2021/05/29 18:56:05
Why Should You Attend an Offline Furniture Exhibition
There are over 32,000 exhibitions that are held globally every year, drawing in more than 300 million visitors. These numbers should tell you all that you need to know about how vital exhibitions are for all the industries that are involved with them, especially the furniture industry. To an outsider, exhibitions look like nothing more than a flashy and expensive excuse for people to mingle and see products on display, but that’s not the case. Exhibitions and trade fairs play a vital role in ensuring trade continues to grow, and new players are introduced into the market.
We are going to explore the reasons why you need to attend an offline furniture exhibition, the things you need to do in preparation, and what you should be wary of along the way. If you are a budding furniture maker or are involved in that industry in some way, this is for you.
Benefits of Offline Furniture Exhibition
Each furniture fair is unique and offers participants a wide range of benefits, and anyone who attends one gets to achieve some of the things they planned for and those they didn’t anticipate. The following are some of the notable reasons why you should try to attend an offline furniture exhibition at least once in your lifetime.
Brand Exposure
The average furniture fair receives thousands of visitors daily, and depending on how it lasts; you could be looking at brand exposure the likes you have never experienced before. By having a neat exhibition stand, you could end up getting a lot of prospective clients who may be impressed by what they see. This could either lead to more sales, or they will end up spreading the word about your business to more people, and soon enough, you could have inroads in regions you couldn’t have managed using any other means. The best place to push your brand to the right audience is a furniture fair.
Strengthens Bonds with Existing Customers
A furniture exhibition is the best place for people to place faces to voices they have been interacting with for years through calls and emails. The chance for your customers to finally meet you further strengthens the bonds between the two parties. Face-to-Face meetings are very important as it helps people learn more about you on a personal level which makes them further understand your business. Furniture exhibitions are more than just avenues for unveiling new furniture designs and selling stock; you achieve more just meeting your customers.
Exposes you to New Developments in the Industry
You will be surprised at how fast trends change within an industry, you blink once, and you realize that everything has moved on. Without a proper channel for information on what is happening in your industry, you stand the risk of being phased out for selling outdated things. Attending furniture fairs physically gives you access to all the latest developments. This helps you update your catalog to keep up with the changes and stay ahead of your competition. It pays a lot to be aware of everything that happens in the industry, no matter how small it may be.
Creates a Chance for Collaborations
Not everyone in your line of work is a competitor; sometimes, the people you are within the same industry could be collaborators that can help your business reach new heights. There’s a very high chance you will interact with all kinds of fellow furniture businesses that would want an informational exchange. This could help your business create a partnership that opens up the chance of setting foot in a new market. This is how you end up connecting with new vendors and suppliers who further boat your company’s capacity.
Get Information on your Competitors
Business is like war, you should always strive to gain an advantage over your direct competitors, and the best way to do this at no cost is through furniture exhibitions and fairs. You can observe from a distance or go disguised as a potential customer to gauge how they treat people and the range of their products. This could give you the chance to know what they are doing wrong in order to improve on that on your end. It is the small changes like these that gain you new customers, at no cost of advertising or marketing.
Expanding your Database
Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/large-data-keyboard-computer-3520096/
Forget creating mailing lists or sending people unsolicited emails for subscriptions. The most effective and organic way of getting contacts and expanding your database is through offline furniture exhibitions. It is the customers that come to you depending on what you are displaying. This gives you a chance to create a personal relationship with them on the spot, and this makes them feel valued, and they will have no issue leaving their contacts with you and will even be more glad when you follow up with a call or mail. For every exhibition that you attend, you stand to gain hundreds of new contacts if you know what you are doing.
Unveil New Products
Everyone has a website these days where they create them with all their latest products for their clients to see. But all these are virtual avenues that don’t give people the chance to truly check out the quality of what you are offering. The only other place you can have people come into direct contact with your products is a furniture exhibition. People can come to check out your furniture and get a first-hand feel of its quality, comfort, and all the attributes they may be looking for. You also get direct feedback on the spot, which will help you make your products better for them.
It Helps Train your Staff
Running a successful furniture exhibition is not an easy job. From finding the ideal location, finding the right stalls, arranging the furniture in an ideal manner, this is hectic work. Having your staff attend this level of fairs and trade shows equips them with new skills that they can now use later on to further improve sales. When dealing with people in furniture exhibitions, you usually have very limited time to make an impression; this means you have to be very sharp and at your best at all times in order to leave an impact and get a sale. After a day or two of attending a furniture fair, many people quickly develop new people skills.
The Downsides of Furniture Exhibitions
Furniture fairs are not a guaranteed success for everyone. They are like any other event, and they come with their own pitfalls and shortcomings. Knowing them will help you prepare better for your maiden furniture fair. They include the following.
● High Cost: The cost of attending a furniture exhibition is very high, especially if it is happening in a foreign country. You will have to cater for the cost of the flight for yourself and your staff, accommodation, transport to the venue, hiring booths, and extra hands for setting up and dismantling the booths. This could be a costly affair in the long run.
