In BtoB marketing, exhibitions are a valuable opportunity to have direct contact with many customers at once and obtain business cards and business negotiations. Online exhibitions are becoming more popular due to the digital shift, but face-to-face communication is a place where you can directly appeal to customers while hearing their real voices, which cannot be obtained online. This time, we will introduce planning for exhibiting at an exhibition for marketers who are exhibiting at an exhibition for the first time or in charge of an exhibition for the first time.
Items to consider for exhibiting at an exhibition
In order to exhibit
at an exhibition
for the first time, it is necessary to create a plan for the exhibition, submit a proposal for approval, and obtain internal approval. In that case, the purpose of the exhibition and its cost-effectiveness must be demonstrated after careful consideration.
The following are five items that you must consider when planning your exhibition.
1. Purpose of exhibition exhibition
2. Target setting and exhibit product selection
3. Setting target values and budget
4. Team structure/schedule
5. Deciding on the concept and theme
Planning for exhibition exhibition ① Clarification of purpose
First, we will clarify the purpose of exhibiting at the exhibition. There are three main purposes.
① Obtain business negotiations
The goal is to obtain business negotiations with the aim of receiving orders. Furthermore, lead acquisition is divided into medium- to long-term lead acquisition, and business negotiation acquisition, which involves acquiring direct business negotiations.
For the former type of lead acquisition, it is necessary to design and operate the booth in a way that will allow you to identify potential customers from the large number of visitors and acquire business cards. If it is the latter, set up a space for business negotiations by placing chairs and desks inside the booth so that you can have a thorough discussion.
②Improvement of awareness
The purpose is to increase awareness of new products and services and brand the company. In this case, we will create a booth design that is consistent with the service and corporate image. We will create a uniform design down to the smallest details, such as novelties and pamphlets, to make it easier for visitors to remember them.
③Strengthening relationships with existing customers
We invite existing customers to introduce new products and services and how to utilize them. We aim to strengthen relationships through communication, extend contracts, and upsell and cross-sell.
Planning for exhibition exhibition ② Target setting and exhibition selection
After clarifying the purpose, it is time to set the target and decide on the exhibition to exhibit at. Organize and set targets based on personas and business partners. Specify the industry, company size, department, and position. If you have a list of target companies, it would be a good idea to prepare them as well.
Once you have set your target, choose an exhibition to exhibit at. When choosing an exhibition, we also analyze the exhibition. Specifically, we will request past reports of potential exhibitions and check the following.
Organizer: Sponsoring company (industry organization or event company), method of attracting customers Visitors: Number of visitors by day, company attributes/individual attributes, company name Exhibitor: Number of exhibitors, exhibiting company name (competitor confirmation)
Information about exhibitions is posted on each exhibition’s homepage, as well as on exhibition information sites such as
World Trade Fair and Exhibition Information (J-messe)
and Exhibition and MECE
.
If the host company is an industry organization, you can expect member companies to come to the event, and if you are an event company, you can have contact with a wide range of companies regardless of the industry organization.
From the visitor data, we not only check visitor attribute data, but also compare companies that have visited in the past with the list of target companies to determine how well they match. Furthermore, if the target company list is prioritized as the most important company (Tier 1), important company (Tier 3), and target company (Tier 3), it is possible to prioritize decisions based on the match rate of Tier 1 companies. .
From exhibitor data, you can check the possibility of your target audience visiting by checking other companies in the same industry.
Based on the results of researching each exhibition, we select and decide on exhibitions that are likely to be attended by the set target audience.
Planning for exhibiting at an exhibition ③ Setting targets and budget
Set goals and budget. This is an important point because it is where you can show cost effectiveness. Set a target value that can be quantified, such as the number of business cards acquired or the number of business negotiations acquired. When exhibiting for the first time, there is no standard value, so calculate a reasonable CPA from the budget that will be determined later and decide on a target value. The budget is 2 million yen. Considering our past results, we have determined that a reasonable cost per deal is 100,000 yen.
To obtain the target business negotiations at the exhibition,
Budget 2 million yen ÷ Acquisition cost per deal 100,000 yen = 20 deals.
If the ratio from business card acquisition to business negotiation acquisition is 3%, the target business card acquisition is:
20 deals acquired ÷ deal conversion rate 3% = 666 deals.
We have calculated the cost up to winning a business deal, but if necessary, we may also present the order amount. There are three main types of budget: the exhibition budget, the production budget, and the transportation and accommodation budget. Calculate each required expense and calculate the total amount.
Exhibition fees: Expenses paid to the organizer (booth space cost, equipment costs such as electricity and water), expenses paid to the decorator (booth design and production costs, rental costs for displays, etc.)
Production costs: Video production costs, panel production costs, novelty costs, pamphlet production costs, etc.Other: transportation costs, accommodation costs, customer attraction costs, and other necessary expenses
Planning for exhibition exhibition ④ Team structure and schedule
Assign the necessary members to exhibit at the exhibition. Assign the necessary members for preparation before the event, on the day of the event, and follow-up after the event.
①Preparations before the exhibition
Responsible for various tasks, such as in charge of companies hosting exhibitions and booth decoration companies, in charge of production companies for exhibits such as panels and videos, novelty pamphlets, and in charge of attracting customers in advance, on-the-day operations, and designing follow-up after the conference. Decide who will be in charge of allocating work and managing overall progress.
② Operations during the exhibition period
We will allocate responsibilities by task, such as call-in staff, seminar staff, and demonstration staff, and decide who will be in charge of overall operational management, including shift management such as breaks and placement, and response when trouble occurs.
③ Follow-up after the session
Decide who will be in charge of organizing business cards, who will be in charge of approach, and who will be in charge of business negotiations. The sales department will assign you as needed.
There are so many tasks leading up to the exhibition. We will decide on a rough schedule and list of tasks based on the responsibilities of the team structure.
Planning for exhibition exhibition ⑤ Determination of concept and theme
Finally, we will decide on the concept and theme of the exhibition. The concept is the main content. This will later be reflected in the overall booth design and operational structure during the period.
The theme will indicate what kind of benefits you will provide to visitors. This will also serve as a point of differentiation from competitors, and will be reflected in catchphrases, panels, and other postings.
summary
- In order to obtain internal payment for exhibiting at an exhibition for the first time, you must demonstrate the purpose of exhibiting and its cost-effectiveness.
- There are three purposes for exhibiting at trade shows: 1) Obtain business deals, 2) Increase awareness, and 3) Strengthen relationships with existing customers.
- When selecting exhibitions, check and research information on visitors and exhibitors from past reports of candidate exhibitions, and then select exhibitions that are likely to be visited by your target audience.
- Set the target value as something that can be quantified, such as the number of business cards acquired or the number of business negotiations acquired, and finally calculate the cost effectiveness from the budget that calculates the necessary expenses.