Every year we like to get out of the office and meet our potential customers in person, we generally like to get to two or three exhibitions, these are a great chance to talk to people, let them see, touch and experience our infrared heating panels for real. It’s great for us to receive feedback too.
Deciding which show to do is always difficult but keeping to our clear objectives soon whittles down which shows are right for us. The National Home Improvement Show in London is our big show, it attracts our target market of home owners looking to do necessary improvements or implementing efficiency measures to reduce fuel bills and lower their carbon footprint. Large shows allow customers to meet and compare different companies and their products. Last year we launched the new black glass heating panel at the show and had some great response from visitors. We consistently attend this show to maintain our profile in the domestic heating sector.
This year we will be exhibiting at a new show The Home Show South West, just down the road at Westpoint Exeter. Again following our objective of raising our profile to the home owner but this show is all about new technology, energy saving products and innovation. Our heating panels fit perfectly into these criteria.
Exhibition stands and displays can cost huge amounts of money but we try to keep things simple. This three day show costs the same as one national magazine advert so making the most of attracting visitors to our stand and interacting with them is very important. Pop up banners very clearly describe what we do. A passing visitor can see in seconds our product, description and benefits, the information is all there at a glance, the black red and grey banners are used at all events and coordinate with corporate colours and image.
We appreciate there is nothing more off-putting than disinterested, disorganised or over pushy salesmen. Our stands are usually staffed by Kevin and Phil who are well prepared with a number of leaflets and fact sheets to hand, a note book and pen to jot down reminders to themselves and business cards. Heating is generally part of a longer term home improvement project so we often take visitors email addresses and add them to a monthly newsletter list, that way we can keep in touch with news and special offers.
Long days require a good breakfast plus breaks to go off for a coffee and talk to other exhibitors, this has in the past brought about new sales and new suppliers so it’s not just the visitors to your stand and the sales made on the day that make the show successful! Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.