Every year, Diversified Communications brings qualified buyers to meet with thousands of companies at our trade shows. Over and over again, we find that our exhibitors who have the most success are those who set goals and objectives before the event, invest in pre-show planning and promotion to maximize their onsite experience, and immediately follow-up […]
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Every year, Diversified Communications brings qualified buyers to meet with thousands of companies at our trade shows. Over and over again, we find that our exhibitors who have the most success are those who set goals and objectives before the event, invest in pre-show planning and promotion to maximize their onsite experience, and immediately follow-up on leads after the trade show.
When you invest in a trade show, you are buying face-to-face contact in an environment that is specifically designed to facilitate interaction with a highly targeted market.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
• Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time-bound) goals. Make sure your event goals are aligned with your company's marketing plan and are targeted to the type of buyers who visit your booth. Examples of specific goals include number of visitors to your booth, number of one-on-one meetings with key accounts, number of qualified new leads, number of demos given, number and value of sales confirmed and/or amount of media coverage received.
• Plan ahead. Read the exhibitor manual/information provided by the show organizer carefully. This critical tool, which often goes unused, will answer many of your questions and direct you to resources you need to execute your exhibit. A key piece of information you'll find in this manual is order-deadline dates — and missing them can increase your costs by 40% or more. Request that show labor be done on a straight-time basis whenever possible. Consider renting a booth display, rather than buying one, particularly if you exhibit fewer than three times year. This can save up to third of your exhibit budget.
• Develop a pre-show marketing plan to attract buyers and prospects to your booth. Only 15% of exhibitors use pre-show marketing. Competition for an attendee's time on site can be fierce. Stand out from the competition by marketing your presence ahead of time. Some proven tactics include advertising, direct mail and public relations.
Have your sales people spread the word. Take advantage of discounted or free exhibitor passes provided by the show organizer. Don't forget to list your show schedule on your website with a link to the actual event you will be attending so people can register.
Plan the onsite booth experience. Booth-staff selection is the single most important factor in your exhibiting success. More than any other factor, the people representing you on the show floor have the most influence on your booth visitors. Make sure you bring enough people to staff your booth. Train them to speak with confidence about your product, service and company. Have a pre-show meeting to discuss goals, ground rules and details of the event. Set a schedule with enough time for breaks. Be clear on your expectations around dress code and clearly communicate how you want to collect leads.
Follow up on your leads after the show. Over 80% of leads collected at trade shows NEVER get followed up on. Immediately follow up with everyone you met at the show with an email or phone call thanking them for stopping at your booth and let them know when they will receive the material they requested. Make sure all “hot” leads receive requested information within one week of the event and “warm” leads within three weeks. In our post-event surveys, we often hear from buyers that they are disappointed not to hear from the exhibitors they visited.
Track these leads through the sales process so you can accurately calculate the ROI of a trade show investment. For handbooks, checklists, webinars and more information to get the most out of your trade show exhibiting experience, visit: exhibitoradvantage.com
Vicki Hennin is vice president of strategic marketing and business intelligence at Diversified Communications, an international media company based in Portland. She can be reached at vhennin@divcom.com.