Our fantastic friend, Rachel Kay, of lovelocalexpo has written to us on the back of our Exhibition experiences, which we recently shared with you…
Rachel wrote to tell us she is really sorry to hear of our negative experiences with Expo’s, and as an organiser Rachel says she knows all too well, that foot-fall has got to be a number one priority.
And Rachel went on to say. “You can have the best exhibitors in the world, but without foot-fall it’s not going to go down in the annals of history as a great event. Quite the opposite, and bad news travels fast”.
“You’ll always get BDMs and people who come just to sell to you, they’re the ones most likely to attend as they’ve got targets to hit and they see Expos as easy way to meet business owners. And as you mentioned in your post, it’s worth gritting your teeth and bearing a conversation, as you never know which doors they might be able to open for you”.
Rachel also passed on some previous experience gained with lovelocalexpo’s own event. “If the event organiser can generate a decent level of footfall, the percentage of ‘sellers’ reduces down to a barely noticeable level”.
“As an example, most of our 2017 exhibitors at lovelocalexpo reported a high proportion of good quality leads which have translated into business”.
“I must say though, we spend a whole year promoting our event across social media channels and carry-out regular e-shots. And creating & sharing dedicated exhibitor graphics (with a link to their site, not ours) enables our exhibitors to buy-in and share the expo info with their contacts”.
Rachel concluded. “After all, exhibitions are (if well attended) a great place to meet new clients, suppliers and collaborators. It’s also worth remembering that they are also a key way to renew relationships with current or past clients too”.
As you can see, not all Expos are the same. It seems it comes down to the people who organise the Expo’s, and the amount of time and effort they put into attracting, not just a high number of attendees, but also the right type of attendees.
Rachel and the team at lovelocalexpo have another business exhibition organised for early next year, why don’t you book a stand or come along, and see how the professionals do it. Click here for details.
