A Guide to a Career in the Exhibition Industry
As you proudly walk across the stage to receive your college, it’s time to shift gears and focus on launching your career. Post-graduation can be accompanied by uncertainty, especially if your chosen profession poses challenges for entry. If you’ve earned your degree with aspirations to have a Career in the Exhibition Industry, fear not! You can take strategic steps to set the stage for immediate success. With its lucrative trade shows, the exhibitions industry presents abundant opportunities for long-term and prosperous careers. If you’re contemplating a career in this dynamic field, the positions offer exciting prospects for growth and experience. Working within the exhibition industry aligns with the current trend of trade shows being a lucrative business expansion strategy and provides a platform for individuals seeking a vibrant and dynamic professional journey.
So, whether you’re drawn to designing captivating exhibition stalls, constructing impressive stands, or fabricating innovative booths, the exhibitions industry beckons with diverse and rewarding career paths.
1. Marketing Director
To become a marketing director, you must have superior analytical, communication, computer, and leadership skills. You should also have the attitude for it. You can be the marketing director of a company attending a trade show or the event’s host. With such a high position, you must work with the different teams on the objective, budget, production, promotion, management, press relations, and other essential tasks.
Specific Duties
- Develop and supervise the marketing approach and campaigns of the company, including the instructions for pricing, advertising, and distribution of products and services.
- Monitor industry and economic trends and competitors’ marketing techniques, performance products, and services.
- Determine potential customer types and markets for the products or services of the company.
- Attend meetings, trade shows, and other events, such as concerts and competitions sponsored by the company.
2. Show Exhibition Designer
Do you have exceptional skills when it comes to architecture and design? If so, you might have a bright future as a show exhibition Designer. Being one means you are responsible for the layouts of the company’s entire exhibit. Trade show exhibitions typically use small spaces, so you must know how to make the most of them. Apart from your design skills, you must also have a keen eye for small details. This means you should know how to stand out without overdoing your booth.
Specific Duties
- Consult clients regarding design requirements.
- Create competitive and realize quotes.
- Collect important and relevant product information.
- Create sketches and 3D computer-generated images.
- Coordinate with other teams when setting up the booth stand, which includes choosing exhibition furniture for hire, booth stands, and banners.
3. Warehouse Supervisor
Safety is essential when stacking inventory, handling machinery, storing products, etc. These things are generally directed by a warehouse supervisor. If you plan to be one, you must be responsible for all logistics-related tasks. These include taking out and packing product samples, routing orders, paperwork, etc.
Specific Duties
- Examine shipment logs
- Monitor the schedules of deliveries
- Supervise daily activities of warehouse staff
- Daily inspection of the warehouse
- Track, evaluate, and report all productivity in the warehouse
4. Trade Show Sales
Working in a trade show sales team is quite similar to other-related jobs. You have to focus on creating and building solid relationships with clients. It may sound simple, but it’s actually a long process. Usually, it takes months to win prospects and earn customers’ trust. However, during trade shows, you must capture it’s the interest of your target marketing during the event. From there, you can then focus on how to convert them into paying customers.
Specific Duties
- Determine which trade shows would be most advantageous to the company
- Offer product samples to trade show attendees and participants
- Suggest freebie ideas like empty perfume bottles, keychains, custom-label sanitisers, etc.
- Helping in setting up trade show booths
- Promote products efficiently
- Visit other trade shows and other events to market the company’s products
- Contact different companies and brochures and coupons
- Deliver clear, informative, and promotional speeches and demonstrations during events
5. Trade show Manager
Being a trade show manager requires many skills as they will be in charge of multiple tasks simultaneously. Being a show manager means communicating with the company’s supervisors and subordinates. You are also responsible for keeping social relationships with people outside your organization. This is essential in winning long-term partnerships with other companies. For example, if your company sells wholesale cabinet hinges, contact interior designers, home remodeling companies, etc.
Specific Duties
- Setting meetings with clients to relay the purpose of the event.
- Develop a comprehensive plan of the event, including the costs, venue, time, etc.
- Solicit bids from service providers and venues.
- Review the expenses of the event and approve the fees. Monitor all activities during the event to make sure that attendees, prospects, and clients are satisfied.
Conclusion
As you stand at the threshold of your post-graduation journey, contemplating the vast landscape of career possibilities, Being Exhibitions Stand Builder emerges as a beacon of opportunity. The dynamic roles within this field, from Marketing Director to Exhibition Stand Designer, Warehouse Supervisor, Trade Show Sales, and Trade Show Manager, offer diverse pathways for growth and success. Whether you’re drawn to the strategic world of marketing, the creative realm of design, the logistical challenges of warehouse supervision, or the dynamic interactions of sales and management, the exhibitions industry invites you to embark on a fulfilling and rewarding professional journey. It’s time to step into the vibrant world of trade shows, where innovation, creativity, and strategic thinking converge to shape the future of your career.
