Issue 4iJuly 2004

ESA Marketing & Graphic Matter, Inc. sharing insights and methods.  

Cover

Marketing Matters:
Trade Shows & Exhibits -
Maximize the Value!

Design Matters:
Trade Shows - Show and Tell and the Materials that Support it.

MarketingMatters.biz archive

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers

Seth Godin

Simon & Schuster, 1999

Marketing Matters:
Trade Shows & Exhibits - Maximize the Value!

Trade shows – large or small -- are a great place to meet hot prospects and new suppliers face-to-face and establish valuable relationships.  Shows present an environment of “buyer curiosity and seller enthusiasm” – perfect for the motivated marketer. 

Before the show

• Select the right trade show. If you’ve never exhibited, attend the show as a visitor first before investing money for your own booth.
• Start marketing BEFORE the show. Let your contacts, clients and prospects know you will be there.  Mail an invitation; send a “free” ticket; remind everyone with an email to visit your booth.
• Always find time to walk the show yourself. Talk to vendors; get their cards.
  TIP: make notes on the back of cards to remind yourself of the conversation you had.  Exhibitors are prospects who, by their presence, are targeting the same market as you.  You have a lot in common.  One may become your next client, alliance partner, or new supplier
• Set your goals and objectives. Whether exhibiting or attending, know why you are there and what you want to accomplish.
• Create a memorable and appropriate display that is consistent with your Identity.
• Staffing the booth. Make sure the people working the booth are trained to represent you and your business properly.  I was at a trade show recently and had a problem with my cell phone.  I went to this vendor’s booth for help and was told; “we don’t know how to work the phones; we only work the booth.”
• Run a contest for a great giveaway; collect those business cards. 
• Leverage the media. Watch for the media who may be covering the event – take advantage. You may find yourself in the newspaper or on TV. Send out a press release before or after the event announcing your attendance.

Who can you expect to visit your booth? 

Trade Show Bureau statistics:

34% of attendees are top or middle managers

21% are sales and marketing professionals

According to a Guerrilla Marketing newsletter:

 25% visit from a feeling of obligation to an existing supplier,

 23% for habit,

15% because of a personal invitation,

12% because of publicity in a trade magazine,

9% because of other advertising,

9% as a response to a mailed invitation, and

4% as a result of a recommendation from an associate.

After the show

• Qualify your leads. The 80-20 rule prevails -- 20% of the visitors to your booth will account for 80% of the good leads and sales.
• Follow up soon after you return to your office.  That’s why you collected those cards.  That’s also why you made notes on the cards so you can personalize the follow up. 
• Utilize a client database. Don’t forget to add all those cards to your client and prospect database.

As with most things in life and in business, your success at a trade show is directly proportional to the effort and planning you put into the event. There are not magic bullets, but trade shows can be a key element in a healthy marketing plan.
 

Design Matters:
Trade Shows - Show and Tell and the Materials that Support it.

When preparing for a tradeshow consider all the materials that you will need for display and handouts. Plan everything to present your company memorably, professionally and consistently – become familiar.

Direct Mail:  

• Pre-show postcard – Send an invitation with your booth number to clients, suppliers and prospects.

• Post-show postcard – Announce your attendance and thank people for stopping by.

• On-site promotion – Create a piece with this familiar format that is distributed at the show for a game or drawing for a prize. Create a teaser to draw people to your booth. 

Cost Saving Tip: Print all three pieces at the same time and save.  Example: We recently printed 6 different full-color postcards (500 of each card, pre-addressed) for under $300.  By having the cards pre-addressed you can mail them as soon as you return to the office creating a positive impression on prospects. Print extra cards without addresses to send to new contacts you meet at the show.

Marketing & Support Materials

Banner & Display          For large and small companies alike you need a display, banner and/or booth. Be sure it clearly identifies your name and the product or service you offer. Don’t be clever, at the expense of being clear. Example: Graphic Matter, Inc. “creative services for small business.”
 

Product | Service Examples
For a consultant this might be case studies and testimonial.
For a retail company include product samples and catalogs.
For Graphic Matter our portfolio is a must.
 

Product Fact Sheets      List your products with the detail the prospects ask for on a first meeting; include photos, a short description and prices.

Company Brochure       Company brochure, handout, and lots of business cards.

Credentials                   The need for a credentials sheet is dependant on your specific industry. Include a professional biography, associations, and/or client list. Typically this is only given to qualified prospects.

Promotional Items         Promotional items should be easily associated with your business, created in colors consistent with your logo colors, and used in an environment that will drive the most business your way. Example: ESAmarketing uses items with a light bulb design imprinted with the company’s slogan – “illuminating copy - electrifying ideas - brilliant results.”

Uniforms & Badges        If you have multiple people working in the booth wear logo branded shirts, hats, pins, etc. You’ll be a walking billboard when you are away from the booth. Make the font & logo large enough to read from a distance of 3 feet.

Trade shows and exhibits are a marketing strategy with great potential for new business – if you are memorable and if you actively follow up immediately after the show.