Overview
Participating in sales exhibitions and trade fairs can be an effective way to directly reach customers who are interested in purchasing your product or service. It can also provide the opportunity to make new contacts, raise your profile and undertake market research.

To maximise your success, it is important to plan carefully. This factsheet covers the main issues you need to consider when thinking about incorporating events and trade fairs into your marketing strategy.

Which exhibition or trade fair?
Before making any decisions regarding which event to participate in, it is important to consider your overall business objectives and how taking part will help you to achieve them.

Are your business objectives to make money, raise your profile or to reach a specific type of customers for example trade or general public?

Why take part?
Once you have clarified that it fits in with the overall business plan, you need to identify the specific aims you want to achieve from taking part in an event, such as how much money you want to make or how many products or services you want to sell. Or whether this type of exhibition or trade show attracts a lot of press - which will help raise your profile.

Your aims may be to:

• Generate revenue from the exhibition of £2,000
• Sell ten pieces
• Add 50 new contacts to your customer database (this could include customers and anyone else that showed interest and could be a potential buyer)
• Gain two pieces of press coverage

When you have established your aims, you need to find a relevant event that will help you achieve them.

Research
It is advisable to visit any event that interests you beforehand, to see how busy it is, what type of customers are attending and whether they fit your target markets. You should also speak to exhibitors to get some first hand feedback on how beneficial they have found it and whether they have encountered any problems regarding its organisation and promotion.

You can also contact the event organisers to get some statistics on how many customers have attended in previous years and the average spend per head and average transaction. This will help ascertain whether customers are willing to pay for your products and services.

Also find out how the event promoter is planning to market the event, where they will be advertising and if they are producing an exhibition catalogue and website that you can be featured in.

Budgets
When putting together a budget, the cost of the trade stand should be included, as well all the additional costs such as:

• Production of stock to sell
• Purchase of display materials
• Insurance for damage, loss, theft and third party
• Marketing materials, photography and printing of price list
• Business cards
• Press packs
• Invitations and postage
• Refreshments during the exhibition
• Payment of any helpers on the stand
• Travel and accommodation (if relevant)
• Transport of products and display materials
• Your time should also be factored in - both for the preparation and taking part

Costs can be reduced by sharing the stand space with friends or colleagues who are selling similar products or by applying to take part in an arts organisation’s stand. Always get three quotes before choosing suppliers, so that you know that you are getting good value, in terms of marketing materials and transport etc.

You will also need to identify whether your projected sales will cover the cost of taking part in an event, and whether you can afford to take part. It is advisable to create three budgets, based on the worst case and best case scenario as well as a more realistic one. This will help you to develop contingency plans so you are able to deal with whatever the response at the event is.

Preparing for the event
Once you have identified your aims, undertaken your research and developed a budget, you need to ensure every aspect of the event is carefully planned.

Time plan
Creating a time plan helps you to utilise your time efficiently so that everything gets done to schedule. You need to think about how long it will take to design and create your stand, develop your marketing materials and when to invite customers and press.

Many tradeshows and selling exhibition have a selection process, with deadlines for applications a couple of months before the show. Make sure that you are aware of the dates and the application requirements, so that you will be on time.

Develop your stand
Think about how you want to display your goods and services, it is important to show a good range but also make sure that the space does not look cluttered and uninviting.

Have written information available such as a CV, price list, brochures, leaflets, post cards, business cards and think about where you are going to put these so that they are accessible to customers.

Plan whether you need to have shelves as well as a display table and bear in mind you can’t use nails or screws on partitions - therefore make sure that you can affix things with blu-tack, double-sided sticky tape or velcro.

Think about how to make your stand more stylish or interesting. Add some colour (i.e. flowers, sweets, posters, logo, background) or movement and ensure your stand is well lit. Visit other exhibitions to get ideas about what you like and don’t like and what works well on stands.

Marketing materials
Consider whether you want to produce a brochure or a postcard to give to potential customers and don’t forget your business cards. Also have a book where interested clients can join your mailing list and write comments about your work. Bring an updated portfolio (especially if you provide services or commissions).

