Booth that best expressed what we wanted to realize

ーーThank you for participating in today’s interview. You exhibited your “sterilizing wiper and mop system with guaranteed sterilization” at Interphex Osaka 2019. This is a cleaning product that minimizes contamination risk at facilities that require clean rooms and other contamination management. I believe you previously worked with a different booth design company up to now. Why did you inquire about our services this time?

Ms.Enomoto:Since the company we worked with previously was located in Tokyo, the catalyst was looking for a business with operations in Osaka. We pursued this avenue because many of the plants of drug companies that we want to target are located in western Japan and we adopted a strategy to continuously exhibit at exhibitions held in the Kansai area and recruit business opportunities. However, we did not find a Kansai-based business that met our requirements and changed our criteria to identifying a business that “excels at small booth design” and “can support exhibitions in Osaka.” This led us to you and another company in our search results. We ultimately requested estimates from three companies, including the existing one.

ーーWhat was the reason for selecting us following a comparative review of the three estimates?

Ms.Enomoto:We based our decision on effective inclusion of requests from our meeting and pricing. However, we were surprised by you from the initial meeting. After we communicated our requests, you presented a rough booth plan on the spot. The speed of this response and impressive efficiency boosted our expectations for your service. The official estimate materials raised the completeness further. Everyone agreed that your proposal was the “booth that best expressed what we wanted to realize,” and we proceeded with the request.

ーーThank you for your favorable review. If it’s not a problem, what type of booth proposal did you receive from the other new company that provided an estimate?

Ms.Enomoto:When we compared the proposal materials, the other company’s proposal seemed “inadequate because of a smaller sign size and smaller lettering.” We communicated the same content to all of the businesses in the meeting. It was surprising to see how much the proposal content differed in a comparison of the materials submitted by each company. We realized that interpretations differed considerably depending on the company despite giving the same explanation.

ーーSo there was considerable difference in the proposal content. While support capabilities naturally differ depending on the company, we think our view of booth design, in particular, stands out from other companies. Many decoration companies approach booth design as decorating, while we see booth design as a marketing tool. Exhibitions provide a venue for business discussions to connect exhibitors and attendees. That’s why our we think booth design should be treated as the most effective tool to attract targets. We place emphasis on sign positioning and design that communicates the product to exhibition attendees even from a distant location with the aim of recruiting as many future customers as possible at the exhibition. As a result, we often hear that “lettering is large and stands out” in comparison with designs from other companies.

Ms.Enomoto:This design concept came across very clearly to us from the plan. While I thought when I saw your plan that “it is making an appeal with large lettering,” seeing the actual was even more powerful.

As mentioned earlier, the sign had a very strong impact, and we were saying that “it is clear where our booth is even from far away.”

We visit exhibitions sometimes as attendees for the purpose of gathering information too, and it is “welcome when booths have signs that indicate the desired information and products.” However, despite knowing this, we did not utilize signage to promote our products up to now. This proposal was an excellent opportunity to reconfirm the importance of signs.

ーーHow was the response of attendees at the exhibition?

Ms.Enomoto:Thanks to the sign standing out even at a distance, many exhibition attendees interested in sterilization” and “validation clear” came to our booth. Since attendees spoke to us with an awareness of product features, we were able to get into detailed business discussions right away. Previously visitors would ask “what does this remove” and “what are the benefits,” and we would ask “what are you looking for” as we tried to learn what customers wanted. This time, however, we fielded many detailed questions that clarified the customer needs from the outset, such as “can you use it to clean this type of place.”

ーーSo you really feel the effect of the sign. I’m pleased that our promotion sign contributed to attracting visitors. The sign not only promotes the product but also has the role of separating targets. If the sign clearly states the product, people who are not targets will not come to the booth. This makes it possible to concentrate most of the time and effort on responses to attendees seeking the product. Your efficiency in interactions with attendees should have improved, and the quality of business cards is likely to be better too.

Ms.Enomoto, Mr.Tsuyuki :That’s true! Wasted discussions substantially declined!

ーーI heard that you ended up achieving all-time best visitor attraction results. How much was the actual increase?

Mr.Tsuyuki:It increased by roughly 30%. Since the booth position was so close to the hall entrance, the large sign stood out and many attendees decided to “take a look.” Furthermore, we saw many attendees also stop in front of the booth to look at the sign. Attendees frequently visited the booth throughout the exhibition. There was less idle time than in the past. Some people can to see the product up until right before the end of the final day of the event. Previously booth traffic was relatively high on the first day, and not many people stopped by on the final day and we had a lot of idle time.

ーーThis is the visitor attraction effect that we target because no matter how great the product is, it needs to be recognized in order to proceed to business discussions.

If you were able to collect lots of high-quality business cards, you’re sales activities should be busy too.

Some other exhibitors who worked with us had a larger flow of attendee traffic than anticipated and doubled the number of staff to handle the activity from the next day. There were even cases of finalizing contracts during the exhibition. These examples indicate that exhibitors actively presenting information and appealing to their targets is vital in attracting visitors at exhibitions and leads to future business success.

ーーDid you observe anything else about our response?

Ms.Enomoto:Production staff at the venue responded politely and quickly. They were already finished with the setup when we headed to the booth at the delivery time. They also neatly installed the tapestry that we brought and kindly explanation the booth facilities in an easy-to-understand manner. We appreciated their polite support in adjusting the angle of spotlights and changing the position of power sources, which we sometimes had to do ourselves in the past.

ーーI’m sure the production team staff will be happy to hear that. Thank you for your time today.