What is the Purpose of Having an Exhibition?
What is Exhibition mean?
A traditional exhibition is a large-scale event that uses a variety of media and means to promote products, corporate image and establish good public relations.
Its characteristics are:
- It is a complex, intuitive, visual, and vivid way of communication.
- It provides an opportunity for two-way direct communication with the public. It is a highly centralized and efficient communication method.
- It is a comprehensive and large-scale public special event. The event is a good subject for news reporting.
- They are entertaining and can attract a large volume of visitors. Most companies are treating exhibition as a great opportunity for them to form to shape and display their best image to the public.
What is the Purpose of the Exhibition?
Gather useful information
Through the exhibition, you can gather the information from your peers. You can grasp the development trend of the competitors. You can determine the correct strategy for the company. Besides, some industry exhibitions also hold numerous industry forums and seminars. You can further understand the industry and gain more information through the conference.
Examine the needs of the local market
It provides the opportunity for businessmen to examine the needs and potential of the local market. When the exhibitors are gathered together in an exhibition, you can predict your business development. You can also understand the market potential for your products.
Finding suitable agents and distributors
Find a suitable partner by taking part in an exhibition that is having a wide range of local agents and distributors. Most of the participants in an exhibition can simply be divided into two categories: one is to sell products, the other is to look for products. Through the exhibition, you can easily find the channels and get connected to the right people to develop your business.
Establish and maintain the image of the company
In the areas where customers and distributors are more concentrated, a company can use the exhibition to improve the company’s image. You can also use the exhibition to promote your product popularity and market competitiveness. You can showcase your support and help to local distributors.
Selling products to the right customers
Through the exhibition to achieve the purpose of selling your products to the right customers. A company in a certain region may have a lot of customers, and it is more dispersed. Individual access to each of your customer is not only high in cost but also inefficient. After the exhibition, all dealers or customers can gather and discuss one by one to improve access efficiency and negotiation.
Establish trade cooperation with others
Through the exhibition, one can establish trade cooperation with others. After face-to-face communication with customers, distributors, or other companies, it can stimulate the company to develop new ideas. A detailed understanding of the company’s product and market.
Purposes and Principles of the Exhibition
The planning of the exhibition begins with the selection of the objectives of the exhibition. Implementing the objectives is reflected in the details of each design. Following the principle of purpose, the designer should handle the following relationships well:
Establish a good relationship with the exhibitors and designers
The design of the exhibition requires the designer not to create a piece of art according to his own ideas. Instead, the designer to use the technology and creativity to reflect and express the intention, style, and image of the exhibiting company. The goal is to achieve the desired purpose and effect of the exhibiting enterprise.
Handle the relationship between art and exhibition
Regardless of the design techniques being used, and also the background (including display racks, props, and decorations), the protagonist is the stand and exhibit products. Booth design can overwhelm the products. You shouldn’t emphasize too much on the booth design and neglect the exhibition stand and product display.
Handling the relationship between exhibition and trading
The booth reflects the image of the exhibitor. A well-designed booth can attract the audience and impresses the exhibits. The exhibits can reflect the characteristics, advantages, and give a good impression to the visitors.
If it is a public exhibition, such a design achieves its purpose. But if it is a trade fair, the design has not yet reached its final goal.
The relationship between exhibition design and other related parties
Designers must understand that the exhibitors want the design that will match the exhibition environment and conditions. They will need to coordinate the work with the promoters and advertisers.
What is the Importance of Exhibition?
The exhibition offers opportunities for companies to showcase their services and products. Exhibitors’ competitiveness can be radiant through well-trained booth staff, active pre-show, exhibition promotions, fascinating booth design, and rigorous booth follow-up.
Visitors come to the exhibition will use the opportunity to do their comparison on different exhibitors. Therefore, this is an open opportunity for exhibitors to show the superior functionality of their products.
Save time
It exposes the exhibitors to more potential customers than the sales staff during the exhibition. Meeting face-to-face with potential customers is a quick way to build customer relationships.
Harmonizing customer relationships
Customer relationships are very important for many companies. The exhibition is a great place to get connected with existing customers.
Exhibitors can express their gratitude to customers in the following ways:
- Hospitality
- Offering discount
- Give away free gift
- Offer a special service
- Etc.
What is the Difference Between Exposition and Exhibition?
The general scale of an expo is large and worldwide. For an exhibition, it is small and most of the time is regional targeting.
Expo
It refers the expo to an exhibition with a large scale. It features a wide range of contents and numerous exhibitors and visitors. Generally, the expo is a high-end exhibition. It can influence and promote the development of society, culture, and economy. But, in real life, we have abused the “expo”. From time to time, you can even see some expos are being held by the local stores on the street.
