Participation in exhibitions and fairs is an important mechanism for promoting a product or service of any organization on the market. That is why preparation for participation should be carried out in a mode of special importance. There are no trifles in this activity, because any detail exposed to wide circles of the public can have both positive and negative results.
As a rule, the organization of the company's presentation at exhibitions falls on the shoulders of public relations departments, press centers, as well as other structural divisions involved in exhibition and fair activities. If there are no such labor reserves, then the whole company is involved in the organization, from the management to the office staff.
To a large extent, a company's presentation depends on the nature of the exhibition. Industry events, as a rule, bring together figures of a certain business area: trade, construction, scientific activity, etc. Thus, the company should be ready to see the achievements of its partners and competitors at neighboring stands. The frequency of the exhibition also affects how the stand should be designed. For annual events, it is unacceptable to use outdated presentation materials developed on the basis of irrelevant information.
The preparation process for the exhibition begins several months before its start. The first step to creating a presentation material is to draft a concept. This schematic participation plan includes a list of presentation materials: stands, banners, video and audio products, booklets and other handouts. The archive of exhibition participation, which is compiled by the public relations departments, will allow to prepare the optimal amount of material. At the same time, the cost estimate for the production of presentation materials is approved.
At this stage, it is important to identify the strengths of the company, i.e. its product or service. Competitive advantages should be clearly communicated to potential consumers through presentation materials - booklets, banners, video clips. We should not forget about special stand installations that can be made at the request of the customer - a model of new equipment or a visual panorama of the materials being manufactured. If a company produces unbreakable dishes, then at a specialized exhibition it would be appropriate to demonstrate the quality of the product, giving anyone the opportunity to try to damage the product.
In addition, it would be ethically correct to provide for the possibility of a prolonged conversation between the interested visitor of the exhibition and the company representative. A block with notes and pens should be installed at the stand so that anyone can make notes in the course of obtaining the necessary information. It is desirable that these accessories be marked with the company logo.
The second step is to work out draft options for banners and stand installations. As a rule, this is done using a corporate color scheme, font and logo. The sizes of all stands are made or purchased taking into account the size of the presentation cell.
The next stage is the selection of personnel to work at the stand. Often the presentation is carried out by the employees of the company. An important plus of this approach is that specialists can competently tell about the activities of the organization and, if necessary, answer questions that visitors to the exhibition may have. Additional employees to participate in the presentation can be hired as extras for distributing flyers, filling out questionnaires, etc.
The effectiveness of participation is determined by a simple calculation of the volume of established partnerships. The higher the interest of the exhibition visitors to the presentation layout, the greater the effect of the company's participation in the event. Therefore, it is better that the application for participation in the exhibition was submitted one of the first, so that the participant could be the first to choose the location of the stand. In addition, you should not refuse the offers of the exhibition organizers to act as a special partner of the event. This advantage will increase the number of rotations of the organization's name during the exhibition, and will also have a positive effect on the company's image.
