3 Best Ways to Find Exhibitors for Your Upcoming Event
If you or your organization is planning an upcoming event like a trade show or conference, many important aspects contribute to your event’s success. Today I’m going to narrow down on one key aspect; trade show/conference exhibitors. Having the exhibition piece at your event provides many benefits such as:
- Bringing together members and organizations of a common trade
- Exchanging knowledge, products, and services
- Can help you fund the entire space you are renting for the event
The most common question I get asked is, “how do I find exhibitors for my upcoming conference?” So let’s get right into it! Today I’m going to break down three ways that you can go from zero exhibitors to a full trade show!
Research and Target
This is my favorite way to find exhibitors but fair warning, it takes time, the right messaging, and sometimes persistence (but the good things always do). In the simplest terms, you are going to research your target audience and identify which organizations they would want to see in your exhibition hall and you are going to reach out to them, but let’s break this down into detailed steps.
- Identify the industry and target audience you are hosting the conference and/or tradeshow for.
- Identify the types of organizations and businesses that fall into this same category and create a list. Think of it this way, your event attendees are potential customers for the organizations you want to target.
- Find the best contact in each organization and contact them via phone or email to extend the opportunity of exhibiting at your upcoming trade show. Remember, this is a sales pitch! You need to tell them about all of the benefits they will get out of the trade show and perhaps you can entice them by offering a small incentive like 10% off for new exhibitors.
- Once you have made your initial contact, make sure to keep in touch.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can be an expensive tactic, but if executed properly with ample time, it can help contribute to gaining more exhibitors. I wouldn’t suggest using this tactic on its own, but when combined with research and target, it can really make a difference! Here are a few pointers I suggest if you’re going to dive into the paid advertising route:
- If you are unfamiliar with paid social media advertisements, consider hiring someone to help or take a free class on LinkedIn before you begin
- Understand where your target companies are, typically for B2B (business to business), LinkedIn is the best route
- Ensure you set a way to measure your return on ad spend
- Use a captivating image with a balanced amount of text
The best way to run a successful ad is to run it for a continuous amount of time and target precisely.
Word of Mouth
Word-of-mouth comes with running a successful trade show event. So how can you ensure that you do this? PROVIDE VALUE TO YOUR EXHIBITORS! I can’t emphasize this enough, but this is what will make or break the success of your trade show and the future ones to come. Listen to your exhibitors’ feedback and use it to improve the next year’s event.
Did you know that I have been coordinating the Health & Safety Conference since 2015?! So trust me when I say, tradeshows and conferences take a significant amount of planning, time, and funds. If you need help planning your upcoming event or need some insight on getting more exhibitors, send me a message, I’d love to help!
Looking for help finding sponsors for your upcoming event? Check out my blog post here!