Planning to Attend Trade Events
This guide looks at what you need to consider before attending a trade event.
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This guide looks at what you need to consider before attending a trade event.
This is your time to shine – so don’t waffle. Speak confidently and enthusiastically about your product. Remember to highlight who it’s aimed at and what makes it exceptional. 50 words or less will do. And preparation and practice are key – so test out your delivery and get feedback before you go to the event.
Knowing who your market is – which retailers and end users – means you can identify opportunities and tap into them. Besides knowing who your customers are, you also need to understand and accommodate what they’re looking for. So find out what type of products they currently sell and buy to ensure yours meet their price, quality and style expectations.
A great way to find all of this out is simply to ask. Talk to shop assistants who sell to them or even pop by the shop to see for yourself.
Don’t keep your amazing products to yourself – plan your exhibition stand to flaunt them. How can you show your samples to best effect – one of each product or display in multiples? Complement the stand with branded print, high-quality images and brochures showcasing the benefits and measurements.
Cost is a key consideration for buyers, so make sure you have a price list that includes the Recommended Retail Price (RRP). The trade price is normally double your costs, then double that plus VAT to establish the RRP.
If the price doesn’t suit your customer, see if you can alter the materials or how you manufacture it – without sacrificing the quality – to establish a better price-customer balance.
It’s also important to know how long it takes you to produce stock so you’ll always be able to meet orders in the expected timeframes. Thinking about this in relation to small and large orders is helpful.
Give yourself plenty of time to plan. In fact start making contact at least three months before the trade event.
Calling, meeting and showing potential customers physical or digital samples, sketches or models of your products is a cheaper alternative to trade events. It’s a great way to get people excited about your brand and find out which of your products are the most and least popular.
When it comes to choosing which event to attend, make sure you select one that attracts your target market.
Give yourself ample time to organise samples, high quality images, brochures, other marketing materials and website updates. And ensure your planning takes the cost of this into consideration so you can determine what it equates to in sales.
Once you’ve done your research, you’ll know your costs and how much you need to sell to pay for everything. Then you can decide whether attending a trade event is a worthwhile option for you.
Think you’re ready to wow potential buyers at an upcoming trade event? Great – before you do, take a look at our other resources below.