Marketing advice
Get the most from your exhibition stand
With a case study from Sarah Walker, Platinum Property Partners
The British and International Franchise Exhibition in London is fast approaching - so what can you do to get the most out of exhibiting? Here are some handy hints
An exhibition stand is a shop window into your business. If your ‘shop' is professional, exciting and innovative then you create a good first impression with the potential franchisee. If the stand is drab, dirty and unwelcoming...well you get the picture!
Are you still using the same exhibition stand that you had three years ago? Have you seen the number of leads diminish in recent years? Do you pack your stand up early to beat the traffic home?
If you answered yes to any of the above then fear not! Listed below are a few basic tips that can help you get the most from your exhibition stand:
Set targets
The first and most important rule is to set targets for the event. At a franchise exhibition the target is usually the number of high quality leads that you take home. Set targets for each person on the stand and offer incentives or rewards to motivate success.
Prepare
Read the manual! It sounds obvious but this will give you access to benefits such as free PR, website profile, free profile in Business Franchise Magazine and even free invitations to send to your database. By making the most of these additional freebies and providing news worthy information to the organisers you are already one step ahead of your competitors. See www.exhibitorguide.co.uk for further information.
Market
Promote your attendance at the event. E-invites and hard copy invites are available free of charge to be sent to your database of potential franchisees. A serious potential franchisee will probably plan to attend the show anyway but a personal invite from you will create a good impression and will make sure they seek you out on the day!
Integrate the exhibition as part of your marketing mix - promote your attendance at the event on your website and other advertising campaigns.
While at the show, you need to convey a clearly defined message. Sarah Walker from Platinum Property Partners suggests against using too much marketing collateral. She says: "We've refined and reduced our marketing literature over the years as too much information can be confusing.
"It's good to have a clearly defined message. For visitors who want to find out more, we provide the basic information and then simply direct them to our workshops. You don't want too much clutter on your stand either, as this can look messy."
Attract
Create an attraction - thousands of people will flood to the event, but you need to get them on your stand. Have two or three reasons for people to wander on to your stand and ensure it is informative and welcoming.
Platinum Property Partners finds that a good way of attracting visitors is by holding ‘mini-seminars' on your stand. Sarah explains: "Two or three years ago we were too late to get one of the official seminar slots, so we decided to have an hourly, 10 minute presentation from one of our founding partners.
"Visitors can learn about the business in a nutshell and get an immediate insight into the business and see who's in charge.
"It also means that you don't need to spend 15 minutes talking to individuals one on one for them to then say they're not interested."
Sarah recommends giveaways, too: "If you're talking at one of the organised seminars, you can offer a free DVD or book to visitors if they visit your stand. This encourages people to actually visit your stand."
Things to do on the day:
There are also really simple things you can do. Ensure staff are friendly and helpful and ‘outward facing'. Sarah suggests: "Smile. Look engaging - don't sit on chairs looking bored. Don't leave your stand empty to pop to get a sandwich either!"
Equally, you don't want to frighten off potential visitors by pouncing too early says franchise consultant, Peter Williams: "When a visitor approaches the stand, do not pounce. Allow them a minute to take in your stand before engaging in dialogue, rather than a sales-lead monologue. Invite them to ask questions."
Staff
On the day - make sure all team members have targets and objectives. Different staff can carry out different roles such as collecting business cards, qualifying leads, setting appointments, demonstrating products, etc. Make sure that the more senior staff do not get stuck with ‘tyre kickers', while junior staff are out of their depth dealing with someone else.
Peter Williams recommends: "Vary the number of staff on the stand throughout the day depending on the flux of visitors. Too many staff members - particularly if they are talking to each other - will be unwelcoming."
Sarah also suggests: "I think it's important to have franchisees on the stand to talk about their experiences openly. People don't need to sift through loads of brochures to find out more - they can get right down to the nuts and bolts of the business."
Evaluate
Measure, monitor and evaluate - make sure at the end of each day you have a team de-brief to analyse whether objectives are being met, review what went well and what went wrong, discuss the event as a whole and what they can learn from other exhibitors and how things can be improved tomorrow or at the next event.
Follow up
Make sure that you follow up all leads promptly after the exhibition. Peter suggests: "Do not get visitors to write down their information on a sheet of paper, as you'll be left with illegible notes. You should have visitor enquiry forms that you fill in." Plan the follow up process - different companies use a range of methods including, but not limited to:
• Telephone call (multiple?)
• E-mail (multiple?)
• Postal Application
• Open day
• One-to-one meeting
So what are you waiting for? It's nearly seven weeks until The British & International Franchise Exhibition, London Olympia, 19 & 20 March, so get planning now!
