Planning your trade fair participation

Jakob Dyrbye, director of Faust Dyrbye and The Trade Show Academy, offers good advice for your trade fair planning. Jakob specializes in helping companies to optimize profits when they participate in trade fairs.

Do you also do like most people? Perhaps you recognize these answers:

1. Why are you coming to the fair? - answer: "Because we usually"
2. How did it go? - answer: "We think it went well"
3. How many came? - answer: "Many"

But what about setting real goals?

You are fighting for the customer's time - therefore it is important to stand out from the others. It requires preparation. We would like to help you with that. That is why we had, among other things, a visit from Jacob Dyrbye from Faust Dyrbye and The Trade Show Academy for our kickoff and network meeting, who shared his valuable tips with us. We have collected some of them below.

1. Set goals and create value for your trade fair participation

Planning your trade fair participation is crucial to success. According to Jakob Dyrbye, it is important to set clear goals and focus on value creation. Define carefully what you want to achieve at the fair, which target groups you want to attract and how you want to create value for them? By setting the right goals, you can target your efforts and evaluate your results after the fair.

2. Create strong relationships and a memorable experience at your trade fair stand

One of the keys to a successful trade fair participation is to create strong relationships with the right people. Carefully identify which visitors you want to attract, and adapt your stand and presentation so that they feel addressed and engaged. Give them the feeling that you know their needs and create a warm atmosphere at your stand. Remember that guests remember the worst, the best and the last experience, so make your last experience with them memorable. Map your customers' customer journey - think about how they got here - give them a good experience when they are there, and take care of them when they get home. If a guest is driving a long way, they have an expectation of the experience, make sure they are not disappointed.

3. Effective handling of leads and optimal communication at your trade fair stand

Leads are essential to getting the most out of your trade show participation. Collect and qualify leads during the fair and make sure to follow up within the first three days. Use the information gathered to create lasting connections and potential customers.

4. Test whether your messages get through clearly.

Successful communication is important at your trade fair stand. Create a clear and easy-to-understand message that shows who you are and what you can offer. Make sure that your company appears as a trustworthy and attractive business partner. Test whether it works with the 3-second test, the grandmother test and the mirror test. See e.g. whether your message can be decoded in 3 seconds. With the Grandma test, you must ensure that you can be seen from a long distance. Put on a show. Tell us what you have and what you can do. Make sure it is relevant, so that your visitors can call their grandmother afterwards and tell them about it. The mirror test is about you ensuring that your customers can see themselves reflected in you, this increases the desire and commitment to enter into a partnership with you.

5. Behavior on the stand and acting as a tool

A successful trade fair participation requires a focus on behavior at the stand. Make sure your guests feel welcome, valued and treated as human beings. Appoint the employees in your personnel group who are good at representing your company and creating a warm atmosphere. Prepare yourself and your staff as actors so that you can make a good impression on the visitors. Be authentic, engaged and show interest in visitors' needs. By delivering a personal and valuable experience, you can strengthen relationships and create positive memories.

6. Planning an attractive and engaging trade fair programme

An attractive and engaging trade fair program can help attract visitors to your stand. Plan exciting and informative presentations, workshops or product launches that are relevant to your target audience. Invite interesting speakers or experts in your field to add value and attract attention. Also think about organizing competitions, giveaways or demonstration activities that create interest and interaction at your trade fair stand. A well-planned trade show program can help create a positive experience for visitors and increase the likelihood of achieving your goals.

7. Logistics and stand design for a successful fair participation

Create an inviting and functional trade fair stand. Think about how you can design it so that it attracts and appeals to your desired customers. Divide the stand into zones that cater to different target groups and needs. Attract the right guests with exhibition zones. It can be a welcome zone, product zone, a digital zone, a social zone. Remember that your fair should not be everything to everyone, but the right thing for the right people.

8. Evaluation of fair participation and continuous improvement

Evaluation is an important part of fair participation. After the fair, you should analyze your results and assess whether you have achieved your goals. Examine the collected data on leads, sales and visitor feedback. Identify strengths and weaknesses and use this information to improve your future trade show participation. Evaluation and learning are essential to optimize your efforts and achieve better results in the future.

Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect stand, it is the experience that should be the center. Your stand is important, but your interaction with guests is even more important.

If you want to get more good advice for your trade fair experience, we offer a 1 to 1 sparring session with Jakob Dyrbye in our Premium package.

We look forward to welcoming you to a fantastic NutriFair on January 17-18, 2024!