How to make the most of your exhibition investment at The Kent Business Show

Having helped leading companies in the security, construction and technology sectors make the most of their exhibition investment in the UK and international markets, Michelle at Morton Waters has a few tips to share with Kent Business Show exhibitors.

Exhibiting at a business expo is a fantastic opportunity for companies to showcase their products and services, network with and learn from industry peers, and generate leads. The Kent Business Show brings together the dynamic and diverse businesses of Kent, giving you direct access to the key decision makers and potential customers from across the county, and beyond.

For any business, from start up to market leader, maximising the return on your exhibition investment is vital, especially when you factor in the commitment of time and staff to host your stand. Sadly, too often I see businesses invest budget and time into an exhibition stand and then adopt a passive stance before and during the event, hoping that interested parties will miraculously approach them on the day. To make the most of the opportunities presented, I’d advise taking proactive steps to work your way to the top of people’s ‘must see’ list.

So, what steps should you be taking to maximise your exhibition investment, and make sure you come away with quality leads? Here are a few things to help ensure a successful and impactful presence at The Kent Business Show…

Leverage all marketing opportunities included in your stand package 

Speak to the exhibition organisers if you’re not sure what’s included, or download a copy of the event prospectus.  

We’ve even got a special offer available for exhibitors. Our team is on hand to provide a free one-hour audit of your current marketing practices, along with tailored tips on how to make the most of your exhibition presence. If you’d like to arrange a free one-hour audit, please contact me on michelle@mortonwaters.com.

Let your contacts know you’re exhibiting and invite them to your stand 

Reach out to potential attendees with a pre-exhibition marketing campaign. Tell them about product launches, speaker slots you’re participating in etc. Think emails, social posts, LinkedIn DMs, email signatures…there are so many options!

Create useful, reader-orientated content to host on your website and share it widely 

In the months leading up to the event, give people a reason to want to visit your stand. Case studies are a great way to showcase the scale and scope of services you deliver, or products you provide.

Whitepapers or thought leadership articles are well received too because they aren’t a hard sell and instead seek to educate and inform.  Think about what hurdles your customers face in their day-to-day roles, and how your knowledge can help them to make their jobs simpler. 

Now share that content!

Once you have created this content, don’t just let it sit on your website. Get it in front of your target audiences by shouting about it on your social channels. Prepare regular posts, comment in relevant groups, send DMs to people you’re interested in meeting at the show with links to content that will interest them.

An email marketing campaign in the run-up to a significant exhibition can really help to raise your profile, especially if you are able to offer workshops, access to high-profile spokespeople, on-stand drinks, or other elements that can make all the difference to a visitor’s experience. 

If you don’t already have an engaged database of contacts, find out if the show organisers are planning any eshots which you can be part of. You could also use LinkedIn to research contacts and build your own list. Many people feature their business email address on their LinkedIn profiles and, if not, you could always DM them via the platform itself.    

Of course, the ideal position to be in is to be unveiling a new and innovative product or service, and this should be teased and pre-promoted to ensure that your stand is a destination that is high on attendees’ agendas. If this is the case, the potential also exists for specific media activities on stand or around the show to capitalise on the journalists’ presence and build good links with these key influencers.

Prepare your follow up marketing activities in advance 

There’s a lot to think about and prepare for prior to an exhibition. One area which often gets overlooked in the pre-/during-show buzz is post-show follow-up, and this can be a costly mistake to make. You’ve put in so much effort to get to this point, and now is the time to nurture the new relationships you’ve made.

Have an e-blast ready to send immediately post show, perhaps linking to downloadable case studies, a whitepaper or other assets. Even just a quick, “thank you for visiting our stand” is better than silence.

This is just a taster of some of the things you should be considering to make sure you get the most out of your investment. If you want more detail, I’ve also prepared a pretty comprehensive checklist which you can access below or by clicking here, covering off the major things you need to be thinking about and planning for ahead of the big day.

If you need help with any of the elements mentioned, our team at Morton Waters would be happy to help, so feel free to get in touch with me on michelle@mortonwaters.com to get the conversation started.