Successfully participating in an exhibition takes a lot which includes dealing with stand designers and constructors as well as other service providers to ensure that one’s organisation is ready to serve visitors when fairground gates open. Sitting on the opposition side are the stand designer and constructor who also have a lot on their hands to ensure that each of their exhibiting customers gets their stand on time.
Exhibition customers and other stakeholders rarely get an opportunity to get a peek into the experiences of suppliers such as exhibition stand designers and suppliers in the run-up to a major exhibition. Last week exhibition industry stakeholders got the opportunity to hear from an exhibition stand supplier when Makie Mbanje, the Managing Director of Showcase It, a stand design and construction company presented at a Zoom meeting organised by LevelAge Corporate Communications on the topic: “Key lessons learnt from ZITF2022”
Asked to comment on what did not go well at the 2022 edition of the ZITF, Mbanje highlighted that her company had to contend with some customers who had low budgets and very high expectations.
“A lot of the budgets were very low. Clients have very high expectations and low budgets. Sometimes it is very difficult to execute the goal, the vision that the client wants (to achieve). If you want something nice increase your budget,” she said.
Mbanje indicated that another pain point during the trade fair was customers who made last minute orders.
“Another thing is last minute (orders). We are talking about ZITF now (and) clients could start preparations now. But you find that people come last minute and it makes it very difficult for service providers. The honest truth is that it is difficult to say no to a client because you want the money but that comes with some pressure. You might not deliver if you take on some of these last minute clients. It compromises the quality for those who may have booked and confirmed two or three months in advance,” Mbanje said.
The Showcase boss advised other service providers to turn down last minute orders to avoid disappointing those who book early as well as not to stretch their teams.
“So for service providers, we should be strict with our cut-off times. That’s the truth. We should say we can’t do it anymore because it does compromise quality. The team will be so tired. Key lesson: we should not accept last minute clients because the truth is that we are then put under unnecessary pressure and it compromises the quality of the other exhibition stands,” she said.
Mbanje said that delays in decision making, as well as artwork and approval delayed production.
“Another thing is the delay in artwork and approval. I think for us that’s a pain point,” said Mbanje.
Commenting on what could be done better in future exhibitions, Mbanje reiterated the need to make timely orders on the part of customers.
“What could be done better is all stakeholders (should) fulfill their obligations. That means not waiting until the last minute. (Customers should) have more preparation time. That will make life much easier,” she said.
Mbanje advised other players in her industry to prioritise research to keep abreast with global trends and customers’ tastes.
“The other thing we need to do is to keep researching stand designs and benchmark with other countries and see what they are doing in terms of stand design and construction because it could be bad for business for us if we are complacent and think that we can still offer the same stand designs that we did five (to) ten years ago,” she said.
Mbanje is a former General Manager at Showmasters, a stand design and construction company, which closed in October last year citing “circumstances beyond our control.” She formed Showcase It and commenced business in January this year. Four of the stands that her company designed and constructed won awards during this year’s edition of the ZITF.