Make Your Exhibition Stand Out From the Rest
Exhibition design is a crucial element of the marketing strategy of any business. It is the one of the most basic and one of the best ways to put forth its product or service to the target market- the best way to ‘show off’ and put the product ‘out there’. Hence, successful exhibition is crucial to the success of a product, and ultimately, of the company.
For exhibition design to be successful, the company needs to ensure that they are clear in its marketing strategy. After all, the marketing strategy is the base of the exhibition design plan. If there are loopholes in the marketing strategy and plan itself, the exhibition is bound to suffer. However, if the marketing strategy is foolproof and has clear objectives, the exhibition is more likely to be a success too.
The marketing strategists should understand the fact that at the end of the day, the goal of exhibition is to generate as many ‘sales leads’ as possible, which can be followed up later and converted to customers. In this sense, it is good practice to form the exhibition goals and targets in terms of numbers, so the results are easily measurable and practical. This way, the exhibition team will also be more motivated to perform their best in order to reach the targets, rather than just wait for people to walk in.
Talking about the marketing strategy in terms of exhibition design, the company should finalize the visual identity that it wants to project through the exhibition, which is more often than not, along the lines of the existing branding strategy of the company. However, there might be slight changes incorporated specifically keeping in mind the exhibition.
Other than the visual identity, the company also should identify the target market/ group from among the people attending the show. Identifying the target market is a very crucial process in marketing strategy in general. It is just as important in exhibition design, because not everyone who is attending the show will be equally interesting in your offering. In order to attract the right group of people to the stand, it is crucial to identify them first. The target group is mostly affected by the event at which the company chooses to exhibit.
Before identifying the target group, it is important to finalize the exact product/ service or combination that the company wants to market through the exhibition. Only when the company is clear about the offering will it be able to sell it, and sell it to the right people. Generally, most companies have a range of product or service offerings. However, a company might decide to sell only one or a few of these products or services in an exhibition. Most times, these products will be ones that are new in the market and the exhibition is geared towards creating awareness about the new product offering.
Having established the product offering and the target group, the marketing strategy should establish the selling strategy. The exhibition design will be successful only if the selling strategy is clearly established and communicated to all parties involved in the process.
The exhibition design should be based on all these factors. The company should ensure that the proper company identity and branding is maintained during the exhibit. These factors come into play from the marketing strategy point of view.
There are other things that need to be taken care of, from the practical point of view. While implementing the exhibit, the company will have to take care of the layout, design, construction, installation, lighting, storage, aspects of the exhibit stand. Now, all companies might not be equally geared towards handling all these practical aspects efficiently. This is when many companies hire the services of a professional exhibition design company. Such companies have ample practical experience in this field to ensure a successful exhibit. Moreover, credible exhibition design companies also have experience and knowledge about marketing/ branding, so they are able to ensure successful implementation of your company’s marketing strategy in the exhibit.
Choosing to outsource the implementation part of the exhibit will be a smart decision when the company does not have the resources required for good exhibition design. Even a simple thing like constructing the exhibit stand needs the right training to ensure safety and functionality. Good exhibition design companies have well-trained and experienced staff that specialize in the specific tasks involved in the exhibit. The best thing about outsourcing the implementation part is that you can concentrate on the basic aspects like marketing strategy and the customer experience in the stand.