4 steps to having the best exhibition stand

Everyone wants to have the stand out exhibition at an event, the one that people can't help commenting on and praising amongst themselves. To achieve such an impressive exhibit takes ambition, creativity and a solid understanding of how your small business can exhibit itself in a unique and relevant way.

Step One: What Have You Done in the Past?

If you have a history of exhibiting then your first step is to review your previous results. Perhaps your stand didn't garner as much attention as you hoped - and you can learn lessons from these experiences to reveal oversights in your marketing.

Go through everything you can find as finely as possible to make sure you have a clear understanding of your previous performance - what worked, what didn't and what could be fine-tuned for re-use.

Step Two: What Have Other Companies (Particularly Competitors) Done in the Past?

Once you've had a good look at your history, it's time to turn and check out the competition. When looking at exhibitors within your own industry, concentrate on the ones who have won awards or prizes for their displays, or those who are considered to be top of their game.

Then take a look outside your industry to gain inspiration from other award winning stands to give you fresh ideas and helps you produce something which stands out from your competition.

After this, spend some time on design websites to see what's being shared and commended on a larger scale. Are there any elements that can inspire your exhibition?

Step Three: What's Changing in the Industry?

Just like all forms of marketing and event displays, exhibition stands are evolving at an impressive rate. Just consider that integrating tablets into your presentation would have been unheard of three years ago - and flat screen displays five years before that.

Visiting a showroom is also an excellent way to discover what exhibition experts consider to be the future of event marketing. Looking into all these advances could inspire some really creative ways to promote your business and make it stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Step Four: Keep it Relevant

It's actually quite easy to be the stand that everyone talks about if money isn't an issue. But you want to see a return on your investment, which means carefully weighing up the benefits of taking your stand in a certain direction with the level of confidence that it will drive conversions.

The most straightforward way of gaining good leads from your stand is to make sure it is actually relevant to your business. All forms of promotion should be easily and recognisably associated with your business within 5 seconds of someone first seeing your stand. Alternatively, it should feature eye-catching elements that are complementary to the brand message.

Once you've thoroughly investigated these steps then you should now be in a strong position to create a great exhibition stand that everyone talks about.

Kelly Edwards is Assistant eCommerce Manager for Nimook Ltd, designers and builders of exhibition stands.