Posted June 6th, 2009 by Karl
A big mistake is to believe the trade show management are going to drive a ton of customers to your trade show display when you set up on the day.
This will never happen – you may have a ton of attendees clamoring to get to your booth but it is not as a result of the trade show advertising and marketing – it is because you have done your promotional and marketing work yourself!
Many companies just do not get it when it comes to promoting themselves but it is basic and essential – just to ram the point home, here are some media resources you can use to get your name and trade show attendance broadcast to the world.
Email and Mailshot Your Clients and Prospects and the Trade Shpow Attendee Listing
The first step you can take is to mail everyone you are doing business with that you are exhibiting at the trade show. This includes your customers, prospects and suppliers (don’t forget them either) but you can also request from the trade show management for the attendee list and the other exhibitors too – contact them.
Email or snail mail it’s your choice but email is fast and cheap plus it lends itself to some of the other things we are going to cover here when you are promoting yourself at any trade show.
Press Release
The idea of a press release being issued for many businesses is usually greeted with a smile and a shaking of the head.
Forget that attitude – your business is exhibiting at a trade show – that is NEWS!
If you don’t think it’s a big deal don’t bother exhibiting because you attending a trade show is big news and how you get that out is using a press release.
They are short but not so simple documents to prepare so you may need some help from a professional but don’t expect to pay much for the work – $100-$200 will easily cover it. The press release will get your “news” out to the media at large and you should fax it straight to your local press (and your Chamber of Commerce can help with contacts too).
Social Media
Social media means the web and the Web 2.0 sites – not sure what these are? You’re going to learn fast!
These sites are free and should form part of a consistent and regular exercise as part of your promotional activities:
Twitter – announce what you are doing to the world as it happens
LinkedIn – the professionals online social networking site and an excellent professional resource
Zimbio – write articles and features on your business and publish them for the world to see
eZine Articles – another article site with millions of eyeballs using it but you may need a professional to help
PRLeap – submit your press releases here and gain access to every major media outlet in the world
Posted June 5th, 2009 by Karl
The key to success at any of trade show is careful strategic planning. If you want to maximize your return on your investment you have to be prepared and plan ahead. The first step is to know what events or conferences are happening in your area. You want to look for the type of events that your specific target market would attend.
You can talk to your current customers about which events they attend. You can ask other people in your network which trade shows have been successful for them. There are also trade show directories available. Another good source of information is your local chamber of commerce or other business organizations.
Once you have found the trade shows you are interested in you can request to see a past list of vendors or attendees if they are available from the show sponsor. Most of these shows have websites where you should be able to gain the information. You can use this information to see if the lists of past vendors are in the same industry as you are. This information will tell you if this is the right show that your potential buyers would be attending.
By looking at trade shows past events you will be able to determine if this show would draw in the type and number of prospects you want. Other key considerations include where the show is located, cost, and the sponsor’s reputation. Once you have determined which shows are right for your product you then sit down and write a detailed plan and checklist. If you are organized from the get go you can make sure the trade show is a success and brings in many prospects and new customers.
Posted May 14th, 2009 by Karl
I can’t help myself – I know this blog is about practical hints and advice on product promotion and matters trade show but there comes a time when you just have to let your hair down and say, “To Hell With It! I’m gonna have some FUN!!”
Do you really want to know what the best way is to get attendees to loiter around your booth – a BOOTH BABE!
Obviously it doesn’t work so well with female attendees, but then sometimes it does, but a class 1 method of grabbing attendee attention is a hot looking woman wearing very little:
Sex does not sell!
What sells is conversation leading to an agreeable deal and signatures on paper with a check in the mail.
That said, sex starts a lot of the conversations leading to a deal so who’s splitting hairs – perhaps it’s time for another babe pic 
Before the femi-nazis start mailing in with demands for my head on a stick think about this – the Booth babes I come across and have hired are smart cookies – they know what they are there for and they are great at working the crowd and guests. A good looking booth babe maybe what you are thinking when you hire them but in truth, sacrifice some of the looks for those that can hold a good conversation and are prepared to learn about your business so they can relate this to stunned attendees standing with a jaw on the floow and staring at some cleavage.