● High Competition: It takes a lot to stand out in a sea of businesses that are offering identical services and products as you. You will have to invest more in marketing and better displays to stand a chance of attracting people. This also requires you to get the best location for your stand, something that usually comes at an extra price.
● Results are Never Guaranteed: Furniture exhibitions are purely a game of chance; you may end up not achieving what you want in the end. You could do everything right by the book and even go over and beyond and still fall short of your targets. This could negate all the investment that goes into participating in a proper furniture exhibition.
● Preparation is Hectic: You have to start preparing for furniture shows months in advance; this means that most of your daily operations will have to take a backseat for a while. That's a huge risk when you consider that the exhibition may not go the way you want it to.
Preparing for an Offline Furniture Exhibition Show
As earlier mentioned. Getting ready for a furniture exhibition, no matter how small it may be, can be hectic and hard. It takes months of preparation just to get things right for an event that will take no longer than three days.
Booking a Slot
Once you have identified the furniture fair you want to be part of, begin by booking a slot well in advance. This is usually done three months prior, and it can be done through online portals being run by the organizers of the fair. It is always a good idea to register early to get the best locations for your exhibition stalls since that’s what people usually scramble for. Make sure you also follow up with a call to confirm if your booking has been received to avoid the shock of flying all the way, only to be told you are not in the system.
Accommodation
Once you have confirmed your slot, it is time to start looking at accommodation options. You have to ensure it is somewhere near the venue of the exhibition to cut down the hassle of having to deal with traffic. This also has to be done early since most hotels around the venue will be booked by early birds, forcing you to use others that may be too far if you are too late to the party. Reserve enough rooms for you and your party.
Transportation
If the furniture exhibition is being held within your locality, then you won’t have to spend much on transportation. All you would need to do is transport the wares from your premises to the venue. However, if the show is being staged in another country, you will have to consider flight costs for all your team members as well as the means of getting from the airport to the hotels.
Hiring Booths
No one carries their own booths to a trade show; those are usually provided by hiring companies. It is cheaper to hire booths as you only get to use them temporarily for a while. This absolves you of the responsibility of setting them up or dismantling them down as that’s work that’s taken care of by the hiring company. You will also need to get help from other people if you happen to be short on labor, and this includes security, chauffeur, and others who ensure that your two-day use of the fair venue gets you the results you need.
Understand the Schedule
Furniture shows are usually broken into many sections and time slots that cater to various departments. Furniture is a wide industry; therefore, there are slots for chairs, tables, sofas, office supplies, and all the others. Knowing when your slot takes place will save you a lot of problems and time. Before flying into the venue, make sure you have the full information as far as scheduling is concerned. Know the locations, the stages, the time, and everything else. Having someone on your staff that is dedicated to handling that would be a good move on your part.
Prepare Business Cards
A furniture exhibition is one huge advertisement show; you have to go prepared with all your business cards and other informational material you can come up with to ensure you pass out your number to as many people as possible. Everyone that walks into your stall, just leave with your number and, if possible, leave theirs. This is the easiest way to ensure that your brand is spread around a little more, increasing your chances of success.
Carry the Right Wardrobe
You will do a lot of standing, and the last thing you want on your feet is a pair of high heels or heavy shoes. There will be a lot of movement involved as you shuffle from one customer to the next. What you need are low shoes that are not just lightweight but comfortable. Carry a few pairs with you for changing. You should also avoid tight clothes that leave no room for breathability. Overall, carrying the right clothes, with consecration for the weather around the venue, will help you deal with anything that gets thrown your way.
Know the Laws
When leaving for another country for the exhibition, familiarise yourself with all the laws of the country to know what is legal and what is not. There have been instances where people got into trouble for carrying something they didn’t know was illegal, and ignorance is never a good defense in court. Make sure you are aware of some of the fundamental laws just to be on the safe side. You should particularly pay attention to importation laws to avoid costly fines when bringing in your products.
Online vs. Offline Events
The current situation around the world has made offline furniture shows a no-go zone for a while now as governments are still grappling with COVID-19. As much as this didn’t put an end to furniture fairs, it reduced the number of events significantly. The only notable events that have been held in the last 12 months have had to switch to online functions, which don’t have the same impact as offline ones. The distinction between the two is massive, and this can be seen in the pros and cons of online events.
Advantages
● An Online furniture show is cheaper as far as the costs of setting things up are concerned. Unlike offline events where you need to travel, find accommodation and book physical booths, in an online setup, everything is virtual. You only need to book a slot, and you can showcase all your new products to other people following the event remotely.
● Online events have more flexibility. You can change the appearance of your booth and even load images of products you still don’t have. This gives participants more power and options to tailor their products and services in any way they feel like and present them in a number of different ways without going through the headache of actually making the products.
● Online events are more eco-friendly as it cuts down the use of physical materials by 100%. The materials that would have been used to make the booths, the fuel that could have been used to ferry people to the venue, all of this are entirely eliminated, and this eases the pressure on the environment.
● Online events can have more participants if it is well marketed. There’s no entry fee for visitors, and anyone with internet access in their houses can log in and watch from the comfort of their lounges. This helps furniture companies increase the reach of their businesses which in turn translates to more conversions since curious ones will always call.
