved in a business trip. Especially, if you’re an exhibitor. The stand is going to sink in a lot of money and you need to think about design, installation, maintenance and then removal – all aspects, which cost money. Not to mention the expenses to commute, dine and enjoy free time. These costs pile up and it’s best to plan accordingly!

Strategize Your Reach
Just because you’re there doesn’t guarantee you will win it big. Yes, a presence is beneficial, but to stand out you need to think about marketing. You need to get to the right formula to stand out. A communications plan is a must and you should engineer it at least a few months in advance. For those with larger budgets, we recommend you organize a small event that will draw attention to you. A must is to enter yourself and your products in all catalogues and directories possible on the off-chance you might get spotted this way! Do not forget to bring business cards! A well-designed business card means a lot in this day and age of social media notifications that meld in a massive buzz.

Prioritize Existing Clients
Although the main as exhibitors or visitors is to meet new people to grow your influence, be sure to not forget your current client base. Reach out to existing clients and partners – either invite them to attend the event (do this at least 6 months ahead of the event) or ask them to schedule a meeting with you so that you know you’ll have the right time to strengthen your existing partnership. This shows you care for them and fosters loyalty – a resource you can never get too much of!

With this article, we conclude our series of advice on your travel preparations. If you heed at least half the things we said, you’re going to have a very rewarding experience at your trade fair or show of your choosing. Next time, we’ll bring your advice on things you should all be doing during the event itself to maximize profit and attention, so stay tuned for more in this series! What should you do? How do you handle yourself? How do you manage time and the man power you’ve brought from your company.

Do you have an industry event in mind, but haven’t reserved a hotel, yet? Go Fair ltd is on the case – we offer a flexible service that presents you hotel bookings tailored to your needs in a single day! If this article has helped you in any way, leave a comment, and tell us how! Your experience is important to us and we would like to receive further ideas and opinions, even criticism, at [email protected]!