While the digital landscape is becoming ever more important in the world of business, it's also important to remember that people buy from people—and face-to-face is still one of the best ways to establish business relationships.
Industry events and exhibitions are a great way to get in front of your target audience to explain first hand why they should buy from you. There's no point in spending the time and resources on setting up your stall at an exhibition, though, unless you do it right. So what does doing it right look like?
Remember to do your homework so that you know you're picking the right event with the right audience—otherwise exhibiting is a waste of time. Look at the right industry sectors, see who's attending (e.g. whether only those with managerial roles) and what the hot, trending topics are at an event.
Never attend an event because everyone else is, that’s the worst use of your marketing budget. Have a strategy of what you want to get out of the event and execute on it.
Make sure you plan in advance what your stand will look like (how you are going to set up your display), and what you will need to engage with visitors, such as hand-outs or relevant freebies. Your display and materials should align with your marketing message—you should also have a 20-30 second elevator pitch to give to those you talk to, along with the printed materials to accompany it.
The whole point of attending these events is to network, which means talking to people and establishing prospective business relationships. Take a stack of business cards with you, look at the delegate list and work out who you want to talk to and how you might arrange it.
Cards: Making connections should be a key goal for your events strategy
Even better would be to start the conversation with potential leads before the event; find, follow and engage with them on social media. Building a rapport before you meet can go a long way and make that first face-to-face meeting warm rather than cold.
Raise awareness of your attendance ahead of the event, via all the usual channels such as newsletters, blogs and social media. Let everyone know when and why you'll be there. Contact the event's media partners with a press pack to give them more information about what it is you're offering.
Don't forget to follow up with prospective business contacts soon after the event. Your average exhibition attendee will have made many new contacts over the course of the exhibition. You'll want to remind them who you are, staying at the front of their minds.
Link building: Once you've made connections, take time to strengthen the relationship
During the event, make sure you note down any specific conversations that you'll need to have later—all the better if you can follow up on a query in more detail by providing them with the information they asked for.
If you spend enough time preparing and researching, and play it right on the day, exhibitions and industry events can be the perfect place to build awareness of your brand, make new contacts and generate a decent sales pipeline.
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