Objective Of Holding An Exhibition

Exhibitions and trade fairs are part of the process of product marketing. They have advantages, which other forms of marketing and promotions cannot offer. They provide the opportunity for large numbers of buyers and sellers in an industry to come into direct contact with each other in one place at the same time. Products of interest to the buyers can be viewed at the time that discussion is taking place, allowing the opportunity to handle, examine and compare with other products, go away to examine other company's products and return again for further examination, all within a short space of time.

Very few other selling situations can offer this flexible facility. Where else, for example, can competitor's product be seen nearby, enabling instant visual comparison. New products can be displayed in premier positions supported by appropriate captioning, highlighted and signposted. Dominant displays inevitably attract the trade press as well as passing buyers. Such press attention can result in reviews of products in the relevant trade publications. As new technologies develop exhibitions and trade shows provide a splendid showcase and furnish opportunities unavailable to other media.

By their very nature, exhibitions and trade fairs are very public. The efficient company is seen to be so while the inefficient will not make a favourable impression. Smaller companies can take advantage of the event by showing themselves to be well-organised operations. They do not need a large stand to do this: competent management combined with considerate and efficient staff will suffice.

Product research can also be undertaken at exhibitions and trade fairs since there is a ready-made audience of the very people who it is hoped will ultimately buy the product being researched. They may not even be known as customers but their views on new developments and ideas for restyling or improving existing products can be invaluable. They will also be flattered to be asked to provide an opinion on your new product – it could be the beginning of a blossoming relationship! Some specialised exhibitions are also accompanied by conferences. In such cases the cross-fertilisation between conference and exhibition offers particularly good opportunities for product research.

Test marketing of new products can be carried out at exhibitions. If the product is not right and does not appeal to trade audience at an exhibition this will very soon become apparent since visiting buyers will quickly see the advantages or disadvantages and react accordingly. In addition, this research can provide an indication of the likely production run needed for any new product.

Well-published launches of new products often attract interest from competitors as well as the press. In such cases it may sometimes be necessary to restrict the viewing opportunities with a suitably modified display treatment. Exhibitors expect to meet old customers and friends. This is one purpose of an exhibition, but it also provides an opportunity for the visiting buyer to be introduced to other executives and employees whom he does not normally meet – for example, the research manager or the sales office manager or others who share in providing the product the customer ultimately buys. The customer has to deal with these people – usually at the end of a telephone – and in can be useful for both buyer and seller to get to know each other better. Such meetings lead to better understanding and possibly increased business.

A major contribution of exhibitions is to provide the opportunity to meet different buyers. Both buyer and seller can use the event to update their knowledge of the other. People new to an industry often use exhibitions to familiarise themselves with other companies, processes and people in their area. It is an effective method of achieving this objective; by asking questions of the stand representative a visiting buyer or specifier can build a clear impression of a company.

It is important that stand representatives should always initially establish the name, company and interest of the person to whom they are speaking. Courtesy and good manners demand it, and also too much information is often freely given to competitors because careless and inexperienced stand staff did not know to whom they were spaking. The opening or VIP day is usually a social event at which the company chairman and other directors take the opportunity of fraternising with their opposite numbers and meet ministers, MPs and other personalities whom might be present. These occasions are well patronised by the media since this is the industry get-together where a careless or ill-considered comment or a hint of gossip could well be magnified, sometimes out of all proportion, in the next issue of an influential publication. More positively, useful joint ventures are often started as a result of a casual conversation at such events.