Posted December 20th, 2008 by Karl
The type of system you use for your trade show display will in large measure be determined by the type of product or service you are offering and to an extent, how you do business.
Think about this for a moment.
Some veterans of the trade show scene like a customer facing kiosk which allows the attendee to engage with the business at their own pace and without breaking the personal space of a sales rep on the booth; kiosks which are interactive are excellent at attracting people and providing the perfect ice-breaker for meaningful business discussions thereafter.
Others like the table top displays; these are amongst the cheapest available but nevertheless they do provide a very quick set-up and with the right people designing and producing them, they are eye catching. Some say they are not a good display presence if you are sitting behind them; personally I use table top displays but they are set at the rear of my display space and flanked by banner or customer stands.
I currently have an aluminum modular system which does take a little extra time to set up (not much more though) and the great thing about the modular system is the flexibility. I can change the layout to adapt to the space available at the venue and I have found this to be indispensable when it comes to taking what I refer to as the “discount” spaces at events; I frequently exhibit at tradeshows at the last minute and use this to grab excellent discounts on the normal pricing being asked for; the downside is I get offered all sorts of space sizes and frequently they are not the regular rectangle but some sort of triangular or rhomboid shape – no issue for my modular system though!
Whichever system you go for, and there are others aside from the ones I’ve mentioned already, think through the ides you have and the type of presence both you and your attendees are going to feel comfortable with.
Posted December 10th, 2008 by Karl
Before you step into trade show exhibiting you need to research and prepare; this is especially true if you are a first timer and looking at the wide range of events and kit for you to acquire in order to mount an impressive presence.
The fact is that you need not reinvent the wheel; all of the mistakes you can think of and many more you have no inkling about have already been made by the tens of thousands of businesses who already are using trade show displays to make billions of dollars of revenue every year.
The first thing you should be doing is attending trade shows and exhibitions but not as an exhibitor, attend them as a simple attendee!
The cost may be free or it may be a small fraction of the cost of renting space and investing in a display.
Firs of all, select a range of exhibitions you are interested in; choose a varying selection as a shortlist and visit them.
You are looking for two primary pieces of information; firstly, look at the venue and the attendance both by trade exhibitors and also by the number of attendees who are there – how many of each; what is the type of exhibitor and pay careful attention to their display presence; spot anything exhibitors are doing that makes then stand out from the crowd; who is attracting people and who are sitting around drinking coffee?
Learn with your eyes and ears and this will give you a whole host of ideas for you to assimiliate in your own effort and also, and perhaps more importantly, what you should not be doing!
The second thing you will be able to acquire is the actual experiences of exhibitors; for those who will spare the time, ask them how they are finding exhibiting at the event, what is working for them and why did they choose this particular event; ask them for their experiences and recomendations for other events that they exhibit at and more importantly, how much business are they generating from their activities.
Bear in mind, people only like to talk about their successes so you will need to treat some of the information with a pinch of salt but you will be getting first hand information from someone who has actually gotten their check book out and committed money to the project.
Posted December 7th, 2008 by Karl
Before I overcame the initial hurdle of gaining experience in trades hows and exhibitions I tried a tactic to keep the costs down.
Bear in mind that I had been exhibiting for a couple of years and knew enough to know what I was doing; my trade show display and marketing collateral were all in place and I only had to land and set up to be in business.
I had to fly to the West coast for a show in LA, head back to base and four days later fly back out to San Diego.
Those four days were dead space; I should have stayed in California but there simply was nothing to do and I couldn’t justify the expense of a four day “vacation” in the sun.
The following year, the time dead zone was six days; a real pain in my constructive and productive neck so I did some research and found secondary tradeshow events in the area open during that time slot. When I had a shortlist, I called them about a month before I was due to fly out and feeling full of myself I asked if they had any space left and what was the best deal they could offer me.
I was completely open about what I was doing – looking to fill some dead space in the diary and asking around.
The result was I was offered two slots in San Diego for 25% of the listed cost and 30% on the other; both one day events while in LA I managed three events offering 50% and more off space rental. All the event managers were offering much more aside from simple discounts off the space rental with a host of extra services to try to entice me to take their surplus space.
The moral of the story is simple; if you don’t ask you won’t get!
Posted December 5th, 2008 by Karl
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!
Posted November 23rd, 2008 by Karl
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.
Posted November 15th, 2008 by Karl
Increasingly the talk with trade show managers and organizers is the use of technology, and in particular internet based technology to “grow the show”.
