Tips in Organizing a Successful Home Expo
Exhibitions are great meeting points for potential home buyers and home sellers. This is where the real estate market and rapport among clients are built.
Victor Kiplagat
Every year, Kenya Homes Expo holds an exhibition that attracts about 40,000 visitors. Being the biggest home show in East and Central Africa, organising such an event is no easy fit.
Exhibitions are great meeting points for potential home buyers and home sellers. This is where the real estate market and rapport among clients are built.
Organizing an event of this magnitude isn’t an easy task. In organizing a successful home expo, the following tips come in handy:
Planning and preparation
Any event without proper planning and preparation is bound to fail. Preparation should start early prior to the home expo date. Research on everything that the home exhibition event will entail.
In the same vein, the venue should be booked in advance so that different home vendors understand what would be their space and which exhibitors will be in attendance.
Budgeting
A proper budget should be constituted that is in line with the event’s objectives. It is important to note that the budget should not be strenuous but should be within your means. This is essential in avoiding debts that cannot be re-paid.
Once the venue and the event’s budget are sorted, work with the potential exhibitors effectively on what you will charge them. This will, in the long run, enable the event organizer to earn the money back and potentially make a profit.
Location
The importance of the location cannot be overemphasized. It is crucial for the home expo’s success.
In determining the event’s location, consider the following factors: accessibility, size of the exhibition venue, proximity to major towns or cities that have a real estate “growth”, real estate companies that have confirmed attendance, and parking lot availability just to mention but a few. The location should be attractive to potential real estate investors.
Size of the venue
In anticipation of the number of attendees of the home expo event, the size of the venue should be commensurate to the exact number of people who have confirmed attendance.
As the event organizer, you don’t want to book a venue that looks too large for the purpose of the event and too small that the organization looks untidy and not “attractive” to real estate corporate giants.
Purpose of the home exhibition event
The event organizer should have clearly laid down the goals, targets, objectives, and purpose of the home expo event.
For instance, which types of homes will be on exhibition, are there home Sacco’s in attendance, which mortgage companies offer “friendly” home loans, tiles companies in attendance, officials from the ministry of housing in attendance, which banks will be in attendance and most importantly the theme of the home exhibition. The theme color of the event should be chosen effectively.
The venue’s perks
The venue’s perks should be attractive to make the overall experience of the home expo memorable. These perks should make the home expo event stand out.
The perks include the following: free parking, subsidized price of meals and drinks, the affordable venue stands for the attendees, and the relevant prospectus containing the attendees' information such as location, what they offer, contact, discounts, and companies in partnership.
Marketing your exhibition
Marketing of the home exhibition is in different ways. One, the event’s host can employ the use of traditional media such as radio and television to market all the event’s details. In addition, the use of social media marketing is crucial in reaching young audiences and those in diverse geographical locations.
Furthermore, the event’s host should pitch the home expo’s details to all the mainstream media houses to reach as many people as possible. More so, press releases are crucial in reaching out to the print media audience.
An article should be shared on the websites and local dailies about the home exhibition details. Ads concerning the event should run on television repetitively.
Logistics and transport
As mentioned above, venue accessibility should be prioritized. In light of the fact that attendees are looking forward to attending the event, logistical issues should be handled professionally.
This is crucial for attendees from locations not within the venue’s jurisdiction. The logistics and transport charges should not be expensive especially if the attendees of the home expo are many.
The essence of stable logistics and transport plan is that all exhibitors can access the venue easily without a hitch.
Following –up
Following up on the event’s success is very important. Reach out to the attendees of the event for their valuable feedback. This is critical for the organization of future events pertaining to the home expo.
Thank the exhibitors and attendees for their valuable time in gracing the home exhibition. Exchange contacts with the guests for future engagements. Offer a questionnaire for extensive and exclusive feedback on how the home expo/exhibition has been.
Do not forget to have a professional photographer who will take group photos of the attendees together with the event's host. Finally, acknowledge the venue “owners” for how successful the event has been.
The home's exhibition success is measured by how proper the planning was and also the execution of the event’s goals, targets, aims, and objectives.
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