Tip of the Week #23 - How to Train and Manage Your Exhibition Stand Staff

Participating in an exhibition gives businesses a rare opportunity to get face-to-face interactions with hundreds or even thousands of prospects. Without providing adequate training to the right staff, the impact of your exhibiting efforts will be compromised. While it’s important to have an eye-catching stand that will draw visitors in, it’s also critical for your staff to be motivated, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and well-trained. Staffs who are highly skilled and well-trained could be able to develop key business relationships and build strong capture lead lists. To maximise the chances of those outcomes, here are a few tips for training and managing exhibition staff members.

Training Process

Don’t just talk to your employees about no sitting, eating, phone calls or texting when they’re staffing the stand. Train your staff on how to engage attendees with good opening lines, how to ask the right questions to discover what matters to attendees, how to identify the visitors that may become a customer, and how to close conversations with an agreement on the next steps. A good idea is to include role-playing in your training, which will let staff get some practice before the show.

Hire the right people

It’s critical to have the right people staff your exhibition stand. For example, if the media may be present at the show, make sure to have an employee who is experienced in dealing with the media. If you’re displaying technical products, include a technical staff on the stand that can properly and thoroughly explain the details to interested visitors. You should also choose employees who genuinely enjoy participating in exhibitions, as they’ll come across as more happy and enthusiastic. They’ll be more pleasant and easier for visitors to talk to, which will help in producing better results and generating more leads.

Establish Objectives

Don’t send your employees to an exhibition without a clear set of objectives. Whether you want to focus on generating sales orders, qualified leads or increase product awareness, it should be ensured that staff members stick to a focused strategy and meet their benchmarks. Outlining specific objectives will give them a clear idea about how to interact with visitors, and it will make it easier for you later on when you’re gauging the success of your exhibition participation.

Train Staff on Lead Management
Tell your staff how you handle leads, whether it be putting business cards in a fishbowl, writing notes on lead cards, scanning badges with lead retrievers or entering leads into a database on the show floor. Emphasis should be placed on proper lead recording so that all the vital information is included, such as lead quality, what the visitor’s problems are and how your products help them solve them, and what the staff promised the visitor they will do next.

Tip of the Week #22 - Using Promotional Items at Exhibitions

It’s very common for exhibitors to hand out promotional items at exhibitions to draw show attendees to their stand. An added benefit is that people will tend to think more favourably of a business if they’ve been given something free. But does promotional merchandise really bring in new business, or is it an overused gimmick? Research carried out by the British Promotional Merchandise Association in 2012 found that 56 per cent of respondents felt more favourable towards a company after receiving a promotional item, and 79 per cent said it makes them more likely to do business with a company in the future. Another 87% of respondents said they keep a promotional item for longer than 12 months.

The key benefit of promotional items is that they help keep a brand front of mind. For example if you give out a mouse pad or a pen, there’s a good chance it’ll sit on a client’s desk, in their pocket or bag and be in constant view, acting as a daily reminder of the brand. The merchandise you give away should benefit the customer and be something they will keep and use time and time again as this will give you quite a low-cost communications channel.

You should also consider the environmental impact of your promotional product. A customer’s opinion of a company giving away ethically produced or environmentally friendly gift tends to be enhanced. Environmentally friendly products are also more cost-effective in the long run. For example, a reusable bag may be more expensive to source than a plastic bag, but the customer will use it for longer, which means that your marketing message will also be around for longer. The return on investment is greater and will ultimately outweigh the initial cost.

Promotional items are a great part of the marketing toolkit and can be invaluable to an exhibitor. They can act as a conversation starter, draw attendees to a stand or increase brand awareness. Just make sure that whatever product you choose as a giveaway fits into your exhibition marketing strategy, is within budget and that you get something in return. Gathering attendee’s data in exchange for the giveaway makes it much easier to quantify the effect of a promotion and enables you to more accurately calculate your return on investment.

Before spending your valuable budget on promotional products for your next exhibition, consider the following:

• How does the item(s) fit into your exhibition marketing strategy?
• Can you afford it or does it mean compromising on stand design or other areas?
• Is your chosen item relevant to the message you are trying to get across?
•  Can you get something back in return – such as contact information, an appointment, or even an order?
•  How can you tie in your promotional item to a pre-show mailer or invitation?

