Sourcing viable and quality exhibitors are in trend among the professional event planner. There are several event management programs and software that you can use for this purpose. These programs and software provide help to event planning professionals and sales professionals. They can use it to identify and book qualified exhibitors for the upcoming tradeshows.
These marketplace programs can collect past data from vendors as well as events. It can also prepare a database that both exhibitors and the event planning professionals can use to communicate with each other. These applications are geared towards the event planning professionals so that they can quickly conduct their research before they reach out to the exhibitors.
Such marketplaces can cater to a host of different industries. These include IT, medicine, hospitality, pharma, and consumers. So the event planning professionals from all fields can search and get in touch with any vendors from any industry.
Event Planning Professional: Capabilities and overview
These marketplace programs and software provide you with access to a massive database of exhibitors and events. As an event planning professional, you can easily find exhibitors who qualify as per your criteria without investing any money.
These databases may comprise thousands of exhibitors and various other events details. You can use these key contacts for your event business and event strategy. Also, you can use this information for your event marketing. This information can also provide you with some insights on various corporate events as well as team-building events that you can integrate into your event.
The primary appeal of these marketplaces is to provide you:
- With an ability to research various competing events
- Access the list of vendors participating in those events in no time.
As an event planning professional, you can learn a lot about those vendors and the similar events they have taken part in. This will enable you to get quick access to highly critical data as well as their social media profiles. A majority of these programs and software also allow you to get in touch with the vendors directly.
How do these programs work?
Most of these programs allow you to do a research-based primarily in two ways. Either you can type in their names directly, or you can upload a list from your past database. This will quickly provide you with information on what other events they have attended and who have taken part in that event with them. It will give you a clear image of what kind of events they will be interested in, and you can send them an invitation for your event based on their interests.
When you enter your search credentials and keywords, the program will process it and will return you with a list of all the events that are relevant to your search. The information will include:
- Name of the event
- Number of participants
- Event location
- Number of exhibitors new to you
- Numbers of exhibitors and;
- How many firms from your list have participated or exhibited in the event
The details also include a description of the event as well as the designations of the people who attended the event. Any extra information may consist of the map for the venue’s location and the agenda of the event.
Details on new exhibitors
Probably you know a lot more about the past exhibitors with whom you have worked before! You only need to know what other events they are interested in. It’s about the details of the new exhibitors that these programs provide you access to.
After running the search, you can access information about the new exhibitors. It includes the information:
- Whether they are interesting to you
- Their number of employees
- Number of trade shows that they have attended or taken part in
- Number of attendees they have reached
If you look for a specific firm, then the program will provide you with the same information as well. You will be able to get information on the different events they have attended, and you can always click on them to get more information. From here, you can also find links to their social media profiles and even request an info/query call.
One of the advantages of using event planning software is that you can quickly drop a personalized message to the other party. Also, you can do so in bulk, as well. This message needs to contain all the information that you want to provide to the vendor and maybe schedule a call.
In most cases, you will create a list for the vendor in which you will ask for different information like:
- Length of the event and
- Time of availability
You can also add some incentive to book with you (e.g., free tickets to that event can also drive the response higher.
Why do you need this information?
This information can shorten the lengthy process of finding the right vendor, which can be very exhausting. You don’t have to run so many searches on the internet as well. The lists that the programs provide you with are pretty comprehensive, and you also get the contact details and all other information compactly.
The hectic process that takes so much time can be managed with this information. You can use that time in their activities, such as contacting the exhibitors or doing various other promotional activities.
These programs allow you to process the information according to your requirements. This might not be possible to achieve with search engine results. These applications enable you to use many layers of search criteria and capabilities. These programs also provide you with information that you can use to reach other vendors and see their activities.
Some of these software and programs can generate information from across the globe. This means that you can generate data for international markets, as well. This will allow you to tap into a market beyond your local one and expand the exposure of your event as well as the brand.
Who needs to use this information?
These marketplace programs are explicitly developed for exhibition sales and event planning professionals. The aim is to save time and source more and more new vendors for various events in different fields. Many of the programs are designed for large scale trade shows as well as conferences. These shows have many slots for vendors to fill. So, the event planning professionals need more and more entities to take part in the events.