You will hear buzz words and phrases thrown around such as “Web 2.0″, “Social Media”, “Facebook”, “Twitter” and a host of others but what does all of this new terminology and business/techno slang actually mean for you as a trade show exhibitor or attendee?
The primary feature of social media web sites is to connect; to communicate and to inform the world what you are doing as close to right now as makes no difference. In terms of application to trade shows and the business world, these social forums provide a mechanism to forge new contacts and enhance communication with your viewing public which generally means your circle of contacts be they friends, family, work colleagues and getting to the point, your customers at your trade show display.
We’ll look at some of the tools in greater detail in a future post so you can tell if you’re LinkedIn on Facebook or not, but for our purposes today, social media is simply a term used to describe a family of websites that allow users to interract in ways a “static” web site does not allow. The content is generated in large measure by the users themselves rather than a web site designer putting together a series of web pages full of glossy photographs or fancy graphics and it is easily manipulated by the users themselves – you are reading a good example of Web 2.0 media content right now; blogging and blogs are themselves a product of the Web 2.0 social media age.
Trade show managers have been pushing the use of social media a great deal recently, no doubt attempting to capture the younger generation entering the workforce and who tend to be early adopters of new technology. The phenomenal rate of growth of social media tools and increasing application to the business world cannot be ignored by non-techno savvy business users – your customer and prospect bases are probably already using these tools themselves to learn aout the world around them; if you don’t use social media then you can be sure your competitors will and they are already talking to your customers!
Posted November 9th, 2008 by Karl
Trade shows work in that they generate huge levels of interest in business offerings and provide the ideal forum for networking and building relationships.
That is the tag line you would expect to read anywhere when it comes to promoting trade shows themselves as a business service but the facts also speak for themselves irrespective of the marketing spin.
- 77% of trade show attendees have “product interest” BEFORE they attend an exhibition
- 96% of first time exhibitors would like to exhibit again
- 78% of first time exhibitors DO exhibit again
- 87% of exhibitors use trade shows and trade show displays as their primary face-to-face marketing and sales activity
- 8% of 2006 trade show exhibitors reported spending more money than they made at trade shows; or in other words, 92% made money out of trade shows instead of losing it
- in excess of $800 billion in new sales was generated at US trade shows in 2007
Trade shows work for business which is why they are so successful; reading the trade show news bulletings that drop through into my email inbox, I never read about a show being closed down or cancelled; if anything the number of trade shows is actually increasing as other businesses in this sector try to carve out a niche for themselves in this lucrative market.
The implications for individual companies looking to promote themselves and grab a share of the customers with orders and check books in ther pockets, is to choose carefully from amongst the trade shows that are offered. In times of economic constraint, it is best to stick with what you know works rather than try anything fancy and off the wall. Research trade shows operating within your business sector first before trying exhibiting at unrelated trade shows (the premise being if you stand out you get more interest); keep costs down but do not penny pinch on your presentations (consider sharing a booth of you are looking to cut costs) and maintain a professional presence with timely follow-up after the show has ended.
Posted November 1st, 2008 by Karl
Trade shows have a life of their own no matter whether they are going to last a day or a month; you will quickly find that each individual trade show event you attend, whether as an attendee or as an exhibitor will take on a rhythm all of its own.
Tapping into this pulse is something that experienced trade show afficionados are excellent at – they have to be!
Everything is compressed into frenetic bursts of activity in a very short period of time. If you are with a big company, corporate expectations are high and a big mistake is that they are set far too high while smaller companies where budget really plays a crucial limiting role can frequently be overwhelmed by the routine and the demands placed upon them in order to succeed against the big boys.
Prior preparation is vital!
On the day you are selling and networking; if you are still trying to get organized with your trade show display you have fouled up so pay attention.
Get yourself organized for the day; book everything in advance from your marketing collateral to your hotel or route to the trade show.
Invite your customers and business partners; promote your attendance well in advance of the tradeshow; don’t be shy about shouting from the rooftops that you are exhibiting as this is your primary responsibility – there are no refunds if you don’t sell anything or break even.
Schedule your day; I know you’re going to be busy trying to attract and develop new relationships but be professional and demonstrate that to your prospects and clients. Don’t rush a meeting just because someone else is hopping up and down; book them an appointment either for the day or after the show itself; after all it’s what visitors are their for!
Capture your prospect and booth visitor information; collecting business cards or if you are using scanners and barcodes, make sure your system is in operation and works to collate all of the information which will allow you to follow up.
Follow UP!
Too many times, prospects are waiting for the call from an exhibitor only it never materializes – make sure it’s not your call they are waiting for and follow up all of your leads and prospects.
