by Chloe Mortimer, on 25/08/17 9:26 AM
Exhibiting at trade shows and exhibitions is a fantastic way to bring awareness about your product and to form important connections with new customers. The right formula for exhibiting is imperative to ensure exhibition success. After all, you often pay a large portion of your profits to be able to exhibit in the hopes of making more profits. Gaining the most amount of bang for your buck is the aim of exhibiting. Success from exhibiting comes in many forms depending on your business and market. There are key ideas that should be implemented every time you exhibit, ensuring that you are maximising your return from your attendance at an exhibition and that you are portraying the right image for your brand. To achieve this, you really need to engage an exhibition design company to help you improve the below points.
Think about your space - and then think again
The overall image of your exhibition display stand says a lot more about your company than you realise. Ensuring that your products are clearly displayed is a given, but the placement of products and graphics can have a large effect on the flow of your space, and can determine how many people are willing to visit your space.
A space that appears to have a complicated flow design, and no clear pattern will deter potential customers from even setting foot on your space. Most exhibition stands are designed considering there may be competing businesses on either side of your space, and this makes it even more vital that your business stands out and is easy to navigate for customers. A well thought out space is inviting, with products displayed in an appropriate manner.
There are many options available to exhibitors that incorporate functionality for product displays with on-trend designs. Many of the trends that are available can be incorporated to have functional purposes. For example the latest peg-board design trend can also incorporate shelving ideas and provide a functional aspect while remaining an on-trend design. Working with a great design team will ensure that you can maximise your design space without having to compromise on style, and this shows that you're company is up-to-date with current trends.
The functionality of your stand is just as important as your design
If you don’t have products to display you may need a place to discuss your business with potential customers. The same rules need to apply to any furniture that is displayed on your stand space. Ensuring that your space is functional is the optimal goal of exhibiting, and combining functional furniture with your design will ensure great success for exhibition returns.
There are always new and exciting trends in the world of furniture design, so it's important to consider the overall design of your space to see if the furniture you're going to use will compliment the stand. If you have decided to keep a basic colour palate and a professional image in your branding, it might not be a wise decision to hire outlandish coloured furniture. Likewise if your space is on-trend and full on colour, plain looking furniture may look out of place.
A well-thought out design in regards to how customers will enter and exit the stand, and how you can conduct meaningful conversations using furniture is crucial. The placement of tables, chairs or stools will dictate how comfortable customers will feel in your space, and this in turn dictates how willing they will be to engage with your business. Needing to use furniture on your stand brings new challenges to consider, such as whether you need to display literature or appropriate graphics to convey what your business can offer potential customers.
If you need help with the functionality of your exhibition stand, then contact our friendly exhibition design team 
If you don't know where to go, neither will your prospective customers
The importance for getting the placement of furniture and products right is not just so your customers feel invited to your space, but also so your staff know where to stand and how to comfortably interact with customers. If there is disorganised placement of objects, the staff working the space will also look disjointed, and can block customers from entering the stand space, which will undermine all of your hard work.
Combining functionality with design when considering your furniture options will also make your staff more likely to want to engage with the furniture, and it can become a secondary feature which can increase sales. From a business perspective, anything that is necessary that can also increase sales is always a positive.
Attending exhibitions can be an expensive process, and your goals should always be to maximise your return. The first step to achieve this is to make sure that your stand portrays the image of an organised business who has thought about the placement for products and furniture, and that you make your space inviting to potential customers.
If you want to learn more about which exhibition stand mistakes you need to avoid, download our guide on the top 9 exhibition stand mistakes made by marketers. Simply click on the image to download your guide.
