Participation in exhibitions is an important business for enterprises pin One way is also the preferred way for enterprises to open up new markets. The opportunity to bring together important manufacturers and buyers in an industry at the same time and at the same place cannot be found in other occasions. By participating in the exhibition, people can quickly and comprehensively understand the market situation. Many industrial and commercial enterprises use the exhibition as a channel to test sell new products and launch new brands to customers at home and abroad. At the same time, through contacts with buyers around the world, they can understand who the real customers are and what the industry's development trend is, and ultimately achieve the goal of promoting products and occupying the market. A recent survey made by the US Trade and Exhibition Bureau shows that more than two-thirds of enterprises in manufacturing, communication and wholesale industries often participate in exhibitions; Although the service industries such as finance and insurance can only display materials and pictures, more than 1/3 of the companies still regard exhibitions as the main marketing means.

Understanding Properties

To make full use of exhibitions, we must understand their characteristics. Exhibition is different from other marketing methods. It is a marketing activity that makes full use of all the senses of the human body, and people can achieve a more comprehensive and profound understanding of products through exhibitions. At the same time, the exhibition is a neutral place, which is not private to either party. From the psychological point of view, this kind of environment is easy to make people feel independent, so they can negotiate with a positive and equal attitude. This highly competitive and fully free atmosphere is exactly what enterprises need when developing markets. At the same time, the exhibition is a very complex system project, subject to many factors. From the formulation of plans, market research, booth selection, exhibition collection, customs declaration and transportation, customer invitation, exhibition layout, advertising, organization of transactions to the return of exhibits, an organic whole of mutual influence and mutual restriction has been formed. Any failure in any link will directly affect the effect of the exhibition activities.

If the characteristics of the exhibition are not well understood, even if the exhibitor spends a lot of manpower and material resources, it may not achieve the desired effect.

Clear objectives

When it comes to exhibition goals, several typical mistakes are often heard: "The boss asked us to come!" "Because we participate in this exhibition every year." "Because our competitors are also coming." "This is a big exhibition in the whole industry." In fact, these are not exhibition goals, and more are exhibition reasons, and none of them is the root cause. The exhibition objectives of enterprises usually include the following: establishing and maintaining the company image; Develop market and find new customers; Introduce new products or services; Look for agents, wholesalers or joint venture partners; Sales closing; Research the local market, develop new products, etc. According to the marketing theory, the German Exhibition Association classifies the exhibition objectives into five categories: basic objectives, product objectives, price objectives, publicity objectives and sales objectives. The enterprise may have several purposes at the same time, but before participating in the exhibition, it is necessary to determine the main objectives, so as to formulate specific plans and distinguish work priorities.

Choose carefully

Generally speaking, when selecting exhibitions, enterprises should focus on the following factors in combination with the purpose of participation:

1. Nature of the exhibition. Each exhibition has a different nature, which can be divided into image exhibition and commercial exhibition from the purpose of exhibition; From the perspective of industry setting, it can be divided into industry exhibitions and comprehensive exhibitions; According to audience composition, it can be divided into public exhibitions and professional exhibitions; According to trade mode, it can be divided into retail exhibition and order exhibition; According to exhibitors, there are comprehensive exhibitions, trade exhibitions, consumer exhibitions, etc. In developed countries, there are clear boundaries between exhibitions of different natures. However, in developing countries, due to the restrictions of the economic environment and the level of the exhibition industry, it is often difficult to have an accurate division. Exhibitors should choose carefully according to their own needs.

2. Fame. With the development of modern exhibition industry today, exhibitions in each industry have formed their own“ Faucet The "Boss" has become an indispensable place for buyers, such as Chicago Tool Show, Milan Fashion Show, Hanover Industrial Expo, Guangzhou National Export Commodities Fair, etc. Generally speaking, the higher the popularity of the exhibition, the more exhibitors and buyers it attracts, and the greater the possibility of a deal. If you participate in a new exhibition, it depends on who the sponsor is and how appealing it is in the industry. Famous exhibitions often charge higher fees. In order to save costs, you can share the booth with others. Even so, the effect will be better than that of participating in small unknown exhibitions.