Tip of the Week #21 - How to Plan for Outdoor Events and Exhibitions

One of the riskiest things about holding an outdoor event or exhibition is the weather may be predictable. Here are some tips to help you hold a successful outdoor event:

Choose Your Venue Wisely

Know all the pros and cons of your chosen venue and make sure your clients have been informed as well. Prepare a fast turn around and have a workable solution if the weather isn’t as good as expected. 

Plan And Prepare For All Circumstances

Prepare items like weather gear, marquees, even a backup venue if possible. Be aware of all the limitations and changes you may need to decide onsite. Keep an eye on the weather forecasts prior to the event. Communicate with all the staffs about the changes to the event. Advise the audience and politely advise them to prepare themselves for any unexpected weather. Know the worst-case scenarios so you will be fully prepared for that.

Include The Suppliers In The Planning Processes

Communicate with the suppliers and know what they can do if things become challenging. Work closely with suppliers to create solutions. Solve problems with suppliers under tight time constraints.

Be Flexible

Try to be flexible for all the natural occurrences. Keep an open mind and be creative if things are still under control. Be willing to compromise if things do not go on well as prepared and quickly accommodate a new plan.

Safety Considerations
Always make sure your plan covers OH&S elements for both the delegates and staff. Check all the facilities of the venue before the date of the event. Think about how to keep the balcony, walkway or stair is as safe if wet.  Make the team adequately prepared for transporting conference collateral and equipments in rainy weather.

Tip of the Week #20 - How to Generate Qualified Sales Leads at Exhibitions

Exhibitions are a powerful face to face platform for generating new contacts, sales leads and generally for getting your company name and message 'out there'. While it is one of the most expensive forms of marketing, the benefits and rewards you get from participating in an exhibition are priceless. Simply turning up, setting up your stand and handing out flyers and promotional items aren't enough to generate a return on your investment. Read on to find out some hot tips designed to help you generate sales leads and multiply the return on your exhibition investment.

Choose the right exhibitions
The first and most important thing is to pick the right exhibitions and conferences. You have to make sure that the exhibition you are attending is relevant to the your industry, and also that the attendees are are going to be the kind of people you want to target and talk to. You can call the exhibition organisers and ask them what kind of people attend the show. They should have reports with information such as the industry show attendees are in, how many of them are decision makers, and what visitors are interested in seeing at the show. By researching thoroughly before you make a decision, you can establish whether an event will match you marketing objectives and help you reach your target audience.

Focus on realistic prospects
It's likely that hundreds or even thousands of people will visit your stand during an exhibition, but your staff won't have enough time to talk to all of them. You and your staff will need to carefully manage the amount of time and attention you give to people. Don't get too involved in small talk, spend your valuable one-on-one time on finding out if the person is going to be a realistic prospect. Try and find out if they're a decision maker, why they're attending the show, and if they have a genuine interest in what you have to offer. If they're not interested, it's time to move on to other prospects.

Build relationships with visitors
Exhibitions and conferences gives you the perfect opportunity to meet and connect with key people in your industry. You should take this chance to talk to as many people as possible. Take the time to learn about their interest, business, and remember to get their business card so you have a way of contacting them post-show.

Tip of the Week #20 - The Rising Popularity of Aluminium in Exhibition Stands

Aluminium is fast becoming one of the most popular materials used in the design and construction of exhibition stands, and there are good reasons for this trend. It’s an excellent material because it’s strong and light, and has a durable surface that resists wear once anodised. It also weighs considerably less than materials like wood, which will reduce the cost of handling, labour and freight for exhibitors.

If you want a custom designed trade show exhibit, aluminium extrusions are a great material to use because you can use them over and over again. Stands built with aluminium frames tend to be modular in design, which means that they can be modified and fit together in a number of ways. The ability to adapt and change the way parts are fitted together will eliminate the need to build an entirely new stand for every event.

Aluminium extrusions are now not only used as the actual framework for a booth, but stand designers are also including them as a visible design element. Unique shapes and powder coating can transform an extrusion into a more aesthetically pleasing product. The variety of angles, curves and accessories are now so extensive that even exhibitors running on a tight budget can have a custom designed stand. And if their budget ever increase, more extrusions can be added to an existing booth to make a bigger stand. 

