As an experienced exhibition specialist, we know how hard it is to make sure you remember everything for your upcoming event. Even the most experienced businesses who regularly exhibit, struggle.

So, we have created a short exhibition checklist to help you keep organised, and use effective marketing materials on the day.

1, Be organised 

There is a lot to organise when it comes to exhibiting; venue arrangements, staff, communication, materials, stand-build, the list goes on. One way of keeping organised is as simple as keeping all the necessary paperwork, information, press releases and anything else of consequence in a dedicated file online or if preferred, a paper folder. It’s also helpful to keep a copy of all the marketing you will be promoting on the stand too, for future reference.

2, Keep Practicing

Not every staff member will be comfortable with working exhibitions, seeing them as a necessary chore rather than something fun and unique that changes up there day to day job. In this scenario, staff or team members can often find it hard to approach visitors for a friendly conversation that steers people towards wanting your products and services or even leave contact details for your database.

Practising pitches and different scenarios before the event can help with creating ‘lead in’ conversation openers with visitors and give confidence to staff manning the stand. It’s important to root out who is looking to buy or is genuinely interested, as opposed to those who are just passing time.

3, Leave plenty of time to Set up

Another issue we see over and over again is that people don’t leave enough time to set up their stand or space properly. 

Simply rushing everything together to discover midway into the event or conference that the video presentation or snazzy new AI robot isn’t working correctly, is not the best start to your time there.

Allow yourself plenty of time to set up and try any digital media or equipment out before the event starts; this way, last-minute panics can be avoided.

4, Accessories in Advance

Accessories can often be overlooked or, if you’re new to exhibition marketing, you may not know, for example, that lighting within your space is not provided unless you pay and pre-order it.

These sorts of obvious accessories, from lights to rental furniture, can make your space, taking it from basic amateur to a professional-looking setup.

5, Use Signs and well-branded Graphics

Marketing material is great if done correctly. If it isn’t immediately obvious who you are, or what your brand does, it’s a massive problem for brand awareness, which is a key part of exhibiting!

Create a clear, branded message and simple call to actions, using well-branded themes across a range of printed material; banners, flags, posters, and modular stand components are just a few ways of cost-effective solutions you can re-use, making your exhibition space look approachable, on-brand and informative.

6, Printed Materials need time

Printed marketing material can’t be a last-minute thought, they take planning and time. When things are rushed, the reviewing and proofreading of material can become lacklustre. As a result, amateurish mistakes can be made, making the brand look poor.

Imagine turning up at an exhibition or event, looking to flood your market with amazing, well-designed giveaways or flyers only to find the email address is wrong, the phone number is one digit short and there is a spelling error in the headline…… not good!

7, PR and online Social Media

The reason companies use exhibition marketing is to place their business in the spotlight and create brand awareness. Businesses often leave it at that and assume that their brand will be advertised enough by just being there.

PR is a great way to promote your presence at an event – why not let your local press know you are exhibiting at a national conference, asking them to help promote a local company and at the same time get their brand out there? – Also, use the shows handle on social media and push it as much as possible before, during and after the event. 

Exhibitions can be a game-changer for your business; a sure-fire way to, if done correctly, build your database and generate high-quality leads for your business…