An exhibition is among the most powerful marketing tools available to companies today.

There are two basic reasons for participating in either a trade or a consumer exhibition:

• It informs the marketplace of your product or service.

• It increases sales and consumption of your product or service.

But there are other major benefits:

• An exhibition brings the mountain to Mohammed. It is a cost-effective way of drawing your target market to you in one place at the one time.
• It appeals to all five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
• It combines all the elements of the promotional mix – advertising, public relations, sales promotions and selling.
• Each visitor is a qualified prospect by being there.
• At an exhibition, the passing trade of potential and qualified customers that walk past your stand is measured in the thousands. Whereas in an average retail environment the passing trade is significantly lower, and more than likely not qualified or directly interested in your product or service.

And there are additional benefits:

• An exhibition enables all aspects of the selling process – attention, persuasion, desire and purchasing - to be compressed into a single activity.
• It enables you to continue creating awareness of your product or service, and of your company and its position within the marketplace.
• It broadens your customer base. The drawing power of an exhibition is such that visitors will often travel from interstate and even overseas to attend.
• You can introduce new products and services to an instant audience.
• An exhibition provides contact with your existing clients in a relaxed atmosphere and is a far more cost-effective way of reaching a new audience than cold-calls.
• It allows you to position your product or service in line with a total competitive offering, and highlight its strengths.
• It allows you to research potential acceptance of new products or services, or even new directions that your company might take.
• It provides access to the media, which uses an exhibition for gathering information on new directions within an industry.
• Your participation in an exhibition signals your support for the industry you are part of.
• An exhibition provides an opportunity for you to bring together staff from around the country or overseas and to conduct your own company conference, product brush-ups and sales meetings.

Also of interest is the length of time visitors spend at an exhibition:

• 44% spend up to 4 hours at a show
• 37% spend 5 to 10 hours
• 19% spend 10 to 16 hours

An excerpt from: Exhibitions: A Complete Guide
by Gary-Fitz-Roy


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