Navigating the Exhibition Landscape: 9 Key Questions for Your Stand Partner
In exhibiting, your stand is the face of your brand. Executed well, your company can gain traction, prospects, and connections. Executed poorly, your brand reputation could be on the line.
After spending over 30 years in the industry, I have witnessed the impact of great exhibiting as well as the consequences of poor practice. At Quadrant2Design, we have established processes that guarantee your success. We handle your entire exhibition stand project in-house, from initial design through to your event, with the highest quality materials and design methods. Our experienced Project Managers will support you throughout the entire process and relieve you of the stress of exhibiting.
When selecting a supplier, we highly recommend you do your due diligence. There are nine key questions that you should be asking your contractor to decide whether they are suitable for the job. We happily invite these questions and suggest that you also ask our competitors.
1. Are you financially sound?
The foundation of a reliable partnership with your contractor is financial transparency. Independent contractors can experience financial difficulties or even go bankrupt without warning, and the last thing you want is to be left out of pocket and without a stand. Conduct a full credit check - we recommend using Experian or Creditsafe. Never engage the services of a company that withholds the information required for a credit check.
2. Will you pre-build my stand?
The only way to guarantee a flawless stand on event day is pre-building. As part of a thorough quality check, we fully pre-build every exhibition stand days or weeks before exhibition day. The pre-build includes a detailed check of the stand hardware, lights, transformers, and graphic panels. We invite every client to visit their pre-build. You can get a clearer picture of these services from our “today in pre-build” series.
Though some contractors claim to pre-build, it is hard to tell how extensive their service is. A good rule of thumb is to ask your supplier about this service and always tell them you plan to visit your pre-build, even if you do not. Avoid any contractor that skips pre-build as unanticipated errors can cause problems on your event day.
3. Is my exhibition stand safe?
Many companies in exhibiting still use heavy materials like metal and acrylic. With heavier materials, there is a greater risk of injury. Power tools and messy materials can also generate dust, rubbish, and sometimes fumes.
Safety is one of the advantages of our Prestige Events System. Our stands are inherently safe and easy to build. All materials arrive on-site manufactured and require no tools, so you get no dust, fumes, or rubbish. We use lightweight aluminium frames with flexible graphics set on top. Our stands are quick and easy to assemble and can be built on the last day of set-up, meaning they avoid dust and mess from other stand builds.
4. Is my stand reusable?
The Prestige Events System is our premier modular stand-building system which revolves around reusability and reconfigurability! We archive your stand designs so we can update your graphic panels and reconfigure your stand for future stand spaces. We also store your stand structure and graphics free of charge for future shows when you use our free-hire model.
5. Do you have thorough quality control?
Quality is non-negotiable. Our Project Managers take responsibility for ensuring your stand is flawless. They conduct tried and tested quality checks through design, printing and pre-build and keep you updated throughout the process with photos, videos, and 3D renders. Your pre-build is the most extensive quality check.
Thorough quality control is crucial to prevent problems on event day.
6. Do you sub-contract anything?
Control is key. Subcontracting is risky as you lose control of that aspect of your service. I have witnessed many companies subcontract aspects of their service and just one missing link can lead to quality issues and failure to deliver your stand on time.
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At Quadrant2Design, we will never take risks on your stand. We handle every service in-house: design, printing, finishing, production, manufacturing, transport, and installations, so we know it is all done properly!
A seamless in house process and flawless stand are our commitment to you.
7. Are your stands sustainable?
One-off exhibits lead to shocking waste and are not sustainable options.
At Quadrant2Design, we offer one of the most sustainable exhibition stand options, extending beyond just the stand materials.
We offer a Lifetime Free Design service. Because our stands are modular, reconfigurable, and reusable, we can reuse your graphics and change the physical layout and size for future events. To utilise the flexibility of our system, we offer our clients free reconfiguration designs, presented as accurate 3D renders. Our service removes stress for our clients and encourages exhibitors to turn to reusable stands rather than one-off exhibits.
Alongside Lifetime Free Design, we also offer Free-hire. In this service, we loan you the framework free of charge, allowing you to invest your budget into your graphic panels. 90% of our customers use our Free-hire model, which prevents waste of valuable resources. Flexible graphics and portable architecture also mean that we can transport our stands in smaller, less polluting vehicles, which is better for the environment.
8. Who builds my stand on-site?
When it comes to stand installations, experience matters! With the wrong team, installations have the potential to be chaotic.
With Quadrant2Design, your on-site installation is in capable hands – the hands of our experienced in-house team. Maturity, experience, and responsibility define our workforce, ensuring a smooth and professional set-up that you can rely on.
9. What is 3D proofing? Why is it important?
Experience your stand before your event day. Our unique 3D proofing process provides an accurate 3D render of the final graphic design for your stand.
While some of our competitors provide 2D proofs of the final graphic design, these 2D renders do not accurately represent how the graphics would appear on the stand.
Quadrant2Design is the only contractor who will provide you with this 3D model, as well as a unique walkthrough animation.
Closing Thoughts
At Quadrant2Design, we offer more than exhibition stands – we offer a partnership dedicated to your success. Our customers know they are in safe hands with us, and our stands never fail to deliver. This success is why we have some of the highest satisfaction rates in our industry, reflected in our repeat customers and outstanding reviews.
Your reputation is our priority – join us for an exhibiting experience that exceeds expectations.
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. Let’s elevate the conversation on successful exhibition strategies!
Contact our design team today at 01202 723 500 or email design@quadrant2design.com for a free, no-obligation design proposal! Or email me at AR.Jenkins@quadrant2design.com.
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