Plan now and avoid panic later! Break down your exhibition plan into categories and create an exhibition to-do list. We also recommend creating an exhibition planning checklist like the template here so you can see what you need to be doing when and how far in advance.
Once you have chosen your show, booked the space and worked out your budget it’s really important to set your show objectives in order to measure your exhibition success.
Setting Your Show Objectives
Start with what you want to achieve from the show and how much you want to spend. Then come up with the exhibition and marketing plans based on these factors. Exhibiting goals should complement your overall marketing objectives.
Key Objectives to consider:
- Gain orders – set a target to achieve, based on total revenue and/or number of orders.
- Gain sales leads – set a target number of leads you need to capture during the exhibition. Break this number down to a daily goal and set targets for staff manning the stand.
- Make contacts – depending on the nature of your business you might be looking to meet certain people i.e. potential distributors or new recruits. You need to set a target of the number of contacts and decide what data you want to capture for each contact.
- Perform market research – decide on what information you need to gain and keep your questionnaire as concise as possible. Set a target of completed questionnaires and break this number down into daily goals. You could offer a small incentive to encourage people to participate.
