Exhibitors can play a key role in conferences and other events your organization hosts. They directly interact with attendees, play a big role in the networking process, and add a well-rounded set of voices and perspectives to the experience.
However, with tens or hundreds of exhibitors planning to participate in your next event, it can feel overwhelming trying to manage all their needs. How do you manage payments? How do you reserve booths? What strategies can you use to keep all attendees and exhibitors engaged?
We’ve created this informational guide to help answer those questions and more. We’ll explore why exhibitor experience is a critical element of event success, key considerations when planning an exhibition, and 10 practical tips that can help. The right event management software can make all the difference.
Why Does Exhibitor Experience Matter for Event Success?
The exhibitor experience contributes heavily to event success because it affects event ROI, booth engagement, and long-term exhibitor retention.
For example, think of an event exhibitor who’s having a bad experience. They’ll likely have lower energy and offer a less engaging experience when attendees visit their booth, which will lead to them getting fewer leads from the event. When you host your next event, they won’t be interested in participating again. All of that leads to worse performance for your organization’s events in the short and long term.
Fortunately, there are many strategies you can use to deliver a great experience that creates higher exhibitor satisfaction rates and better performance.
What Are the First Five Things To Consider While Planning for an Exhibition?
First, let’s review five crucial things you’ll want to consider while planning an exhibition. Those are:
- Your objectives for the event. What goals does your organization want to achieve, and how will exhibitors play a role in that success?
- Your target audience. Who do you want to reach and how can you tailor the experience to their needs?
- Your budget. How much do you have available to spend, and how will you use the money to create a successful event?
- The marketing strategy. How will you promote your event to your target audience and exhibitors so they know it’s coming up and how to register?
- The location and venue. What location and venue will be the most accessible to your ideal exhibitors and attendees?
10 Exhibitor Management Tips That Can Help Create a Positive Environment for Event Exhibitors
Now let’s dive into 10 top tips for successful exhibitor management. Following these suggestions will empower you to create a positive event experience for exhibitors and do so with ease.
1. Streamline Exhibitor Task Management
Once you start getting interest from potential exhibitors, it’s important to have an organized task management system in place so they’re ready by the event date.
Our Eventscribe event management system at Cadmium can help with this. It’s a task-based event management solution that offers an exhibitor portal where they can register for a booth, make payments, get notifications about upcoming tasks and deadlines, and stay on track ahead of the event.
2. Offer Payment and Contract Processes That Work Best for Exhibitors
Generally, having an online portal where exhibitors can pay to reserve a booth or manage contracts is the best solution. Eventscribe can help make the payment process easy by integrating with several popular payment processors and helping you track booth sales ahead of the event.
3. Prepare a Clear Map That Displays Booth Placement
Trade show exhibitors will also be concerned with the floor plan and booth placement so they can make the most out of their presence at your event. Ideally, a solution that easily displays a map of booth spaces and allows exhibitors to reserve one of their choice is best here. It’s even a great way to encourage reserving a booth early so exhibitors can secure their ideal location at the event.
4. Avoid Common Booth Mistakes
Some of the common booth mistakes that can affect an exhibitor’s success at an event are:
- Looking unengaged, such as sitting or being on their phone too often.
- Unclear or cluttered messaging around their booth.
- Neglecting pre-show marketing to represent their presence at the event.
- Not following up with new leads or connections after the event.
Any way you can help exhibitors with these aspects or emphasize their importance will help with both exhibitor success and the success of your event.
5. Help Exhibitors Increase Booth Traffic
Your organization can also offer exhibitor marketing opportunities that can help drive more traffic to booths. For example, highlighting sponsored sessions, distributing pre-event content from exhibitors, or publishing ads before the event. These are great ways for your organization to generate more revenue while also helping exhibitors get better results in the process. For more ideas, check out our top strategies to boost event engagement.
6. Provide Onsite Support for Booth Staff During the Event
Your organization can also offer support for booth staff members at events to ensure they have everything they need for success. Some common ways you can offer assistance include technical/IT support, clear and accessible training materials, rapid repairs or replenishment, comfortable breakout spaces, and assistance with construction or booth display adjustments.
7. Create Networking Opportunities That Drive Qualified Leads
Both exhibitors and attendees at conferences are often attending to network with others in their industry. So, how do you help them connect?
Some common strategies include hosting highlighted sessions that drive foot traffic to specific booths, adding interactive elements or point systems for engagement, encouraging in-booth education, or extending engagement through pre- or post-event communities.
8. Offer Helpful Marketing Opportunities Through Your Event App
When you have an interactive event app, you can also offer several marketing opportunities within it to help with exhibitor engagement and drive traffic to booths. Some common opportunities include:
- Sponsored push notifications
- Branded splash screens
- Featured exhibitor listings
- Hosting gamified exhibitor-led challenges
- Pre-event spotlights for exhibitors
- Distributing thought leadership content from exhibitors
Along with this, you’ll want to encourage attendees to download and use the app to ensure these efforts are as successful as possible.
9. Follow up With Exhibitors After the Event
Post-event follow-up is critical for exhibitor retention. After the event is over, follow up with exhibitors to thank them for coming and ask for any feedback. Exhibitor feedback is valuable because it can give you better insights into how the experience went and potential ways you can improve for your next event. Listening and implementing that feedback when possible is a great way to show your organization cares and wants to provide exhibitors with the best experience you can.
10. Utilize Effective Event Management Software
Software designed to simplify event management can be a tremendous asset as organizers strive to create a positive experience for event exhibitors. Cadmium designed the Eventscribe platform as an all-in-one event management system that assists with each stage of event planning, including exhibitor management. It offers several features that can help with each of the tips discussed in this article, such as:
- An organized exhibitor portal
- Exhibitor task management with automated notifications
- Secure payments and integration with popular payment processors
- Organized floor plans and displays of booth spaces
- Adding sponsorship and promotional opportunities
- Managing content updates and distribution
- Tracking exhibitor reporting and analytics
- And more
Get in touch with the experts at Cadmium today to learn more about the difference Eventscribe can make for you.
