- By: Mark Jakobsen
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Is Exhibiting at Events Right for your company?
Most marketing activities build momentum slowly. You test, iterate, refine, and gradually start to see results. Exhibiting at events is different. Done right, it’s one of the few marketing activities where you can walk away at the end of a single day with more qualified prospects than some channels deliver in a month. I’ve seen it first hand, not just as someone who has organised and run events, but from watching hundreds of companies exhibit at them, seeing exactly what separates the ones who leave with a pipeline full of leads from those who pack up and go home wondering where it all went wrong.
But here’s something that rarely gets said: exhibiting only works when you’re ready for it.
Sure, there is the financial investment (stand space, design, travel, staff time and more besides), but there’s also the time investment needed to consider. And unlike digital channels, that time commitment is front-loaded, there’s no pausing a campaign mid-event if you’ve got other commitments or something isn’t landing.
That means before you think about stand size, graphics, sponsorship, and all the other logistical aspects that come with an exhibition, it’s worth asking a more fundamental question: is exhibiting the right move for your business right now?
The honest truth about event exhibiting
Exhibiting at events can work for businesses of any size, but it’s particularly powerful for SMEs who don’t have the luxury of running activity across multiple channels all year round. As with any marketing activity though, it requires a clear and structured approach. Specifically, you need:
- Clear objectives
- Preparation before the event
- Confident, structured conversations
- Disciplined follow‑up afterwards
Without these, your exhibition stand will quickly become an expensive experiment. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, it means you need to go in with your eyes open, respect the investment involved, and be prepared to put the work in. The good news is that work is entirely within your control.
Unlike other digital marketing channels, you can’t hide behind a screen with this marketing activity. You have to roll up your sleeves and talk to your potential customers directly.
When exhibiting works well
When exhibiting works well, it really works. The difference between a stand that generates a pipeline full of new prospects and one that doesn’t almost always comes down to what happens before the doors even open.
Get the preparation right and you’ll already have:
- Researched the best events in your industry and identified which ones attract your target market
- Developed a clear message that speaks directly to your ideal attendee’s pain points
- Established how you are going to capture lead details on the day
- Put a clear follow-up plan in place for after the event
Do those four things and exhibiting starts to make real commercial sense. It’s also worth knowing that many first-time exhibitors discover their messaging needs work once they’re on the stand. While that’s uncomfortable in the moment, it’s genuinely useful insight, as long as you’re prepared to act on it.
When exhibiting is probably not right (yet)
But let’s look at the other side of the coin. Because sometimes exhibiting at an event isn’t the right choice, and going ahead anyway is when it becomes an expensive mistake. So, if you’re in any of the following situations, I’d suggest holding off for now:
You’re still unclear on your target customer
If your offer, pricing, or audience is still evolving, exhibiting can amplify confusion rather than create clarity. In those situations, smaller networking events or direct outreach are often a better starting point.
You need an immediate return
Exhibiting rarely delivers instant sales, particularly for first‑time exhibitors. If you need guaranteed short-term ROI to justify the spend, exhibiting will likely create pressure, not progress.
You don’t have follow‑up capacity
Collecting leads without the ability to process or action them wastes both the leads and the opportunity. If your CRM, internal process, or time capacity isn’t ready, it’s worth fixing that before committing to an event.
In short, exhibiting rewards businesses that are ready for it. If the timing isn’t right yet, that’s a valuable thing to know, because getting it right when you do exhibit is what the rest of the blogs in this series is about.
Why this decision matters
When it comes to exhibitions, the most expensive mistake a company can make isn’t choosing the wrong event, it’s not understanding how to maximise their involvement. Exhibiting is more than just turning up: it’s about the preparation beforehand, the energy put in onsite, and meticulous follow-up afterwards.
The good news is that every one of those elements is learnable and repeatable. When exhibiting is done correctly, it has the power to fill your sales pipeline faster than almost any other marketing activity available. Over the following series of blogs, we’ll be breaking down exactly how to do that, starting with one of the most important decisions you’ll make: choosing the right event to exhibit at in the first place.
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