Happy New Year 2009!

by Karl Posted on May 11, 2012

The old year is about to go out and here we have Father Time delivering 2009 as a brand new baby.

The news is dire; the economy stinks, bail outs are being negotiated and pleaded for on the Hill in Washington and maybe we should just close Uncle Sam down for the year until 2010 comes around?

Rubbish!

2009 is gong to be the year of that great “R” word – RECOVERY!

Recovery always follows on from a recession!

You need to steer your business through the recession, that goes without saying but the key to long term success is not just surviving a recession it is positioning yourself so you are able to take advantage of the recovery which will materialize.

This is a fact of business life.

Now is a time of great opportunity for those who have the vision and are prepared to work diligently – trade shows and trade show displays provide an excellent way to forge new customer relationships and when your competition are cutting back on marketing and sales, this is precisely the time to be ramping your efforts up in order to take the market share that is being given up by your competitors.

Just as businesses are generally cutting back, you are in a fantastic position to take advantage of the deals and offers from display and accessory manufacturers as well as event managers.  Business perception and sentiment may be negative but for the savvy operator, now is a time to be capitalizing on the economic situation and getting set for a great 2009.

Start 2009 by taking a good hard look at what trade show events have to offer you whether you are new to exhibiting or a vetaran; you are in a very strong position when it comes to negotiating the very best market terms for your marketing and sales effort so start 2009 off with a trade show bang.

Now it only remains to say goodbye to 2008; enjoy yourselves, don’t drink and drive and have a very prosperous and Happy New 2009!

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Keep it Simple Stupid

by Karl Posted on May 2, 2012

Attendees come to trade shows and exhibitions full of the idea that exhibitors (i.e. you!) have their full attention on them and them alone.

Use this attitude to your advantage.

Train yourself and your trade show display staff in making simple pitches to attendees; you may have the best product or service but you can still end up losing the sale to a competitor simply because they said it more plainly than you did.

Keep it simple, on topic and to the point!

Don’t be afraid to sell; too often I pass by booths and overhear what I personally call “The Flower Dance”; a member of the booth staff is in discussion with an attendee but instead of talking business they feel reticent in coming forward with their pitch and are asking about kids, the car they drive, vacations, house prices in fact almost anything but the product or service they are there to promote and sell!

Attendees expect to be pitched at so make your pitch for pete’s sake!

Attendees are also full of an ego; like I sad earlier, they come to the show thinking that your attention is going to be on them and them alone so apply a little human psychology and pander to this.

I use free giveaways as a tool to stroke an attendees ego; they feel they are getting something special (and I admit, I do use good high-end promotional gifts) but they are a double edged sword; they are mine to give or not as the case may be; you want my gift Mr or Ms Atendee, then you are going to have to earn my generosity!

I always link my giveaway with a behavior which for me is certainly a meaningful business discussion where I can qualify my prospect and decide whether the lead is worth pursuing or not.  Sometimes I give the gift anyway depending on my mood and whether I am looking to create a lighter atmosphere, but for the most part, you want my gift you give me your time and business needs so I can see if I can fulfill them.

It’s that simple!

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Web Resources – Social Media

by Karl Posted on April 23, 2012

Increasingly social media web sites are being used by convention and trade show managers to promote the event and facilitate communication about the event itself and also as a means for attendees and exhibitors to link up at trade show displays or other locations.

If you don’t know your Twitter from your Squidoo, here is a brief guide to what is being used at the moment.

Twitter

Twitter is a messaging system which allows you to post an answer to the general question “What are you doing?” – sounds simple and it is, but how can this be used in conjunction with your convention attendance?

First of all, you can use this to keep your contacts and audience updated with the latest breaking developments regarding the show and your attendance – if you decide you are having a new product line or, what if your booth address gets changed at the last moment?  Twitter will take care of the announcement for you and it will also send text messages to cell phones too.   Excellent tool for on-the-day show announcements and devlopments.

Facebook

Launched as a social networking site for students, now everyone has jumped on the bandwagon.

With Facebook you can share photographs, messages, information and manipulate the presentation as well as join or form groups of interested users; some of these groups are extremely large!

IAEE and others have formed groups for Facebook members to join and contribute and you can establish your own group to include your customers and prospects as well as colleagues.

LinkedIn

A networking tool – you complete a profile which feels like you are applying for a job, and post this up on the site – people then make connections to you based upon past and present business relations.

Event organizers have cottoned on to the event news feature that the latest version has included so all of your connections and contacts can be updated at the same time if something changes.  You can arrange to announce your own events to which will give you control over what is distributed through the medium.

YouTube

YouTube allows users to upload videos, whether they have taken them from somewhere else off the web or their own home movies.

Several trade associations and businesses have created video for YouTube which has been uploaded including information on careers, the general business or association work as well as product information and “How to” type infomercials.

Simple and easy to use and this puts a human face on your web activities to share with colleagues and business contacts.

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