Successful Trade Show Planning
By Kate McPherron, technology evangelist
The right trade show provides an environment where you can engage a large set of potential customers face-to-face, speed up the sales cycle, and increase overall revenue. At the SAO Marketing SIG on October 16, 2007, moderator Michael Thompson and speakers Gayle Furlow-Cole and Kim Frazier discussed how to start trade shows. The answers below reflect the combined input from both speakers. The speakers’ bios are at the end.
What can trade shows do that other marketing methods cannot?
First, trade shows can put you physically in front of your customers – this is especially good for those in a telesales or marketing role who don’t get to meet customers in other ways. Second, trade shows let you prove or see how your marketing works in front of customers. This is useful for research, because you get immediate feedback about what you’re doing and not doing. But trade shows also let you see the competition, to look at their exhibits critically and understand what they’re doing well and what they’re not doing. Note that you don’t actually have to exhibit to do this second point – you can simply attend, which also lets you work “under the radar.”
So clearly exhibiting is not the only option. What are other options?
Trade shows aren’t the right thing for every company, but there are other options like seminars, conference sessions and hospitality suites. Hospitality suites used to be very popular, but aren’t done so much anymore. The important thing is to do the up-front research to learn if a show or other option is a fit, then whatever you do, invest in it whole-heartedly.
How do you find the right show?
Start by searching on your keywords and adding “show” or “conference” or “seminar.” Also research trade associations and other industry or job-function groups where you can meet other people who do shows. They can help give you tips. And don’t fail to ask customers what they’re attending, or to see where your competitors plan to attend. Be sure you do what’s necessary to be sure you don’t miss a good opportunity. Also, be sure to read the show’s audited prospectus – this will have accurate details about the audience. You need to know the audience well in order to gear messaging to the right level.
Can’t find the right show? Make your own! Keep in mind that other events such as webinars, seminars, user groups, wine tasting parties, private dinners, etc., may turn out to be your best options for lead generation or one-on-one contact with customers.
What are some tips for integrating trade shows into the marketing plan?
Some companies see trade shows as an add-on or option, but they really must be treated as an integral part of the marketing plan. Break your plan down by cost and see how a trade show affects ROI. Knowing these figures may mean a smaller regional show is a better match than a big national one.
What are some of the opportunities to market your presence at the show before the event starts?
Sending notice to your customers, well in advance, that you’ll be at the show is critical. Some shows give you access to the attendee list, which you can use to prime them for what they’ll see at the show – an answer to a problem, a message. Just be sure you have the show messaging ready in time for this. If trade shows are integrated into the marketing plan, as they should be, there will also PR and advertising strategies around the shows.
What are some tips for being prepared?
Plan ahead and you’ll have more options, for instance when selecting booth space. It’s not unusual to plan 12-16 months in advance, particularly if you’re doing many shows throughout the year. If you’re doing 10 or more a year, you may find it necessary to have a person dedicated to handling them all, to be sure to stay on top of the logistics. A handy tool is Microsoft Project’s trade show template; it spells out many of the standard tactics in a timeline – and makes it easy to customize to your specific needs.
Trade shows provide tremendous opportunities to qualify leads. So before you go to a show, be sure you have a lead-management plan; a critical part of that plan should be how to deal with leads IMMEDIATELY after the show. Follow-up is the weak point of show marketing; it’s very easy to lose the energy you gained going into the show. Concrete plans help you get around that.
What are some things to consider at the show?
Overall statistics for all trade shows indicate that about 50% of people at trade shows will buy within 12 months, and that 83% have some buying influence. The booth and its messaging is the filter – people who look at it should “get it” from the aisle in two seconds. Ideally, your booth does the job of pre-qualifying passers-by: they’ll either glance and walk away, or hesitate to ponder or read more because it hit a nerve. That hesitation is what salespeople can hone in on as an opportunity to introduce themselves. It’s important to have salespeople in the booth, but if the product is technical, you may also want to have engineers ready to really do the explaining.
Be sure to capture the leads – nowadays, electronic machines do it so easily, but the real gold is in the paper tape, where salespeople put notes, or on the cards that accumulate in the top salesperson’s pocket, complete with follow-up notes. You may also want your own lead-capture forms, to which you can staple a business card or jot down notes about the answers customers give to your questions. That night, on the plane, or first thing when you’re back in the office, be sure to sort those leads and decide which ones are the hot ones.
What about the give-aways or premiums?
Give-aways are a well-known aspect of the trade show, but can work in two ways. Something you hand to everyone can dilute your leads with people who are just collecting the “swag” and have no interest in your product. The other approach is not to give something to everyone, only to the people who will remember you. In that case, it’s best to avoid something that will go home to the kids or dog, and consider something that will sit on the desk or be used in business regularly. Branding premiums are a physical extension of the company and should reflect well on it. If you have an expensive, long-term investment product, but a cheap, throw-away gift, there’s a disconnect.
If you ask for a lot of information, or for show attendees to take a survey, it’s a good idea to give them a gift or premium as a way to say thank you and to start a business relationship. You can give the premium after they give you information, or you can choose to promote it – even include it in your pre-show marketing. Follow-on premiums can include things like dinners, golf outings, as well as traditional business items, wine, etc. Premiums, particularly nice ones that might be hard for people to carry, can also be sent as follow-up with a thank you note.
In choosing the premium and how you will use it, it is important to carefully calculate the ROI or value.
Related links:
See Kim Frazier’s article on how to Improve Trade Show ROI
Read Kim’s 10 Tips for Trade Show Success
Next month: What to do after the show?
Susan Linman, president, Dunthorpe Marketing Group, Inc., reminded attendees that next month’s Marketing SIG on November 20th is a follow-up meeting to this one. Next month, a different panel will discuss how to handle and qualify leads. NOTE: This meeting will also interest those who collect leads in other ways than trade shows.
BIOGRAPHIES
Moderator
Michael Thompson, owner, Market Accelerators
Michael Thompson is the owner of Market Accelerators. He has over 20 years experience as a professional marketing warrior. He has worked for well-known companies such as Hewlett Packard and Mattel Toys as well as for lesser-known small businesses.
Speakers
Kim Frazier, principal, Frazier & Co. LLC.
Kim Frazier leads Frazier & Co. LLC, a marketing products and services organization that collaborates with clients in achieving greater return on their marketing investments.
Kim's 30 years of marketing and brand development experience have encompassed a range of creative and organizational projects for companies like United Airlines, Intel, American Express, and American Red Cross. He holds an MBA and a masters degree in marketing management.
Gayle Furlow-Cole, president, Exhibits & Events
Gayle has specialized in business communications, exhibitions and event management for the past 30 years. As president and co-owner of Exhibits & Events, Inc., she manages a large array of client trade show appearances in many different industries annually. Prior to founding Exhibits & Events in 1998, she was a corporate trade show manager, and an account executive with two Portland-based trade show service companies. She has also has conducted trade show management training classes and seminars for clients in a variety of industries.
About the author
Kate McPherron, a technology evangelist, has helped technology and industrial firms manage and market their products and services for 20 years. She can be reached at klm54@cornell.edu.
|
