Trade shows have grown to become the number one business-to-business
marketing medium. Why are a growing number of companies
marketing themselves at trade shows?
Trade shows provide a unique opportunity that cannot
be replicated in any other type of venue. The Center
for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) revealed
the following about exhibitions:
- 88% of attendees have not been seen by a member of
your company’s sales staff in the preceding 12
months
- Seven out of ten attendees plan to buy one or more
products
- 76% asked for quotes and 26% signed purchase orders
(average all shows)
- 72% of show visitors say the show influenced their
buying decision
- 87% of attendees will share some of the information
obtained at an exhibition
- 64% of attendees tell at least 6 other people about
the event
- 58% attend only the show in which you are exhibiting
- 40% are first-time attendees
- It costs 22% less to contact a potential buyer at
a show than it does through traditional field sales
calls
While trade shows are worthwhile, they are not easy. To
get the most out of trade shows, exhibit marketers set
measurable objectives, pick good shows, design effective
exhibits, and more. Read on to discover the main
elements of a successful trade show marketing program.
Setting
Objectives and Measurable Results
The first step in planning your trade show success is
to set effective and realistic trade show objectives
and measurements for them. Effectively planning
your show’s objectives allows the rest of your
show to fall into place. Choosing the right measurement
tools enables you to draw the correct conclusions following
your trade
show performance.
The first question to ask is the most basic: Why
are you exhibiting? While most go to generate leads
and build awareness of their brand or products, many
also exhibit to build relationships or introduce new
products.
Once you know the reason you are exhibiting, set objectives
based on them that you can measure – and then measure
and report them. Measurable objectives range from
simple lead counts (200 leads at the XYZ Show) to Return
On Investment goals (Generate $10 in sales for every
$1 spent exhibiting at the XYZ Show).
Select
The Right Shows
With over 13,000 trade shows, conferences, expositions,
private and business-to-business events in North America,
featuring 1.5 million exhibiting companies vying for
the attention of over 100 million attendees, it can be
daunting to select where your efforts are best spent.
However, there is a method to help you find the best
opportunities to market your organization at trade shows.
To
start, select the shows you want to exhibit at only after
you have set your trade show objectives. Then dig in
to do some serious background research. The best bet
is to look at the trade shows in your industry and carefully
weigh the options. Talk to your fellow employees -- what
shows have worked in the past? Where do sales people
see the customer’s needs leaning? Look at whose
going to be there. Talk to your current and prospective
customers -- is this a show they will be attending? While
you may exhibit well at your large industry show, also
consider smaller shows that have a higher proportion
of people likely to be interested in your products or
services.
Space Selection: Where and How
Big?
The average trade show has over 400 exhibitors, so how
do you choose the best booth space for you? Most shows
give space-picking priority to the exhibitors who have
been with them the longest. Yet some studies have found
that where you are in the show hall has no effect on
the amount of audience you receive to your booth. For
every veteran exhibitor that requires a space in the
center of the action, or at the front entrance to the
hall, or near their biggest competitor, there are veteran
exhibitors who flee from the same locations. All the
same, the size of your booth space is a very important
decision, where you must weigh the need to stand out
from your competitors with a large booth, and yet having
enough budget to exhibit at all the worthwhile shows
for your company.
Budgeting: Planning saves you time
and money
Exhibiting
can be complex. A large part of that challenge
is identifying how much to budget for related
services. The
easiest way to estimate your overall budget for exhibiting
at a show is to take the cost to rent the exhibit space,
and multiply it by three. So if renting a 10-foot by
10-foot exhibit at a show costs $2,000, then the overall
show costs are usually about $6,000.
The biggest expenditures after booth space is staffer’s
travel, hotel, and meal costs, show services such as
installation and dismantle, the cost to build or rent
your exhibit, and shipping.
A large portion of show services costs is called drayage,
which is the cost to bring your exhibit and crates from
outside the show hall to your exhibit space. Sometimes
it can even be as expensive as the cost to ship your
exhibit from your city to the show. The trend for
exhibitors is towards lighter weight, more modular exhibits
that lower costs like shipping and drayage.
Planning avoids rush charges and lets you figure out
how to do the most shows with the fewest exhibit properties.
Exhibit Design: Make Your Exhibit a Marketing
Tool
Why does exhibit design matter? Because a well-designed
exhibit is so effective at cutting through the trade
show clutter and getting your message to your target
audience. The average trade show attendee will spend
7 to 8 hours on the floor over a period of 2 to 3 days
visiting an average of 25-31 exhibits. This leaves 5
to 15 minutes per visit – just 5 to 15 minutes
to make a lasting impression that will give you an edge
over the competition.