Aluminium extrusions provide an ideal framework for fabric graphics, which has become the material of choice for those who want a dynamic presence at exhibitions, but reduced weight and cost. Some producers of aluminium frames also allow hard panels such as laminates to be mounted in the frames with Velcro, which opens up even more design options.

If you’re looking to purchase a custom design booth, a modular stand with aluminium components is an ideal solution and will serve your exhibition needs for many years. Not only do they look great, but their smooth clean surfaces and edges will clearly make your exhibit stand out on the show floor.

At Expocentric we build our stands using aluminium extrusions Aluvision, which comes from Belgium. Head over to our Facebook page or company website at www.expocentric.com.au to look at some of the amazing stands we've done in the past using Aluvision.

Tip of the Week #19 - How Much Time Should You Give Your Exhibition Stand Designer and Builder?

Designing and building an exhibition stand is no easy task. And if you want a custom-designed display, you should give your chosen exhibition stand construction company at least 10 weeks from proposal sign off to installation. They will need substantial time to plan and execute a spectacular looking stand that will also effectively communicate your brand message and corporate identity. Adequate time is necessary to account for crucial elements such as key messaging, product displays, custom graphics, demonstrations, materials, lighting and audiovisual equipment that have to be worked into an exhibition stand. 

Contacting an exhibition stand construction company nice and early will not only give them ample time to design, build and set-up the stand at the exhibition site, but it will also give you more time to confirm and approve stand design. This can turn out to a lengthy process because you'll need to consider custom elements, artwork, specifications and position of products to be displayed, and also special requirements such as rigging and promotional items. 

If you don't give an exhibition stand construction company at least 10 weeks to design and build your stand, you run the of risk of having less time to fix mistakes. You may also not be able to change the stand design mid-course due to time restraints. After all, if you're going to be investing a fair amount of money, time and other resources in planning, managing and implementing a stand, you won't want to end up with a predictable, conservative and simplistic creation that no one will be satisfied with because of time issues. 

Highlights from Sydney's Integrate Expo

Integrate is the largest AV and systems integration industry event in Australia. It was held at Sydney Olympic Park at the end of August, and is the event to attend for those in the audio-visual industry. Over 500 local and international brands participated in the exhibition this year. Here are some of the most notable highlights from Integrate 2014. 

98-inch Ultra HD Display by LG Electronics

LG has raised the bar for the digital signage industry with its 98” Ultra HD display. This incredible display can show images with 8 million pixels and provides the sharpest picture available on a large-screen display, along with the most immersive viewing experience the industry has seen to date. It can take SD, HD or Full HD content and optimise it to sharp, near-Ultra HD quality to produce high-resolution images and provide a high quality viewing experience.

Fibaro Home Automation System by Smart Home Group

The Fibaro System is one of the most advanced and powerful solution for the monitoring, management and intelligent automation of any living space. You can control your home’s lighting, climate, audio-visual equipment, electrical equipment and security with just a touch of your mobile phone or tablet. For example, Fibaro can automatically switch off your electronics when you leave the building to save power, or warn you if you forget to close a window. If you go away on holiday and forget to set your alarm, Fibaro will message you and ask if you want to enable it remotely. It can even switch off your iron for you to prevent a fire from starting if you leave a room and forget to turn it off.

MicroTiles by Christie

Christie MicroTiles are cubic digital display units that can be stacked like building blocks to create a large visual display wall. The building-block nature of the system means that the overall screen size and shape is flexible. You can create a traditional rectangular or cubical display, or opt for more complex non-standard shapes. The best feature of these tiles is that even if you take them apart and reassemble them in a new configuration, they’ll ‘recognise’ each other automatically and adjust the image so that it’s still displayed correctly. These MicroTiles offer an innovative and visually striking digital solution to deliver content in a memorable way.

HEOS Audio System by Denon

Produced by Denon, the HEOS range of speakers can be connected wirelessly to create a multi-room audio system. As long as you have a Wi-Fi network and a smartphone or tablet, you can create a multi-room music system and play multiple songs in different rooms, or the same song in every room. A HEOS app will become the control centre that will allow you to control the speakers from anywhere, even if you don’t have direct access to the speaker.