Goals regarding contacts:

• maintaining existing client contacts;

• making new contacts;

• direct and mediated contact with other necessary groups such as the press and professional associations.

Goals regarding influence:

• emotional and rational influence;

• increasing awareness of the company, products or services;

• presenting product and service competences;

• improving the image of the company.

Goals regarding sales:

• concluding sales contracts;

• preparing sales;

• direct sales activities;

• finding partners and resellers.

Goals regarding creating connections, i.e. lobbying:

• retaining relations with old or new institutions;

• retaining or creating relations with the media;

• changing attitudes based on issues in the sector;

• taking part in work of interest groups.

Goals regarding information:

• getting to know the foreign and domestic market;
• getting to know new competitors and suppliers;
• recruiting staff;
• building new sales channels;
• getting to know the preferences and opinions of the clients;
• cheking the market maturity of products.

Goals regarding motivation:

• motivating the staff;
• motivating partners and resellers;
• motivating clients.

The above list is definitely not exhaustive. A fair has multiple layers and offers various opportunities for reaching a company’s goals. The goals of a fair participant may vary depending on the sector of activity, market position, target group and country of participation.

It is common for an exhibitor to try and connect with specific target groups based on goals, but following only the interests of the exhibitor is not enough. You also need to carefully check and assess the connections between the goals of the exhibitor and the goals of visitors who are in the target group of the exhibitor’s interest. Knowing these connections and using them skilfully create the prerequisite for taking part and operating at a fair productively.

When the goals of the company are worded well before the fair, then the productivity of participation can be assessed after the event ends. Here, it is important that every team member knows the company’s goals in taking part in the fair as well as their tasks in reaching those goals.

The work of every employee at a fair is successful when the goals of the organization are put in the language of personal goals and everyone can answer the question ‘what do I have to achieve at the fair?’ Focus on the quality of interaction should be preferred over quantity. The important thing is the skill to use technical opportunities of online fairs to create solutions for starting interaction with potential clients.

Goals set for interaction and making contacts should be measurable by the company, fixed and realistic, match the actual situation and the client’s expectations. The employee should know exactly what to prepare for and define some key points for this, based on individual tasks, experience and goals. For example: how many direct sales should be done at the fair, how many potential client relationships should be created, how many meetings and product presentations should be agreed upon for the follow-up period, etc.