Exhibition
The traditional exhibition is a routine public relations activity that conveys information through on-site exhibitions and demonstrations. It is recommended for companies to showcase their services and products to the visitors in an exhibition. It has developed into an exhibition industry and is developing rapidly.
As a concept, the definition of the exhibition is to display industrial and agricultural products, handicraft products, works of art, books, pictures, various important items, specimens, models, etc. It is open for the public to visit. This definition does not seem to be accurate and is worth further exploring.
Trade show
A trade show is a publicity campaign to showcase products and technologies. The company can use trade show to expand channels, promote sales, and increase brand recognition.
Types of Exhibitions
We can divide the exhibition into two categories: trade and consumer.
Trade-oriented exhibitions are exhibitions for industries such as manufacturing and commerce. The main purpose of the exhibition is to exchange information and negotiate a trade.
Consumer-oriented exhibitions are exhibitions for the public. These types of exhibitions basically display consumer goods for direct sales. The nature of the exhibition is determined by the organizers of the exhibition and can be reflected by the composition of the visitors.
Exhibitions that are open to the business community are trade-oriented exhibitions. While exhibitions open to the public are consumer-oriented exhibitions.
According to the nature of the exhibition
We can divide the exhibition into two categories: comprehensive exhibition and professional exhibition.
The comprehensive exhibition refers to exhibitions that cover the whole industry or several industries. It’s also called horizontal exhibitions, such as industrial exhibitions and light industry exhibitions.
A professional exhibition is an exhibition that shows a certain industry or even a certain product, such as a watch exhibition.
One of the outstanding features of professional exhibitions is that they often hold seminars and presentations at the same time to introduce new products and technologies.
According to the scale of the exhibition, we can divide the exhibitions into international, national, regional, local exhibitions, and exclusive exhibitions of individual companies.
For the exhibition size, it is referred to the size of the area represented by exhibitors and visitors rather than the size of the exhibition venue.
Exhibitions of different sizes have different characteristics and advantages. They should be selected according to the company’s own conditions and needs.
Exhibit according to the exhibition time
There are some exhibitions that held regularly and irregularly.
For a regular exhibition, some may be held four times a year, twice a year, once a year, once every two years, and so on.
While for irregular exhibitions, they are held according to needs and conditions. They can be categorized into Long-term and short-term.
Long-term exhibitions can be held for three months, half a year, or even permanent. While short-term exhibitions generally do not exceed one month. In developed countries, professional trade fairs are generally held for three days.
Select exhibition according to the exhibition venue
Exhibition venue can be either indoor or outdoor.
Indoor venues are often used to display exhibitions of conventional products. Most of the common one would be textile exhibitions and electronic exhibitions.
Outdoor venues are often used to display oversized and overweight products. Such as air show and mining equipment exhibition. Exhibitions held in rotation in several places are called road shows. (Most of the exhibitions are held in dedicated exhibition venues).
Advantages of Exhibition
Why do we need to take part in an exhibition? What are the benefits of attending a roadshow? For many, participate in exhibitions are the most direct marketing method for both individuals and businesses.
For business
Low cost to contact with customers
Companies need to reach qualified customers and participate in the exhibition is the most effective way. The survey shows that the average cost of using the exhibition to reach customers is only 40% of the cost compared to using other ways to reach customers.
Meet potential customers
According to the study, based on the average number of visitors on an exhibitor’s booth, only 12% of the people received calls from the company’s sales staff within 12 months before the exhibition; 88% were new potential customers, and the exhibition can help to bring high-quality new customers to the company.
Save time and get a better result
During the few days of exhibiting, the potential prospective customers exposed by exhibitors are more than the number of customers they can reach in 6 months or even 1 year. More importantly, face-to-face communication with potential customers is important to establish mutual trust quickly.
Market competition analysis
The exhibition venue provides an opportunity for a company to study the competitive situation. The role of this opportunity is incalculable. In the exhibition, a company can use information from competitors on products, prices, and marketing strategies. All these are precious information that can help a company to develop effective long-term plans.
Expanding the impact of the company
Most exhibitions usually attract the attention of many media. Using the media for publicity is a rare opportunity for exhibitors.
For individuals
Understand peer information
Master the trends and rules of peer development and determine a more accurate strategy for the company.
Investigate local market needs and potential
The exhibition can bring together all the peers in the same industry. The company salespersons can feel the room of development and marketing share of their company. Besides, they also understand the potential of their products.
