With floor space for next year’s inaugural Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) exhibition selling out fast, organisations who booked their stands will now be getting to work preparing to maximise the return on that investment.
For some of the companies which have booked space at AMW, it may be their first time ever exhibiting at a trade show. Others may be returning after not exhibiting for a long time, and may be a bit “rusty”. And others still may be seasoned exhibitors who take stands at several trade shows a year.
But for every business or organisation that takes part in an industry exhibition, that handful of days on the stand itself are only a part of the process. It could be a missed opportunity if you haven’t put in the work of preparing in advance. As the old quote goes, “The person who fails to plan, plans to fail.”
So what steps can you take ahead of a show like AMW? Here are some handy tips.
Consider what you want to achieve
There are many reasons to exhibit in a show like AMW, and it’s important to establish exactly what outcomes you’re hoping to see. For example, you may be trying to:
- Generate leads.
- Close sales.
- Introduce a new product or product features.
- Solicit new distribution channels.
- Gather competitive intelligence.
- Enhance existing customer relationships.
- Demonstrate a technically complex product.
- Develop product awareness.
- Penetrate a new market or industry.
- Outshine the competition.
- Establish staff expertise in the industry.
- Increase market share.
Whatever you’re trying to achieve, establishing what you want from a show like AMW means you can start setting things in place to hit those goals. So when the show finally opens on the first day, you know exactly what you need to be doing.
Set specific objectives
Once you know what you want to achieve, there are all sorts of ways you can start getting ready.
- Define your criteria for success by setting realistic goals.
- Plan a strategy and a budget.
- Determine what resources are needed.
- Integrate publicity and promotion plans.
- Train staff.
- Use AMTIL and its resources effectively.
- Establish methods for evaluating results.
- Prepare post-show strategy to follow up leads after the show.
Importantly, all these activities are things you can start doing right now. There’s no point waiting till it’s too late.
Take advantage of pre-show promotion and publicity
Organisers of big exhibitions put a lot of resources into publicising the event well in advance – you may have noticed how active AMTIL has already been in promoting AMW. That helps all of the organisations exhibiting by bringing in the crowds, but there is a lot more you can do to stand out. Using your own marketing resources to promote your participation can:
- Encourage visitors to put you on their list of companies to see.
- Provide a reason for sales contact and a timeframe for response.
- Help pre-sell prospects.
- Differentiate your company, the products you will be launching at the show, new features, applications and so on.
- Enhance existing client relationships and loyalty.
- Attract media coverage.
- Generate enthusiasm and anticipation for the event.
- Create awareness for your company.
It might seem like there’s a lot of time between now and the opening of AMW in March, but those months are going to tick by fast. By making the right choices and putting in the effort now, you can ensure you can get great results when the big day itself comes around. So what are you waiting for?
Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW), Australia’s premier manufacturing solutions event, will take place at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 8-11 March 2022. For more information on exhibiting, please contact Anne Samuelsson, Head of Sales at AMTIL on 0400 115 225 or at asamuelsson@amtil.com.au.