Press pack
Have a press pack available on your stand: include your CV, some images of your work, retail price list, press release, photocopy of press clippings.

Price list
These should be consistent with your marketing materials and business cards and look professional. It is important to include photographs, sketches and code numbers. These will help the buyers remember who you are long after the event. Make sure that you have two price lists - for trade and retail.

Invitation list
Put together a list of customers, industry contacts and press to invite. Send your own invitations or include a letter with invitations provided by the event organisers. Remember to put your stand number on them so you can be easily found.

Stock
Think about how much you want to sell and therefore what needs to be produced before the event. It is advisable to bring additional pieces with you in case of breakages. Do you know what the storage arrangements are during the show? Is extra space available for stock or large boxes, or do you have to provide your own on your stand?

Purchases and orders
Will you be taking orders or selling on the day? Have your ordering and invoicing systems prepared and find out if you need to know about VAT and export tax. If selling, ensure you have a moneybox. Also consider how you are going to wrap customer purchases, take wrapping paper, bubble wrap, plastic bags, cello tape, pair of scissors etc. If taking orders think about lead times and when you would be able to deliver - and remember that being overly optimistic can result in lost customers and a bad reputation.

Manning the stand
It is likely that you will need some help manning the stand, so that you can take breaks. Attending events can be very tiring and you won’t be able to spend days there on your own. Ensure that whoever helps you understands your products and services, knows the pricing structures, is professional and able to sell.

Practice your sales pitch
To sell confidently, it can be a good idea to practise your pitch beforehand. You don’t need to go in for the hard sell, just need to remember that to be successful a sale proposition must be based on consumer benefits, not on features.

Selling: features and benefits
Features are a noticeable part or quality in something i.e. for a pair of shoes: they are pink, they have a heel and a strap, are handmade and sold in Selfridges. It is a fact about the product or service.

Benefits are things that the customer values i.e. they will make you look and feel sophisticated and, you will be comfortable wearing them all day and, you’ll be the envy of your friends as you were the first to buy them in Selfridges. It relates to the customer motivation for buying the product or service - what it will give them.

One feature can have various benefits, and different benefits can matter in different degrees to different clients. Ask your existing clients why they choose to work with you or buy from you and you will find out.

To turn a feature into a benefit you add the words ‘so that’, i.e. we sell framed photographs so that you do not have to worry about framing the work and it is easier to wrap as a present for Christmas.

On the dayPresent your work and yourself in the best possible way. Stand up and look interested, do not eat or drink on your stand, give people space to look at your work. A stool is better than a chair, and a small desk with drawers is better than a table.

Selling to the public

Address people if they stand still for a couple of seconds. Smile and say something like ‘Would you like to know more about this work?’ or ‘Can I help you?’

Try and find out as soon as possible what the person is specifically interested in and then target your talk to that. Make sure it is a dialogue and not a monologue.

Networking
Networking is the most effective promotional activity for a creative business and events can be a great way to build relationships with clients, the press, new contacts and your peers.

Networking is about finding out how business is being done and about creating opportunities. It is not about using people, but about creating a two-way information stream whereby you can receive referrals.

Developing a database/mailing list
At exhibitions collect business cards in a book or box. If people buy from you ask if they would like to go on your mailing list. Write down where you met them and in what they were interested. Also have a system to identify how likely a client they will be (i.e. five star is a more important client than a three star). In the future you can send them an update or invite them to other exhibitions by mail or email.

Developing your own database of potential clients is also a very effective marketing tool. Interested or existing clients are far more likely to buy again and to recommend you to others who might want to buy from you as well. People who buy crafts and art love what you do and like to be kept informed about your progress.

Exhibiting internationally
If you have exhibited in the UK you might also be interested in showing overseas. Very often you are eligible for grants and business support to attend or exhibit at these events. A very good website is www.creativexport.org.uk and UK Trade & Invest.

Further information

Insights

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