Exhibition spaces fell eerily silent during the pandemic, with teams rushing home as events shut down worldwide. Now, as the industry rebounds to pre-COVID levels in both the US and Europe, companies face new challenges in maximizing their exhibition investments. Pete Gillett shares practical insights on making tradeshows work harder in an era where digital meetings have become the norm.
Navigating Post-Pandemic Challenges
The events industry experienced one of the most abrupt shutdowns during the pandemic. “We had teams booked on flights to go to places like Chicago and Vegas to look after our clients there, and some of them were flying out on a Friday night when clients sadly said no, we’ve been ordered to head home,” Pete recalls. “It’s frightening to think back how quickly COVID just suddenly shut us all down.” The silver lining? The dominance of Teams and Zoom meetings has actually sparked renewed interest in face-to-face interactions. “It’s really created a good opportunity to see how you can do these shows better and get more out of them,” Pete explains. “Not just spending a fortune on your exhibition stand or booth and waiting for the world to come to you, but actually building it properly into your marketing budget.”
The US consistently stays ahead in exhibition innovation, a pattern Pete has observed across marketing channels over the years from the dawn of Direct marketing in the Sixties. “America still has the lead when it comes to exhibitions and tradeshows. They make sure that if you’re an exhibitor investing a lot of money, you’re getting sales leads and generating more business,” he notes. This practical approach contrasts sharply with European attitudes, where lead capture technology is often seen as an annoyance by exhibition organizers.
Smart Strategies for Exhibition Success
Pete outlines several key approaches to maximize exhibition impact:
Pre-Show Planning
Strategic preparation starts well before the event. “Who would you like to talk to at that exhibition? Let’s go back to your CRM database – who’s in the vicinity, who are the target individuals you would like to invite?” Pete suggests incentivizing attendance through VIP invites with prize draws, delivered straight to potential visitors’ phones.
Booth Design and Virtual Access
Physical presence matters, but digital capabilities extend reach. “More and more of our clients are doing 3D scans using our Matterport 3D product, so you’ve got a complete 3D image of your exhibition presence that can be used for weeks and months after the show,” Pete shares. This allows sales teams to conduct virtual tours for customers who couldn’t attend in person.
Meeting Management
Rather than hoping for random footfall, Pete advocates structured scheduling: “Get people to book either to meet the right people and push it out to the customers – what do you want to talk about? Which products are you interested in? Who would you like to talk to? What time would you like to attend?”
Post-Show Follow-up
Quick follow-up proves crucial for converting leads. “Make sure they get a thank you email almost instantly. Don’t wait for months afterwards when your prospects probably couldn’t even remember visiting your stand,” Pete emphasizes. He stresses the importance of analyzing lead conversion rates across different shows to evaluate return on investment.
Adapting to Future Exhibition Trends
Looking ahead, Pete sees technology reshaping the exhibition experience. Having recently returned from Dubai, he observed advanced display technologies that could transform tradeshows. “I think we’ll see huge video walls used in the future, though there’s a risk. If you imagine an exhibition made up of stands with all these video walls, you wouldn’t know who you were looking at.” The real game-changer might be personalization through facial recognition. “The clever guys could be building in at last the sort of Minority Report approach where you walk up to a stand and you are linked to the company’s CRM, then it adjusts the video to talk to you,” Pete explains. While such technology might work well in America, he jokes it “might not work with the stiff upper lips of some UK visitors.”
Pete believes the key lies in finding the right balance between technology and human interaction, noting, “I’m not frightened by facial recognition. I’d like the right to be recognized so that if you go and talk to a company, they know who you are and what you’re interested in without having to go through the same old stuff all over again.”
Connect with Peter Gillett on LinkedIn to stay updated on his insights about event technology and exhibition strategies.
