10 Biggest Mistakes Companies Make at Exhibitions

Here we take a look at our top mistakes to avoid when next exhibiting at a trade show.

1. Not Setting Targets & Objectives

Exhibiting at a trade show without setting any business objectives for your brand is one of the biggest mistakes you could make. By doing this, there is no way to measure the success of attending the show and no way to know if that specific show is any better or worse for your business than another. Find out how to set goals, objectives and KPIs for exhibitions on our blog.

2. Not Investing in A Professional Stand Space

Exhibition halls are high energy, dynamic event spaces with a lot to see. If you want to stand out from your direct competitors (who might just be positioned next door to you), you’ll need a professional, eye-catching exhibition stand with the best pop up stands, furniture and accessories possible to draw people over to your space. You can find a plethora of options with the help of ExpoCart.

3. Choosing the Wrong Expo Team

The team you take to your exhibition is just as important as the product you’re trying to sell. Make sure you’ve got a team of people who can do everything that needs to be done at the show, from stand set-up to the intricacies of product demonstrations. Where your best salespeople will be important, you will also need lead capturers, IT and tech and any other team members that are crucial to your specific business. Check out our blog all about how to choose the right exhibition staff.

4. Not Managing Your Team Properly

Once you’ve chosen the right team, make sure you manage then properly, setting shifts to allow for enough rest to make sure that the pressure of busy exhibition days doesn’t affect the team’s professionalism or performance.

5. Not Creating and Implementing a Lead Capture Strategy

It’s easy to focus all attention on your stand and your product but remember why you are exhibiting. If it’s to gain customers, you need to concentrate on how to turn stand visitors into strong leads and how you will manage this data for after the show. Don’t wing this strategy as getting it wrong could lead to wasted time and money.

6. Not Preparing and Practicing Your Pitch and Demos

It’s easy to underestimate the pressure of client pitches and public product demonstrations when you know your product so well. Think you can wing it? Think again. Explaining your product to another colleague is different from captivating an audience at a corporate event. Practice your pitch or product demo to ensure you’re making the most of your and their time.

7. Not Creating Contingency Plans

Whatever you do in business, things can go wrong. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst with contingency plans for the central aspects of your product and business that could potentially go wrong at an exhibition. Can’t product demo without Wi-Fi? Take back-up.

It’s not just the build-up and the duration of the event that matters. Avoid these top three mistakes after your next trade show too.

8. Not Targeting Your Leads Properly

Having spent three days working tirelessly to collect good lead data, make sure you use the information in the best possible way. Split your leads into categories of weak or strong and contact them appropriately with targeted messaging rather than wasting the contacts with bulk or mass messaging that doesn’t necessarily apply to every lead.

9. Damaging or Throwing Out Your Stand

When you’ve had a tough few days at an exhibition, you’re likely to want to make the packing up process as quick as possible. However, make sure you carefully pack away and store your stand and signage as damage can lead to you having to reinvest all over again next time.

10. Looking at ROI

After your event, when you’ve followed up leads and measured conversion success, you need to work out your return on investment for the exhibition to check that the process has been beneficial to your business in the long run. Not doing this practice can lead you to exhibit more often than your business requires or even exhibiting at the wrong events.

Work to avoid our top ten mistakes for exhibitions and trade shows and you’ve got a great chance of seeing success for your business during and after the event. With the help of ExpoCart, you can create the best and most professional exhibition stands and attract potential leads and customers from across the event space.

Browse our collection packed with everything from pop up stands to full exhibition shell scheme graphics for everything you could need for your next event and check out our exhibition survival guide for everything you might need to know about exhibiting at a trade show.