3. Exhibition contents. One of the characteristics of modern exhibition industry is that it is becoming more and more professional. Exhibitions with the same theme can be subdivided into many small professional exhibitions. For example, it is also an exhibition related to beer. The specific contents of the exhibition may be malt and hops, brewing technology, production equipment, packaging materials or technology, or a brand war. Exhibitors must understand clearly in advance to avoid "going astray".

4. Time. Any product has its own life cycle. That is, the five stages of newborn, development, maturity, saturation and decline. There is a certain rule between exhibition efficiency and product cycle. For ordinary products, in the newborn and development stages, the exhibition has twice the result with half the effort; In the mature and saturated stage, the effect of exhibition may be twice the effort and half the effort; When it comes to recession, exhibitions often fail.

5. Location. The ultimate purpose of participating in the exhibition is to promote products to the region, so it is necessary to study whether the host place of the exhibition and surrounding radiation areas have their own target markets and potential purchasing power. If necessary, a market survey can be carried out first. Once there was a slipper manufacturer who took it for granted that if it was hot in Africa, he would be able to sell his products in Africa. When we arrived there, we found that the weather in Africa is hot, but the people of the superpowers there don't wear shoes at all.

Carefully prepare

Once you decide to participate in an exhibition, you should start active preparation immediately. Participating in the exhibition is a systematic project with a myriad of problems to consider. How can we make rational use of human resources, financial resources and energy?

It is suggested that exhibitors should start from here.

1. Selection of exhibits. Exhibits are a more important factor for exhibitors to impress visitors. Among the memory factors of visitors, "attractive exhibits" accounts for 39%, which should be given priority consideration. There are three principles for selecting exhibits, namely, pertinence, representativeness and uniqueness. Targeted means that the exhibits should conform to the purpose, policy, nature and content of the exhibition; Representativeness means that the exhibits should reflect the technical level, production capacity and industry characteristics of the exhibitors; Uniqueness means that exhibits should have their own uniqueness to distinguish them from other similar products.

2. Display method. In most cases, the exhibits themselves cannot explain all the situations and display all the features. They need to adapt to real objects such as charts, materials, photos, models, props, models or interpreters, and use decoration, scenery, lighting, audio-visual equipment and other means to explain, emphasize and render. If the exhibits are machinery or instruments, it is necessary to arrange on-site demonstration, or even let the visitors do it themselves; If it is food and beverage, consider letting visitors taste it on site and prepare small packages for free distribution; If it is clothing or backpack, use a model to show, or arrange a special performance. These are all to arouse the interest of visitors and increase their desire to buy.

3. Booth design. The surface task of booth design is to look good, while the fundamental task is to help exhibitors achieve the exhibition purpose. The booth should reflect the image of the exhibitor, attract the attention of visitors, and provide a functional environment for work. Therefore, while paying attention to the visual impact, the booth design should also pay attention to the following points: the exhibition is not a design contest, and the booth design should be coordinated with the overall trade atmosphere; The booth is designed to set off the exhibits, so that the green leaves can not overwhelm the red flowers; The public image of the exhibitors should be taken into account in the design of the booth, which should not be too innovative; When designing the booth, do not neglect the basic functions of the booth, such as display, meeting, consultation and rest.

4. Staffing. People are the most important element of exhibition work and the key to the success of exhibition key Where. The staffing of the booth can be considered from four aspects:

At the front, select the appropriate type or relevant department according to the nature of the exhibition door Personnel;
Second, determine the number of personnel according to the workload;
Third, pay attention to the basic quality of personnel, such as appearance, voice, character, consciousness, initiative, etc;
Fourth, strengthen on-site training, such as professional knowledge, product performance, demonstration methods, etc. The booth staff should flexibly respond to the characteristics of the commodities on display: if they are consumer goods, they should strive to establish a brand image and form affinity among consumers; If it is a new product, it must vigorously promote its uniqueness; If the product is original, its breakthrough in technology should be emphasized.

5. Customer invitation. At the exhibition, if customers can fill the door, it is certainly desirable, but sometimes it is inevitable that the door will be left cold. This requires exhibitors not only passively wait for customers, but also consciously invite customers to come. It can invite and attract customers by sending invitations directly, visiting the door, advertising through the media, on-site publicity, distributing materials and other means.

In short, we should prepare for a rainy day and put our work ahead. If the enterprises can select, select and prepare according to the above steps when participating in the exhibition, they will surely get twice the result with half the effort.