Establish and protect the company’s image
Especially in the regions or countries where customers and dealers are relatively concentrated. We can use the exhibition to enhance the company’s image, improve the visibility of the products and the competitiveness in the market.
Allow easy accessibility of the customers
A company may have a lot of customers in a certain region or country, they are just not able to visit their customers one by one. But in an exhibition, all the dealers or customers can gather and negotiate one by one. This can improve the accessibility and negotiate of customers with the company.
How to Take part in Exhibition?
Whether it is a local supplier or an overseas buyer, everyone is looking to have a good result and gain something when taking part in an exhibition. To have a successful exhibition, there are things that need to be done. These things may not quickly and intuitively reflect the value and importance, and many people tend to neglect. But in fact, it is very important for you to make a killing in your exhibition.
Don’t Keep on Sitting
Why is this? Think about it carefully, we spend a lot of time and effort to prepare for the exhibition. Why do we want to do this? It is because we want to show a good company image and leave a good impression to our potential customers so they will have interest and confidence in our company.
If customers see we are all sitting inside the booth, they may feel we are not serious about doing business with them. Imagine when we go to an exhibition as an audience or customer, we bump to a booth and see a bunch of salespersons are sitting there and staring at you, what do you feel?
You will quickly turn and go away, don’t you? It is the same if you keep sitting in your booth, your potential customers will also run away.
The customers are coming all the way, walking through the entire exhibition hall and reaching your booth, but the first thing that sees in their eyes is you are sitting there, while they are standing, they will have the feeling and question: “Are you are more tired than me? Is this the way you treat your customer? Is this your profession?”
The exhibition is generally only held for three days. But in fact, more often than not it only lasts for two-and-a-half days. You work from 9 to 5, which is eight hours a day. After deducting your meal time and recess time, there are only a few hours you need to stand and serve customers. That should be not a problem for you to stand for these few hours.
Keep an eye on customers
When you take part in an exhibition, you should be always quick to respond. When you see a visitor coming over, you must be prepared. He/She may aim at your product samples and you will need to react to them immediately. One thing you need to remember is to always put a smile on your face.
It is rather easy to manage if there is only a single-open booth for your company in an exhibition. But for a booth that is having 2 or 3 openings, it required the station of sale persons. Because the guests may come in different directions, and the station will change accordingly with the number of people.
If there is only one sale person in the booth, you must stand in front of the backboard and face to the opening area. Even if there is a customer come to ask you something, lead the customer to this position. This is to ensure that the whole booth can be controlled during the negotiation. Such a position is best for you to tackle customers and also prevent thieves.
If there are two sale persons, you can use the symmetric oblique position. Like this each of you can remind each other of there is someone coming over. You can then response quick. When one of you is feeling tired, you can swift to 1 person standing position method as mentioned earlier. Like that, another person can have a little rest.
If there are three salespersons, one person can sit, rest, communicate, or deal with other things. Anyway, you shouldn’t allow any no visual dead end in your booth.
Don’t Meddle With Your Mobile Phone
When customers see you are meddling with your mobile phone, they may think: “Are you going to tell me you are very busy, or you want to let me know your business is very poor?”
Sometimes the customers can get really frustrated when they see are the sale persons are playing with their phones and ignore the customers. If their company knowing about this, for sure these people will lose their job. No company will spend money to hire people going to an exhibition by just playing with their phones and not entertaining the customers.
Not that you can’t play with your phone at all, but if you want to play, go to the aisle and play. Don’t play at the booth, so as not to affect the customer experience.
If you feel boring to keep standing at the booth, you can get a laptop and put it on the table. Like that, you do anything you want with the laptop and won’t frustrate the customers. When they see you so focus on the laptop, they will think you are working hard some more.
All visitors are potential customers
When exhibiting, we will meet many visitors who are not buyers. There are many people just come to hangouts; or competitors who come to inquire about the news; or cleaning workers, hawkers, people who want to get something. When we meet these people, we need to be tolerated.
Although they are not our customers, they are also part of the exhibition. They are also serving us. It is a good time to come and join us. It is much better than no one to come to the booth. Even if it is a competitor, it doesn’t matter.
In this world, business is not going to monopolize by anyone. There are plenty of competitions you can get. As long as you the thing you should do, you will be OK. There is no need to give yourself so many imaginary enemies. Trying to treat everyone like a customer is also an ability.
There are many things to pay attention to when attending an exhibition. For example, the boss or the person in charge should lead by example by not showing any negative behavior.
As long as you do what has been suggested above, everything should be good. When the spirit is there, all the good things will come, and you will make a good success in your exhibition.
