You get the booking confirmation. Your place is reserved and your brand will be showcasing its products in all its glory at an upcoming exhibition! There is no doubt the first, or any exhibition for that matter, is an exciting time for any company.
Not only is it a brilliant marketing technique that brings the customer face to face with your brand, it’s also a cost-effective way to build your company’s reputation. Nowadays, every consumer is connected to their favourite brands digitally. However, for the B2B market, and even B2C (business to consumer), you are going to want to strike a strong connection which is much more easy to do face to face.
Now you have made the first step towards delivering a brilliant exhibition, the next thing on your list will be to hire a reliable and outstanding stand contractor. There are many contractors offering exhibition stands in the UK and if you search hard enough, some great contractors can be found.
With the luxury of choice also comes the complexities of too much choice. Which contractor is better than the other? Even though one is offering a lower price, does this mean they will deliver the same quality the higher priced contractor will? The questions could go on and on. That’s why we have compiled a helpful, to-the-point list of things you NEED to look out for when searching for the best contractor.
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Look at their experience. The company you go with in the end should have years of industry experience. Especially if your exhibition is overseas, you will need to see past experience where they have done international exhibitions.
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A strong portfolio. It’s important not just to take their word for it. Let them be as transparent as possible and ask for as many examples of their work as you can. This will help you to see how inventive and clever they have been with the limited spaces they are given. It will tell you a lot about a contractor and their ingenuity.
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Trustworthy. You are leaving your brand’s reputation essentially in the contractor’s hands. That’s a big deal! You need to try and search for feedback, go for meetings with them, arrange phone calls and do all you can to ensure you can trust them before you start working with them
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Good communicators. Having a contractor who openly gives you feedback about your visions and how it will translate on a practical level is necessary. The contractor should have years of experience and therefore will know what works and what doesn’t at exhibitions. It is good to tap into this knowledge and use it to steer your strategy so you can connect to the right customers.
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Good turnaround time. This is also essential as you will be running to a deadline. You need to ensure the company sticks to their word. Always search for social proof and testimonials demonstrating what the contractor has delivered in the past. This will give you extra confidence when doing business with them.
As soon as you can, get online and start searching for the right contractor using the above checklist. Once you have found one that ticks all the boxes, go for it and watch how successful your exhibition will be!