Customers shop at various exhibition stands at the Egypt and Middle East Expo in Eldoret. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA
By JOHN KAGECHE
Your grand stand at an exhibition is not meant for
grand standing. Exhibition stands are an investment from which a return
is expected.
Tragically, many institutions short-change themselves by
assuming that the stand is an extension of their shop floor or branch,
yet it’s not.
Unlike the branch, an exhibition stand is open for
a limited period and, therefore, offers a small window of opportunity
to exploit the interaction with customers. Also, the visitor to the
stand is usually not in business or buy mode but in a much more relaxed
frame of mind.
Thus exhibitions are an opportunity to present
one’s institution and products on a different and informal platform; one
of the objectives is to be seen through more appealing eyes.
Another objective is to get the mountain to Mohamed (in the case where the customer won’t come to you).
But all this isn’t merely for show. The primary
sales component is to secure hot leads. Building traffic to the stand
is, therefore, critical. And this is where many institutions struggle.
A housing expo is not similar one on Ghanaian
fabrics. One stands a much higher chance of making cash sales on site at
the Ghanaian expo.
Most visitors to the Ghanaian expo are local buyers
who are only too happy to have the mountain come to them. It
drastically lowers their costs of fabric acquisition even if for a
period, and they also know that the exhibition is touch and go.
The exhibitors are in the country for a limited period so the pressure of time adds to the urgency to buy and make contacts.
A local housing, engineering or motor expo
struggles with not only lack of pressure for time, but also the fact
that the products are major purchase decisions. Increasing traffic to
the stand, and therefore leads created, should be the driving thrust.
A radiantly branded, music blaring, high-end
furnished lounge will only do half the work. And it’s the half that
doesn’t pay. It will catch the eye but not necessarily the imagination.
To capture the imagination, institutions must go
beyond merely opening shop to getting the shop to come alive. Visitors
to exhibitions are not as primed to business as they would be when they
visit you in your offices.
They are more in entertainment mode. For many, it’s
even a family day out; which is why fast food stands thrive at
exhibitions with little effort.
The rest of the business must therefore don their
creative cap. The stand at the housing expo that offers a free ride
from the exhibition to the site and back does this; or, instead of the
salesman merely displaying and explaining what the powerful pump can do,
he connects it to a water source and demonstrates it shooting water the
five storey’s he says it can.
In addition to having the CCTV camera on display,
have the customer experience the live footage of the two of you talking,
right after you surprise her with footage tracking her from entry to
arrival at your standThe sales engineer at the children’s event who
insists on presenting the technical aspects of the pump will say the
investment was a waste of time as no parent came.
The one that has a clown and has the pump shaking the
bouncing castle will report on how worthwhile the investment was judging
by the overwhelming contacts.
Your grand stand is merely an open shop— a feature.
Getting visitors to experience your offering is what will win their
imagination and get you traffic.
Kageche is lead facilitator, Lend Me Your Ears, a sales training and development firm. Email:lendmeyourears@consultant.com
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