What the heck – here’s another babe pic and if you want more, check out Booth Babes – enjoy!
Posted April 10th, 2009 by Karl
While there are some signs of early shoots of recovery it is still important to keep a tight rein on the costs and expenses; you are still attending and exhibiting at shows while the competition has been sleeping and this leaves huge chunks of market share and customers up for grabs but you still have to be profitable and generate business which pays for itself.
Here we go back to basics when it comes to saving money and maximizing the results from your trade show efforts.
Do Your Homework before the Show
Going into a show without proper research into the market and those likely to be attending is a surefire way of throwing money away.
Check the demographics of the trade show attendees from prior shows (management will have this) and look at who is going to be attending for the forthcoming show as well – again trade show management should have this but it is not always straight forward to come by – dig your heels in and insist, you’ve earned the right to this information by renting their space when many others have stopped.
Take the Time to Prepare
An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance but everything is for nothing if you haven’t prepared the way beforehand.
A major trade show will take your team some 12 to 18 months of prior preparation for it to come off as successfully as you intend. Smaller shows take less time and if you have been around the block a few times you will quickly learn what is and is not important to generating maximum results from the show.
Always set enough time to prepare and train up your team so everyone knows what to expect, what their job is and ultimately who is responsible for delivering results which must be measured and assessed.
Management should be Top Down
The sooner senior management are involved and taking ownership of those parts of the process which are important the better for everyone. Trade show displays are a great way to generate exposure and sales but they also require thorough planning and appropriate allocation of resources; the sooner senior management authority is brought to bear the easier everyone else’s job becomes and this saves a great deal of time and trouble for no cost.
Pre-Show Marketing
Do not rely on the trade show management to do your marketing for you; make sure you email and mailshot your prospect and client banks with the information and fact that you will be exhibiting as well as inviting them to come see you there. Don’t hold back in letting the press know you will be there too – exhibiting at a show is usually worth a short piece or two in the local press as well as trade journals – a press release will cost you some paper and fax time.
Post-Show Follow Up
Too often trade show teams breathe a sigh of relief at the end of a show – end up in the hotel bar and celebrate with a party and a few pats on the back about a great time and some great contacts and sales.
Bad move and this costs millions every year to American businesses.
Once the trade show has ended your job has only just begun – now is the time to be getting on top of your team and making sure the follow up calls are initiated and meetings promised during the trade show are actually carried out and take place. More money is to be made after the trade show than during the event itself but this is commonly ignored or not done well by exhibitors.
Posted March 15th, 2009 by Karl
The recession continues to claim victims and headlines but moving into Spring there are now some clear shoots showing signs of recovery.
I had a turbulent time in Las Vegas with PMA 2009, the world’s premier consumer electronics show and enjoyed the atmosphere and vacation style-whirlwind while picking up a ton of contacts and potential customers to follow up.
PMA 2009 was not as heavily attended as previous years and it was also notable that many of the digital camera launches I normally associate with PMA were not present – for those who don’t know, I’m involved in the digital camera and consumer electronics market – but there are other reasons aside from cost-cutting exercises amongst exhibitors at work here.
First off, PMA is not having it’s crown remain in place unchallenged – PMA management and the event face very strong competition from overseas particularly the Far East and in the summer there will be a huge trade show in Australia closely followed by another in South Korea which reflects the dominance of the Far East in generating new electronics for the mass market.
Given most of the product launches normally associated with PMA are going to be bought in the Asian-Pacific market it makes sense that is where they get launched, not to mention it is also where most of these products are now made.
Still, there I was for a few days performing my stint and after the end of the show we had the final round up as the calls out to prospects and contacts has been concluded and we are up on our Like-for-Like numbers from the show last year – well before the recession actually struck.
Our increased success this year is due in part to a recovery starting to bud but also, we are gathering new business that has been left untended by our competitors who have withdrawn or restricted their activities in the market.
Only time will tell whether we are actually in recovery (certainly there are other positive indicators such as new home sales showing positive numbers) but at the same time, it is clear we are in an excellent position to take advantage of business that simply has nowhere to go to because so many of our competitors have done the swrong thing to begin with – cut back everything without thinking of the impact.
