Five Ways to Prepare to Visit a Trade Fair.
On Monday, 20th January, we took a trip through to Glasgow to attend Scotland's Trade Fair at Scotland’s Event Campus (SEC), as we prepare to showcase our own stall in 2026. We found the experience invaluable and would highly recommend any maker hoping to exhibit at a trade fair in future to attend one as a visitor first! Here are our five top tips to help you get the most from your visit.
1. Put Aside a Whole Day
Trade fair events like Scotland’s Trade Fair are vast, with hundreds of exhibitors showcasing their products. You’ll want time to explore, network, and attend seminars without feeling rushed. We spent the entire day soaking up ideas, meeting fellow creatives, and learning about how the fair worked in practice – from set up to taking orders, and how best to brand and market our stall, all sparking new ideas for our business. We only made it round just over half of the exhibitions in five hours!
2. Plan in Advance: Know What You Want to Find Out
Before you arrive, make a list of questions and areas you want to explore. Are you curious about pricing, display setups, or packaging trends? We found that having a clear focus meant we got answers to important questions, such as how exhibitors manage their stock and display, how they process orders on the day, and what promotional materials they felt were most effective.
3. Bring a Notebook, Pen, and a Bag
It sounds simple, but these are crucial essentials! You’ll collect brochures, business cards, and even one or two free samples. Jotting down notes after each conversation also helped us to remember key takeaways, and we had our pre-prepared questions in there to remind us what we hoped to find out from discussions with exhibitors. We left with pages of ideas, contact details, and useful advice that would have been lost if we hadn't written them down on the spot.
4. Ask Exhibitors Lots of Questions!
We were blown away by how generous exhibitors were with their time and insights. We asked about their biggest challenges, how they prepared for their first fair, which display choices worked best, and how they kept track of contact or order details. Their honest advice gave us practical tips we’ll use when setting up and running our own stall next year. Don’t be shy – people are there to share their experience! And we hope in future we can return the favour when we’re standing at our stall.
A huge thanks again to the wonderful exhibitors who shared their experiences with us; you can see their talented work throughout the photos in this blog, and each image links through to their website - check them out!
5. Take Action Immediately After the Event
The inspiration from attending a trade fair is powerful, but it can fade quickly if you don’t act on it when you return back to the ‘office’ and the day-to-day running of your business. As soon as we got home, we reviewed our notes, followed up with contacts, and started a list of actions to prepare for our 2026 stall. We’ve also started creating a mood board with ideas for our booth design and branding.
Conclusion
Visiting Scotland’s Trade Fair left us feeling inspired and motivated for our future as exhibitors, and a little less daunted than before! With thoughtful preparation, your visit can do the same. We hope these tips help you make the most of your trade fair experience and set you on the path toward your own successful exhibition.
Are you preparing for a trade fair? Share your tips or questions in the comments – we’d love to hear from you!
Enjoyed reading these top tips? We’ve got more!
Click here to read ‘10 Lessons Learnt from 10 Years Running a Creative Business.’