Posted October 31st, 2008 by Karl
You’ve decided to take the plunge and booked space at a tradeshow; you have your display arranged and now you are marking down the days to when you will be on the floor at a busy venue with hundreds of potential customers looking to give you orders.
Now here’s a real world reality check.
You still have work to do!
Those exhibitors who manage to snatch failure from a surefire opportunity tend to be lazy – they do nothing to prepare for the tradeshow and believe that simply booking space, throing some money at a display and turning up on the day at the venue is all there is to having a successful tradeshow.
The truth is there is a lot for you to get right before the tradeshow which will dramatically affect your success at the event.
The organizers are going to be doing some marketing for the event (indeed how much marketing they are doing is something for you to consider when electing tradeshows to exhibit at) but there is a great deal you can do to generate interest and attention for your own presence.
Make sure you tell all of your customers that you will be exhibiting; send them a mailer or an email with details of the date, time, cost, venue address and your location in the exhibition hall so you can be located easily. Do the same for your prospect lists and you can add some spice by offering a giveaway such as a gift, a hotel break or dinner at a local eatery depending on your budget.
Exhibiting is something that as far as your customers and business contacts are concerned, is newsworthy – tell them!
Don’t forget to tell your suppliers as frequently they may be exhibiting themselves (giving opportunities for cross referrals of visitors) but also they may be interested in helping you to defray the cost of the tradeshow. If you are selling insurance policies, then a provider of life insurance policies is likely to be interested in helping you on the day with practical and financial help, indeed they will have a budget set aside for just this kind of marketing activity and so do many, many other industries and service providers.
Issue a press release to your local media regarding your presence at the tradeshow. You may think this is small potatoes but in fact, many newspapers are desperate to fill space in their paper so fax them a one page release stating the time, venue and location together with your business information and that you are of course, going to be there.
Some tradeshows also carry a list for mailing purposes of those who are attending whether it be as exhibitors or as attendees. Ask the organizer for any such contact lists and contact them prior to the tradeshow so they know who you are, that you will be there and especially, where you will be located in the tradeshow arena; many forget to add this crucial piece of information and so are never found!
Posted October 29th, 2008 by Karl
For around $600 you can have a table top pop-up display which will give you a very professional presence at any tradeshow exhibition and as you gain experience of tradeshows you will want to invest more in your exhibition display but before you trade your still new display for something bigger and more expensive, consider how using accessories can achieve teh same impact without the increased cost.
Lighting always makes an atmosphere if handled properly, and you can gain a greatly enhanced presence and impact statement with proper illumination and your tradeshow supplier will be able to help you with how to go about this. Lighting accessories are available starting from as little as $63 though how much you will spend is going to be determined by the look, feel and impact your display set-up is going to make.
When you pay for space at a tradeshow, use every inch of it to your advantage – leave nothing to go to waste. A simple table top pop-up display looks a 100% better if you have a table covering to set it off rather than a bareback table. More than this, for as little as $150 you can set your table display off to perfection with a table runner displaying your company logo or name and you don’t need to stop there if you want a real impact statement with applique and full printed graphics turning a humble table into a banner advert for your business.
One thing you will notice about any exhibitors booth is that they always have literature available for attendees to look through and take away. It is important that literature is to hand whenever your staff need it for a potential customer who has come to pay you a visit and in this respect, formally organizing your booth literature is a good move rather than simply scattering some brochures on a table. Using literature stands, either freestanding or table top, will allow you to keep your marketing collateral easily accessible by your staff and potential customers. They also add to the professional image you will be looking to portray and they frequently become the focus of an attendee’s attention when they visit your booth.
A professional looking, free standing literature stand can cost as little as a $42!
Attendees walking around a tradeshow all day tend to get worn out and tired feet so there are two things you can do by simply using your own flooring. Tradeshow flooring can be used to provide a contrasting image from your neighbors (as you choose the color) and ensure an overall image for your booth no matter what the decor is at the venue. As tradeshow floowing is typicvally made of a cushion material it is a welcome relief for those sore feet too!
A 10 x 10 section of tradeshow flooring will cost as little as $195 and comes in a range of colors and textures from simple colors to wood and veneer effect.
Finally, for this post at least, think about the airspace you are renting; you don’t just pay to use the floorspace and you want to make sure you get noticed so think about a hanging sign that can be suspended above your booth and be seen over your competing exhibitors. Suspended signs are a great way of attracting visitors to your booth as well as acting as a marker for those who are actively looking for you at a tradeshow.
A hanging sign with your business logo or message imprinted with professional graphics start from as little as $1,995.