Posted February 16th, 2009 by Karl
Tossing and turning with budgets just as we kick off the first part of the year is never my idea of fun – I tend to formulate a plan and then stick to it but in this instance the way the markets are moving in such a state of flux, I just had to look at a couple of things again.
Prices have been dropping like the proverbial rock and not just for trade show space but the whole kit and support that goes into getting my teams from A to B with sales orders along the way.
The “Beast” is what my sales manager has nick named the new display unit we squeezed out of the budgeting exercise we had ticked off and agreed late last year – originally we were not going for new, our second team was getting the older units from the lead team.
The I had some sales information waved at me by Dennis; for some reason he’s gone all pastel and ambient lighting on me and seemed to be developing an unhealthy obsession with an alumalite hybrid display from one of our main suppliers, Exhibit Deal.
The bottom line is I cracked and we ordered a 10′ x 20′ trade show display which looks like Dennis is going to be taking his next date to – all subdued lighting with a clean, crisp finish – we had the display up today and I have to admit it does look pretty sexy.
I’m not someone who gets his head turned by a pretty face though and what really did make me change my mind was the price tag: we closed on this unit for less than $25,000 and I am being made to eat some harsh words.
The point to drive home here is that now is the time to look at what you need with regards to capital investment in your exhibition kit – you are simply not going to get a cheaper deal on any aspect of your exhibition strategy than at this time!
Posted January 20th, 2009 by Karl
2009 has provided me with a very busy start so apologies for neglecting to post until now.
The trade press is awash with news on dropping trade venue numbers and there are also some heavy weights moving around as they seek to position themselves both for the recession and the recovery.
I have a meeting tomorrow with my marketing team and we are finalizing the 2009 bookings and filling up the odd gaps and opportunities in the calendar and we are all amazed at the dropping prices.
NOW is definitely a great time to grab bookings at prices which are a fraction of what we paid last year – so intent are we that the proposed second event team have gone from a substitute, “fill some of the gaps in the schedule” outfit to a fully funded profit center in their own right.
It is not just the venues that are offering excellent deals – and they are really offering excellent value now – but also the ancillary suppliers. We initially planned on using the older trade show display material and collateral for the second team but after looking at the offers and discounts being touted by all of our existing suppliers and new ones banging on the door we decided to go through a formal budgeting and quotation process to outfit the new guys.
I haven’t been directly involved but have had the numbers and summaries emailed through to me and the numbers do look outstanding – we are equipping our second event team for less than 30% of the cost of our primary event team who we refitted completely this time last year!
The big issue is what is going to happen to the attendee numbers at trade shows – I expect there will be some decline but I also am not going to be surprised if there is not either – in any event I do not anticipate any decline on the scale of the retrenching currently being demonstrated by the venues and suppliers which is good news for us.
Posted December 31st, 2008 by Karl
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!
Posted December 24th, 2008 by Karl
Happy Christmas to everyone, one and all!
2008 is winding down as we head for 2009 but there are still some things you can do in the interim between Christmas Day and the New Year Eve hangover, sorry, festivities 
The quiet time between these two holidays are an ideal time to take stock of what has happened in 2008 and complete your plans for 2009. The phones generally do not ring and sales targets for the year had better already have been met and exceeded as it is unlikely you are going to close that million dollar deal in the last week of the year!
By now, you will realize that trade show displays do work – by this I mean; “They make you money!”
Between now and the New Year when you get back into work mode, review your plans for the forthcoming year; tweak your targets and look very carefully at how you are going to achieve them.
In a time of recession, businesses run to what they know best and start cutting back on sales and marketing efforts. This leaves huge chunks of market share that is not being serviced by your competitors; as some businesses are withdrawing from exhibitions this means there is greater opportunity for you to step in and take the slot, except you are in a position to reduce the costs as event managers scramble to maintain their own revenues and market share.
The key issue to take away with you is that billions of dollars in sales and profits are still there to be made for those who are enterprising, hard working and prepared to go the distance required to win customers over.
Customers won in a recession tend to be loyal and profitable, and one thing that is always true of recessions is that they end – another “R” word comes into play here – it is called RECOVERY!
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.