In this day and age we live in a global economy. No longer is it enough to exhibit locally and expect to draw the types of clientele you need. For example, many of the big e-commerce exhibitions and conventions are in the United States of America. If you are looking to attract people in this niche then you need to travel.
Equally, you need to be going to events regularly if exhibitions are your bread and butter. In this article we will take a look at some of the things you need to consider when you are looking at exhibitions around the world.
Get the tone and style white for the culture
Every country has its own culture. If you travel to Saudi Arabia for an exhibition that you won’t want to be handing out branded beer! Equally, if you are exhibiting in the UK at the NEC, then you may well want a more subdued approach than if you were exhibiting in Las Vegas. Make sure you think about your target audience, what is normal in that environment. You have to be completely normal but you need to follow the social and cultural conventions that are acceptable in the region in which you are exhibiting.
One size does not fit all
If you are used exhibiting in your country then don’t assume everything is the same elsewhere. We spoke to Nimlok a leading exhibition stand hiring company who explained: “Different exhibition centres are different rules. There are also exhibition centres of very different sizes around the world. The biggest exhibition centre in the world is Hanover Messelande, with a capacity of well over 460,000 m². You are likely to be facing a lot of competition and some pretty big stands in an area like that. If the NEC is split for multiple conventions you may have much smaller space to exhibit your goods and services. Make sure you know ahead of time exactly what to expect so you can get your stand right”
Understand where your prospects are from
As well as understanding the culture of the place you are exhibiting, it is also important to understand the people. It may be that you need to sell different ways to different cultures, and different target prospects expect to be sold to in different ways. By understanding the demographic profile and cultural backgrounds of your prospects you can ensure you follow a sales process that is flexible, yet targeted to each type of prospect.
The take home here really is to not expect the same situation in every exhibition around the world. You need to find out beforehand about how to tailor your processes, and layout your stand, to have the best chance of success. Make sure you stack the deck in your favour.
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