When it comes to exhibitions, they are a great way of networking and building relationships with new and existing companies. However, organising one may not be as easy as you think, so we are going to take you through our top 10 tips for organising a great exhibition.
1 Planning & Preparation
When it comes to organising an exhibition, there’s a large amount of planning and preparation needed for it to be successful. Start early; make sure that you plan your exhibition as early as possible before the event date. This is to allow for research, good PR and build-up, Also, the earlier you book your exhibition space the more likely you are to get a cheaper price! Plan out the exhibition floor plan on paper so that you are maximising the amount of space you have and ensuring you have the correct about of exhibitors.
2 Budgeting
Before you make any progress on organising your exhibition, you need to decide a budget you will be spending. This is so you do not waste time on looking at venues and additions that are out of your budget range. This will also help you to work out how much you will need to charge exhibitors in order to earn your money back and make a profit.
3 Location is Important
You are going to want to exhibit somewhere that is easy to get to for both companies and visitors, as well as catering to the size and style of your exhibition. Take into consideration the whereabouts of the venue, how easy it is to access and the size of the exhibition hall.
You should choose your location once you have finalised how many companies will be exhibiting, in addition to the predicted amount of people who will be visiting. We recommend choosing somewhere that is local to a train station and has parking available with easy access via road.
4 Size Matters
As mentioned above, the size of the venue is important to consider when organising an exhibition. You need to find a venue that caters for the amount of people you are expecting to exhibit and attend. You also do not want to book a venue that is too large for your event, making the event look spacious and empty.
5 What is the Exhibition About?
Another thing to think about when choosing a venue is determining what your exhibition is about, and the theme of your event. You should pick somewhere that partners your exhibition well. For instance, hosting an art exhibition will be best displayed inside of an art gallery. This will also help with selecting your exhibitors as you will have a theme that you are working towards.
6 Perks of the Venue
When organising an exhibition, it’s not only down to the location and size of the venue. Many venues offer a variety of perks to suit your exhibition and make it stand out, so consider perks that will improve the overall exhibition experience plus interest your exhibitors and visitors. For example, some venues have on-site cafés and restaurants, free parking, easy access via train and car and electrical equipment such as plug sockets, lighting and projectors.
7 Consumer Interest
Predicting how many people will be visiting your exhibition is important. This will help to decide the venue you use, the amount of food and drink needed (if desirable) and how many companies you would need to exhibit. In your planning and preparation, you should use the relevant marketing methods to communicate with potential visitors and get them interested.
8 Marketing Your Exhibition
There are a variety of ways you can promote your exhibition to an audience. Setting up social media accounts to spread news and make announcements is a quick way of promoting an event, and it’s completely free! This is great if you are organising on a tight budget. Another type of marketing you can use is a press release. Write an article about your exhibition and share it with news outlets and websites local to the venue, in the same industry as your event and exhibition news outlets. In addition, it’s a god idea to speak with your venue to see if they have any opportunities to share information about your exhibition.
9 Logistics & Transport
Now you have your venue booked, your exhibitors have been signed up and your visitors are looking forward to attending, you will need to make sure that all exhibitors can get to the venue easily and set up their stands. Speak with your venue and ask if they have a partner logistics service that you can offer to your exhibitors at a better price. Alternatively, speak with a trusted logistics company that specialise in events and exhibitions and create a deal with them as the exclusive transporter for your exhibition and the exhibitors.
10 Following-Up
Once your exhibition has been successful and over, do not forget to follow-up with both the exhibitors and the visitors! Thank the exhibitors for their involvement in the event and offer them early access to next year’s exhibition at a returning exhibitor discounted fee. As for the visitors, thank them for attending your exhibition and ask them to answer a questionnaire. Ask questions to get feedback on the exhibition theme, the exhibitors and the venue. This will help you when planning your next exhibition.
Here at Coventry Conferences we have a variety of rooms that have been specifically designed for events and exhibitions. Our largest exhibition room can cater for 200 people and is perfect for small scale exhibitions in order to achieve maximum impact. As well as the exhibition room, we are easily accessible via car (located at Coventry University) and a 10-minute walk from the local train station. We also have in-house catering and restaurant, car parking, on-site AV support and more!
For more information about hiring our exhibition rooms please call us +44 (0)24 7623 6427 or email enquiries@coventryconferences.co.uk.