Create an exhibit that works as a true marketing
tool. Make sure your exhibit graphics say who
you are, what you do, and what is your benefit to prospects. When
you state those clearly, you’ll bring in more visitors – and
more qualified visitors.
Your exhibit is more than a three-dimensional ad. It’s
actually a temporary workspace, filled with booth staffers
there for hours or days, and visitors there for just
a few minutes. Increase productivity by giving them enough
space to work in, and by designing around their needs,
be it for gathering leads, demonstrating product, meeting
with key people, or storing their personal items.
Get More Traffic With Trade Show Promotions
Trade show promotions are the secret weapon of the veteran
trade show manager. That’s because, when done right,
trade show promotions work so well.
Consider these two items:
1. The average trade show has over 400 exhibitors, where
the average attendee will visit about 21 exhibits, and
that average attendee walks into the show with a list
of 75% of the exhibits he/she wants to see. That means
you have to get on their dance card before the show.
2. You can boost your trade show lead counts by 33% with
trade show promotions – even thought they require
a much smaller percentage of your budget.
So, trade show promotions are money well spent. Pre-show
promotions are the things you do before the show to make
attendees want to visit your booth. At-show promotions
are the activities and trade
show giveaway items you do during the show to bring
in more attendees into your exhibit.
Just be sure to pick promotions that bring in your desired
target audience, not just anyone at the show. And
don’t just give things away – get information
about prospects in exchange that will help you qualify
and prioritize your leads.
Train Your Booth Staff So They’re Comfortable
At Shows
85% of the positive feelings visitors have are due to
the staff. Your booth staff is responsible for
drawing in your customers, effectively engaging them
and creating leads. Because of this, it is important
that you select the most effective staffers that your
company has to offer. If they are sales people, you have
to train them to adapt their selling style to the trade
show floor. If they are not salespeople, guess what – they
can still do extremely well, given the proper preparation.
Trade show staffing is uncomfortable for almost everyone
at first. You will give your booth staffer greater
comfort and confidence by training them to understand
and follow a 4-step booth staffing process:
1. Engage: 30 seconds
Start the process by stopping attendees. Prepare
and practice questions that won’t get a yes or
no answer.
2. Qualify: 2 minutes
Determine if the prospect is worth presenting to … and
what to present.
3. Present: 10 minutes
Demo on just the prospect’s needs, not everything
you know. Prepare for common objections and questions.
4. Close: 1 minute
Lead card complete? Agree on the next step and go on
to the next lead!
Lead Management, Not Lead Neglect
Astoundingly, almost 80% of leads generated are never
followed, according to the Center For Exhibition Industry
Research (CEIR). Rather than sending your hard-fought
trade show leads into the abyss, strive to be part of
the elite 20% that actually follow up on their leads! We’ve
heard horror stories of exhibits pulled out of storage
to prepare for a show – only to find the leads
from the previous show still packed with the exhibit.
What a tragedy!
Rather than just sending a business card from the prospect
on to your field sales reps, provide and train your staffers
to use a lead card. It’s a half sheet of
paper that has check boxes to the most common qualifying
questions, and room for notes about what the attendee
said in your booth. Your sales reps will be much
more likely to follow up on a lead when they know what
to say, and that it’s worth the call.
Also, think of your first day back from the show as the
last day of the show. Have your lead fulfillment
packages prepared ahead of time, so you can send your
responses right away.
Measuring Results Improves Future Performance
Once you return from a trade show it is important to
measure its success. Why? Because while trade
shows are a great marketing medium, you still have to
prove the value of your individual program. This
information can be used to report to management the effectiveness
of the show and to improve exhibit performance for future
shows. Success can be measured by simple lead counts,
or better yet, by the return on investment, or whatever
objectives you set when you started your trade show program.
By tracking your results from show to show, you can make
informed decisions about which shows to continue, expand,
contract, or cut. And when you are armed with data
proving the value of your overall trade show program,
you can maintain – and even expand – your trade
show marketing efforts.
About the Author:
Michael Thimmesch
is the Director of Marketing Communications for Skyline
Exhibits. You can access more than 100
tips on how to improve your trade shows at http://www.skyline.com/.
As America's leading designer and builder of portable and
modular exhibits for trade shows and events, Skyline is
THE source for remarkable face-to-face marketing experiences.