● Online events allow for proper organization of data and its centralization into one place. This allows for the retrieval of data at any time automatically, and this allows you to have access to real-time data. Having this at your disposal will help you figure out if you are doing well or not, giving you a chance to change up things on the move.
● You get to invest in marketing by redirecting the saved expenses from traveling, accommodation, and hiring booths. With access to such funds, you can come up with a good strategy that will ensure your business gets the best out of the furniture fair online.
● Online events have less pinch if things don’t go as planned. They still do require investment, but the blowback is less painful than having to attend a physical one. This allows you to experiment with different models because it is a cost you can afford.
Disadvantages
● Online events lack the physical aspect that makes transactions easier, more organic, and personal. The interaction between exhibitors and visitors is too plastic as it is done through the screen or through chatting. This has less impact on the overall impression of the business on the people.
● Holding the attention of your visitors is hard as their screens are filled with all the other exhibitors who are trying to get their attention. With all these options glaring back at them, it is hard for anyone to focus on any particular vendor for a long time.
● An Online furniture fair is subject to disruptions when the internet is down. These disruptions happen without any warning, and what the viewers may be seeing may not be what is happening on the screen. These glitches can hurt your presentation a great deal.
● No after-hours networking opportunities as people simply switch to other things once the presentation is over. You may have access to all the data in the world pertaining to the viewership, but you have very little access to your audience. Once they turn off their screens, they are gone, with no follow-ups.
● Online registrations never translate to attendance. You may have a huge number of people registering as attendees, but once the event begins, the number suddenly plummets, and this is due to the fact that people may have other things to do.
● Online events can be a little overwhelming for someone who has never taken part in one. There are a lot of technological hoops to surpass, and if you don’t have the right technician support, you may end up fumbling everything.
● Online events attract less sponsorship as there are not many avenues for companies to display their branding due to too many distractions. Only the offline exhibition events are able to attract big sponsors as they are aware that visitors will be coming in large numbers, and that translates to potential customers for them.
So what’s the verdict?
From the point of exposure, offline furniture events will help your business achieve more as you are able to gauge things from the ground, and you get the chance to engage with people as you go about with your presentation. This organic aspect of offline events makes it better overall for everyone involved. But it is costly and hectic.
Online exhibition events, on the other hand, are easy to set up, cost less, and grant you an audience from all over the world, but you are not the only one they are watching. There’s very little organic contact, no chance for follow-ups, and once the event is over, the audience simply switches to something else. You may have access to attendance data, but that won’t mean anything if you don’t leave an impression on the people.
Choosing the Right Trade Show
You can’t attend all furniture exhibitions, you would run into bankruptcy, and when you consider the preparations needed to go into planning for one, you will understand how important it is for you to attend the right one as it is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The following are some factors you have to pay close attention to.
● History of the Event: There are some furniture exhibitions that go back decades, and these have the biggest pull due to the experience surrounding them and the successful events they have held over the years. Getting into such an event would be a tall order and may cost a lot since everyone is trying to book a slot, but getting a chance to display your business in a high-profile event will bring you more benefits than anything else.
● Location: Taking part in an event closer to your home is much cheaper and more manageable than flying across the globe to another country. All these factors have to come into play in your planning if you are to take part in a successful event.
● The Number of Visitors: A little research will be able to tell you the number of visitors each major furniture event is able to pull in. Again, you are better off taking part in an event that pulls in a huge number of people compared to small events that are localized. The aim here is to get as much exposure as possible, and being in the company of people from all over the globe increases your chances of succeeding.
● The Nature of the Event: Furniture is a wide industry involving all kinds of products. There’s a high chance that your business centers on certain departments. It could be home furniture, office furniture, or restaurant furniture. You can’t deal with everything. Therefore, make sure the furniture event you are planning to take part in is centered around your sector. Taking home furniture to an office furniture expo, for instance, would be a waste.
● Your Budget: Offline events are not cheap. You have to hire people, pay your staff, cater for their accommodation and transport and provide security for all the products you plan to showcase. It is a costly exercise that one can only commit to once in a while. Just make sure that you do it the right way when you finally choose to attend one.
● The Size of Your Display: There’s always the danger of being swallowed up by the sheer size of the event, and this would work against you if you go there unprepared. If you choose to take part in a huge furniture exhibition, then make sure you come out all guns blazing to leave a mark. A big event requires a big show.
● The Buying Power: Besides the normal attendees who usually end up buying a few items along the way, if selling is your biggest aim, then focus your attention on the sponsors and rich company owners who are always looking to invest in businesses that show great promise. You could come out of an event having secured a very lucrative deal.
Conclusion
Furniture fairs and exhibitions are a great avenue for businesses to showcase themselves, unveil new products and gain new customers. As much as all these are not guaranteed, the mere act of being physical there will open your eyes to things you would never have imagined if you didn’t attend such events. There are many high-profile events that are slated for 2021 organized by CIFF Guangzhou. Keep checking our website from time to time for more information on CIFF schedule dates and venues if you ever plan to take part in a furniture event in the near future.
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