With the help of researching the competitors of the event as well as its vendors, the user can easily compile a long list. This list will comprise all the details of fully qualified leads for educated inquiries. However, you need to keep in mind that if you are hosting a small scale event, then these programs won’t benefit you. The reason behind that is the small events only have about five to six slots for vendors. Only a small scale vendor will be interested in taking part in such an event.
Merits
- Easy to use;
- As the inquiry and research are completely free, there are no monetary risks associated with these programs;
- Most of these programs can maintain vendor privacy;
- Due to the fact that the event planning professionals don’t get the contact details directly from the software;
- As an event planning professional, you can access lots of information with quick results;
- You can convert your prospective vendors into event participants;
- There are tens of thousands of entries available in the database all it one point.
Demerits
- If you are a small event planner, then using these programs won’t benefit you;
- As you will only have 4 to 5 slots for the available vendors;
- You won’t have access to direct contact information of the vendors due to privacy concerns;
- Most of these programs are focusing on the IT industry only.
Best options to explore for new exhibitors
There are numerous programs available on the market. You can use them to find vendors for your events. But not all of them produce effective results. Here are some of the programs that you can use to generate qualified leads.
The exhibitor sourcing programs
ExpoIQ
ExpoIQ is one of the best software that you can use to source exhibitors for your upcoming event. It has all the qualities that we have mentioned above. It can provide you with information on many vendors from across the globe. Additionally, it can also enable you to contact them with your information or offer.
At present, this program is only catering to the IT industry. However, soon, it will add vendors from other industries as well. The program will only charge you for a qualified sale or when an exhibitor shows up for your event. It also maintains the privacy of the vendors and won’t provide you with their contact details. You can only reach them through this software.
Eventbrite
Programs like ExpoIQ are much better for a large scale global event. Whereas, if you are planning for a medium scale local event, then you can always use a different program. Eventbrite is much better in such a scenario. It will also provide you with an extensive database of exhibitors in a single click.
You can quickly get in touch with them and even plan your event directly from this program. It also allows you to create promotions for your event and sell tickets. You can also develop your professional event invitation using this event management tool. It is essentially a one-stop-shop for your entire project.
Asia pacific sourcing exhibitor list
If you are not into using any programs, then this list will prove to be helpful for you. You can also gain access to the contact details of the vendors. The Asia-Pacific Exhibitor Sourcing maintains this database. This is a huge list that includes all the vendors and exhibitors who have taken part in all these expos.
Essentially you have access to all the entities that have entered this expo. You can know a lot more about their interest and see if they are a viable led for your event as well. This is the list where you will find entities belong to the production and manufacturing industry. It also provides you with information on event venues and event data.
Magic sourcing exhibitor list
If you relate to the fashion industry, then consider the Magic Sourcing Exhibitor list. Just like the previous one, this will also provide you with all the details that you want to get about the vendors. The list has vendors and exhibitors from different countries but only in the fashion and textile industry. The information also details on their interests and the past events that they have attended with their contact details.
Event services professional association
Another vital source of information when it comes to sourcing exhibitors is the Event Services Professional Association. This is where you or your company can register and take advantage of the resources that they have to offer.
This is your best source for event planning professional development. You are learning to interact and coordinate with different event planning professional organizations. The association holds an Annual Conference, which is a professional networking event. Many vendors and exhibitors come to attend this conference from across the globe.
You can also look for sponsorships for your event if you like. You can find many professional event ideas from here and learn new event techniques. This association is a good option for you to explore if you are an event planning professional. The associations also equip individuals with different professional development event ideas as well as skills associated with professional event coordination.
Final words
There are different types of information available at your disposal. The important thing is to understand where you can find that information. The best element is that most of this information is free to access. You only have to make a little effort to find and access it from different sources. If you’re looking for any extra help, then you can always use the programs that we have mentioned above. Apart from that, there are some others available as well. You can choose any of them depending upon your needs.
There is a case with most of these programs. You have to sift through a long list of vendors or exhibitors or event planning professionals. This is critical because you need to see which ones are the real deals and can take part in your event. It is essential for the success of your event. Usually, it is better to get access to the contact details of a lot more exhibitors/ event planning professionals. You don’t know how many you can find and how many will show up on the event day.
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