The Trade Show is Dead. Long Live the Trade Show!

Reports of the trade show’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Mark from Marketing Says...

I first heard of the death of trade shows as a sales tool in the summer of 1985. IRS rules regarding travel and other sales-related deductions had changed, and trade show producers foresaw a grim future for large-scale exhibitions.

 I’ve been hearing this fatal prognosis on a regular basis ever since.

 If you’re a sales professional, trade shows remain very much alive, because they offer a unique opportunity to meet current and potential customers in a fun, one-on-one setting. The most-likely successor to the trade show, the online trade show, just doesn’t provide the same venue to discuss a customer’s needs, and to demonstrate how your wares can meet – or exceed – these requirements.

However, "going to show" is much more than filling out the space reservation form, packing your samples and heading for the airport the day before the event begins. As with any other marketing initiative, you'll need to do your homework and know what you want to accomplish.

Here’s how you can make your next trade show worth your while!

Buy the ticket, take the ride

To begin the trade show planning process, start at the beginning: with your customers. You already know the industry, and most likely, there is at least one professional association that represents your customers. And just as likely, this organization sponsors at least one trade exhibition.

Start by looking up the organization's website. Any professional association worth its members' annual dues will devote at least one page of their website to their meetings and trade show opportunities, and contact information should be available there for staff who manage these events. Along with basic information about the exhibition, you can also learn about other promotional opportunities the association offers.

 Your customers can also help you decide if exhibiting at a trade show would be a good investment. Ask if they attend it themselves, if they plan to attend the next exhibition and what they think of the sponsoring organization in general. A good event draws members, no matter what city it’s held in.

Should you decide to secure booth space, reserving a booth at the exhibition should be easy – if you make your reservations early. The association will post exhibition hall floor plans, space contracts and other important  information on their website within 60 to 90 days of start of the event. If the show is popular, booth space will go quickly, and you may be shut-out if you delay completing your reservations.

When you make your reservations, you should also consider buying a membership in the sponsoring organization for your own company. Besides receiving a lower rate for booth space and other promotional opportunities, you’ll also be supporting your customers' professional association, and raise your visibility within the industry.

 

Your booth display

Your next consideration is how you will display your products and services at the trade exposition. Simply put, displaying at a professional, industry exhibition means an attractive, professionally-created trade show booth is a must! If your company doesn’t already have a booth display, you’ll need to have one created. Such displays can range in size from a foldout tabletop display that fits into an attaché-size case to the massive displays seen at major auto shows. Commonly, a display that fits a 10-foot-by-10-foot booth space is sufficient for most industry trade show purposes.

A number of vendors specialize in the design and manufacture of trade show displays, and can be located through via the Internet or in your local telephone directory. These companies can create a display for you that fits most any space or artistic vision. They'll guide you through the creative process, train you and your staff  on how to assemble and disassemble your new display, and many will even store and maintain your display when it’s not needed.

When you visit a booth display vendor's showroom for the first time, you might be amazed at what they can create! They can feature bold, floor-to-ceiling graphics, special lighting, provision for video and computer displays, racks for printed materials – anything that budget and creativity will allow! Keep in mind, however, that your booth display will be a direct reflection of your company’s image, and extra care should be taken in how that  image is presented.

Another important point to remember is that it can take as much as six to eight weeks from your first meeting with the vendor until your newly-completed booth unit is delivered (more if you make repeated design changes), so make sure the vendor will have enough time to complete your new booth and be ready to ship to the trade exposition on schedule.

Let 'em know you're coming!

Meanwhile, you’ll need to promote your presence at the upcoming exposition. As always, you'll have many promotional options to choose from, both traditional and non-traditional. In this case, more will be better!

Your company's website: create a special page promoting your appearance at the exposition. This page can include a brief welcome to attendees, a list the products you’ll be featuring and any show specials you’re offering.

And don’t forget to create a QR Code to link Smartphone users to this page! A number of free websites will allow you to create a QR Code, which Smartphone users can scan to access your “show page.” This QR Code should also appear in all of your print advertising and any show-specific sell-sheets you may create especially for this event.

In print: any print advertising promoting your company during this period should include mention of your appearance at the upcoming trade exposition. This mention should include the name of the professional association, the event's name and dates, your company's booth location and the QR Code that links the reader with a Smartphone back to your "show" website page.

Social Media: if your company maintains pages on such social media websites as Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn, mention of your participating in this upcoming trade exposition is necessary. The first mention that the company will participate should be posted as soon as booth space has been  contracted, followed by subsequent posts every four or five days announcing products to be featured and special offers. The frequency of these mentions should build to one mention every two or three days during the last 10 days before the exposition begins.

