Participating in a public or trade fair is very rewarding. Provided you approach it sensibly and limit chance to a minimum. That is easier said than done, because you are probably extremely busy and ‘that fair’ just comes along. What should you pay attention to and what disadvantages should you face? We list them.

Disadvantage 1. Participating in a trade fair takes a lot of time

 Participating in a trade fair takes a lot of time, especially if you want to do it right. A lot of time goes into the preparation, arranging a  trade fair stand , inviting interested parties and so on.

You have to set up the stand itself (or have it set up) and you may have to travel and stay overnight for the event. During the event, your regular work remains undone.

After the trade fair, you will have – if all goes well – the contact details of valuable  leads  and you want to approach them as soon as possible. This also takes time. In short, participating in a trade fair is not a matter of ‘we’ll do that in a jiffy’.

Solution. A  successful trade fair participation  starts with a plan. Start on time and map out everything that needs to be done. Practically and in terms of marketing and sales. Then make a realistic schedule and stick to it. This  checklist for a successful trade fair participation  is a good starting point.

Disadvantage 2. Trade fair participation is expensive

A second disadvantage of exhibiting at a trade fair is the price tag. You have to reserve stand space, rent or buy a stand and hire staff. You also need a marketing budget to decorate the stand and to draw attention to your participation in the trade fair in advance. Unfortunately, this is not free.   

Solution. Expensive is a relative term. Would you invest 20,000 euros if you could earn 100,000 euros? At a trade fair, you can easily come into contact with hundreds of interested parties, existing customers and competitors. This offers countless opportunities to close interesting deals.

An additional advantage of a trade fair is that you can easily  do market research . You see what competitors are doing and what customers want. With this knowledge you can adjust and sharpen your business strategy and marketing activities if necessary. This saves money.

Thirdly, it is important to look at your budget and the goals you want to achieve in advance. Make this measurable and  determine KPIs , indicators with which you can measure the success of the trade fair participation. Choose the next trade fair carefully based on this objective data. Then you know exactly what the investment yielded and whether ‘expensive’ is just a feeling or a fact.

 Disadvantage 3. The competition at a trade fair is immense

 There are many competitors at a public or trade fair. You will never stand out, right?

Solution.  Successful trade fairs have many competitors and they may have larger budgets. As a smaller party, you may get snowed under, but turn it around: this also happens in the real world. Arm yourself against it!

 Successful companies tell a distinctive and convincing story. In doing so, they appeal to their own customers, who often even become fanatic fans. Think of Apple, Action and Nike.

If you are participating in a trade fair where many competitors are present, this is an excellent opportunity to tell your unique story. Show what you do differently and why people should choose you. Start from your own strengths and reach the people you want to reach. Not everyone, but a select group that you help as well and sincerely as possible. Then you can exist perfectly well side by side.

Disadvantage 4. Participating in a trade fair is stressful

Walking around a trade fair for a day is tiring, let alone standing in a trade fair stand for one or more days. At times it is quiet, while a moment later you are completely overwhelmed. Can’t it be done differently?

Solution.   Participating in a trade fair is indeed very intensive. You can prevent a lot of stress during the  preparation . Start on time and use practical checklists to prevent unexpected surprises.

Are you preparing for the trade fair participation with several people ? Then use online organization software. There are even special online software packages for trade fair marketing, such as  Ungerboeck .

If possible, do not economize on personnel and take sufficient breaks in between. Also think of practical matters such as  comfortable clothing , comfortable chairs and a soft surface. If you stand for 2 days, it makes a world of difference.

 Disadvantage 5. Participation in a trade fair involves many uncertain aspects

 A final disadvantage of participating in trade fairs is the lack of guarantees. You never know how many people will show up, what interests them and whether they will do business with you. While you have to dig deep into your pockets in advance. Difficult, difficult, difficult….

Solution.  It is true that participating in a trade fair involves many uncertain aspects. However, you have influence on the most important ones. Do not just go to any trade fair, but visit it first as a consumer. Look around critically and make notes about the  best places , visitors and  successful stands . What are they doing well and what can you learn from that? Write it down, because you will forget most things.

 Prepare well in the run-up to your participation in the trade fair. Start on time and do fewer things better. Formulate clear goals and a message, talk to a professional stand builder and discuss with all those involved what you expect from each other.

Invest – where possible – in essential skills in sales, conversation and lead generation. Dot the i’s together and be ambitious. Then the chance that the trade fair participation will be a success is very big.

Conclusion: the disadvantages of trade fair participation do not outweigh the advantages

Participating in a trade fair does not guarantee success. However, the possible disadvantages do not outweigh the advantages. With vision, ambition and good preparation, your trade fair participation will yield many benefits. Name recognition, knowledge and new customers, to name three.