Salon Tracker Software: How to plan for trade shows and why you should think about it now

Christmas is in full swing and I’m sure all of your salons are bustling with clients coming for their festive treatments all ready for the big day. Some of you may know, however some of you may not, that we are exhibiting at the Professional Beauty London show next February at the Excel. Even though it seems ages away with all the Christmas hustle beforehand, February will come around fast. Therefore when you have a spare minute, do a bit of research in to the potential trade show events that you may want to visit after the New Year, as Jan and Feb are great months for future planning! For those of you who are thinking of attending the February Professional Beauty show, we can’t wait to meet you all and so we just thought we’d give you a few tips on how to prepare for a trade show & why it is so useful to attend one.

There are two types of trade show goers. The first are people who know that they want something, the second are people that are there to enquire and browse. However, trade shows are always busy and there is so much to see, so it’s handy before to download a floorplan and gage the companies that you may want to visit before you actually attend. So having said that, the first tip is;

Do your Research!

Aside from having a look at the show plan before the event, you should also research into places to stop for breaks, where all the local facilities are and also, your transportation! There are so many different stands that you may wish to see and you have to take into account the traffic of those stands and where they are positioned in relation to one another. Plan breaks throughout the day, as this gives you time to reflect on the companies that you have already seen and allows you to alter your questions accordingly for the next brands that you are to visit. If you are one of those show-goers who isn’t sure what they are at the event for, then a good idea would be to plan exactly what it is that you want to get out of your visit. It is important that you make an itinerary for the time that you are there, whether it be one or two days. Trade shows are busy and time is limited at each stand due to the high volume of traffic, therefore work out which stands you need to visit and for how long.

Improving your Retail Product Range

At the majority of trade show events, you’ll bag yourself a couple of free goodies. A brilliant way to trial and test the products that are on offer. You can take samples back to the salon and do some first-hand primary research with your clients by seeing what they think of the product samples. This is great in terms of choosing your retail product selection, as by getting client feedback before you go to the suppliers, you have more knowledge of the products that are going to be popular. Obviously the other benefit is you get a couple of freebie gifts for yourself, winner!

Team Building Exercise

One of the biggest challenges in any business is maintaining a happy and motivated team, and a great way to do this is to give staff members’ ownership of a project. After creating a vision for your event (which show you will attend, the purpose of attending and what you wish to get out of the event) why not select a few staff members to go with you to the show and give each a certain area to focus and gather research from. After the visit, organize a team meeting to discuss the show findings. This could just be something at the salon with some nibbles, or a meal out somewhere. Whichever it is, employee bonding is really important within any business and it is a great team building exercise to allow employees to present back to one another what they discovered from the event.

Take Notes

When at a trade show, you retrieve so much information and your head will be bombarded with information from the day, in such a short space of time. So, to ensure that you remember everything, take some notes along the way. 9 times out of 10, you will receive leaflets from the stands that you visit and therefore you can make little references on those alongside the brand information. This will help to prompt the subject of your call, should you contact a particular company after the show.

Network!

Take your own business cards, as after all you may be there to view the likes of salon software and retail samples but remember that the staff on the stand are still normal salon-goers. You never know, you might just bag yourself a bit of business too!  Another benefit is that companies will remember you if they can attach something like a business card to your lead form, which is great in terms of call backs after your enquiry.

If you are a salon and it is your first time visiting a trade show this February, drop by our stand J1 and we will be happy to give you advice on how our salon software will work for you. For further info, visit our website www.salontracker.co.uk where you can also request a no-obligation FREE demo and trial.

You can register for your Professional Beauty London ticket FREE using the link below https://registration.n200.com/survey/0njm506qcs1za?actioncode=NTWO000194OBY

Hope to see you soon and a very Merry Christmas!

Salon Tracker x