Direct marketing: if you can identify any of your customers within reasonable driving distance of the exposition (100 miles would be a good rule-of-thumb to use), a direct-marketing effort to invite those "local" customers to visit your booth might be in order. For example, sending a direct-mail announcement postcard 45 days in advance of the exposition, or sending broadcast emails 30 and 20 days in advance could drive more traffic to your booth.

If your company is a supplier member of the exhibition's hosting association, you may also receive a contact list of all the registered attendees prior to the event. Using this list, you can invite these attendees to visit your booth before the event, or note them for follow-up after the exposition. Either way, it's an important benefit that you should take advantage of!

Onsite at the trade exhibition

For a trade show exhibitor, making the most of his or her time onsite at the show is a continuing challenge. Some think it's easy: just be in the booth during show hours, talk to the attendees who pass by, then go back to the hotel room afterwards.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The core goal for any exhibitor is Making Contact. The more contacts you can make at the show, the more sales you can pursue. And the show doesn't end when the trade exhibition closes for the day!

Here are some ways to maximize contacts:

Plan your time: broadly speaking, your day onsite consists of three activities: making contact with current and potential customers in the booth; meeting with important contacts away from the booth; and being (somewhat) available to answer questions and address issues from the home office. You'll also need some "down-time" for rest and snacks, since all of this "contacting" can be hard work!

To aid in your time-scheduling, it's important to remember that exhibition hours are generally scheduled around educational seminars and association events. Commonly, trade expositions open with an evening "Welcome Cocktail Reception" in the exhibition hall, which provides attendees their first opportunity to see all of the exhibitors for the first time, and to scout where the exhibitors are who they want to see later. On subsequent days, the exhibition hall will be open during a continental breakfast period, lunchtime and a late-afternoon, after-seminar period.

Think through the giveaways: an inordinate amount of time – and money – can be spent on what giveaways to offer at the booth. Remember: the point of having giveaways is to draw people to the booth, and most companies don't have the budget to give trade exposition attendees anything they would really want, or that their own organizations would allow them to keep. One company I've worked with solved this problem with offering "goodie bags" of cheap toys that attendees can take home to their children. This strategy recognizes an attendee's disinterest in "junk" to pack, while offering them something to "take home to the kids" in a logoed bag.

Be in the booth: at least one person who is prepared to speak for the company must be in the booth during exhibition hours. Leaving a booth unattended is unprofessional and inexcusable during show hours, and can be avoided with some advance planning.

While in the booth, stand at the front and greet any attendee who comes by with a smile and a hello. A brief sales conversation should follow, beginning with finding out where the attendee is from and what they do. Each attendee should be presented a giveaway and sales literature, and even if they're not interested, be sure to exchange business cards for later follow-up.

And above all, try to avoid eating or sitting during exhibition hours. Look alert and friendly!

Be out of the booth (once in a while), too: knowing your customers' wants and needs is important. It's also true that it's important to know your competition, and what they're offering your customers as well! Make some time early during the exposition to walk the exhibition hall, and see what your competition is doing. Note their sales materials, and pick up samples from their booths. You don't have to be James Bond, just say hello, introduce yourself.

Be around, and not just in your booth: it will be a temptation to treat customers and other, important contacts to meals offsite. Try to resist this urge, particularly when scheduled events are taking place at the same time. Most associations will schedule an "off-evening" for this purpose. Otherwise, it will be important for you, and anyone else from your company who is also present, to attend and be seen at these association "social" events, because they represent yet another opportunity for you to meet new or existing contacts.

"Represent" at seminars: volunteer to sit on seminar panels discussing industry issues. Being able to speak authoritatively to industry challenges and practices will go far in raising your visibility – and that of your company – with current and potential customers.

Don't close before the show closes: by the time the trade exposition is nearing its conclusion, you'll be very tired, and there will be the temptation to start packing your booth and remaining materials for shipment home. Try not to, because there's always the chance of a last-minute visit from a customer. You paid for the space, and you should give yourself every opportunity to get one last contact!

Trade expositions aren't dead, and still represent one of the best ways to meet your current and potential customers face-to-face. If they aren't part of your marketing and business development mix, they should be.

Mark Paulson is a marketing and communications advisor and strategist with extensive experience in for-profit, charity, technology and professional membership association settings. No matter the channel or setting, he is an eloquent communicator who can tell your organization's or product's story to your customers or specific audience groups.

 

Copyright ^©Mark E. Paulson 2013