If you are a small business owner, chances are you have already or plan to eventually be an exhibitor at an event or trade show. The key to excellent exhibiting is marketing. But marketing is an inexact science and the possibility for errors is endless. Learn to avoid common mistakes made by many small business owners when participating in trade shows and events by following a few simple guidelines. Check out my short list of 7 simple strategies to ensure that you have marketing success as an exhibitor at your next event or trade show.
1. Have an effective exhibit marketing plan.
Having a strategic and tactical exhibit marketing plan is a great place to start. Make sure that your exhibit marketing plan coincides with the your overall marketing plan for your business. Participating in trade shows or other promotional events should not be the sum of your business marketing efforts. Determine the goal of your exhibit marketing plan. Do you want to introduce a new product or service? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Are you interested in increasing marketing share with existing customers? Make certain that your exhibit marketing plan is subsidized by specific marketing activities that will yield you the results to assist in accomplishing your goals.
2. Have a call to action.
This is probably the most critical component of your exhibit marketing plan. A call-to-action is simply a persuasive tactic to turn a lead into a prospect. In your call to action, you should give your prospects directions about a specific action that you want them to take. An example of a call to action would be, leave your business card for chance to win a complimentary consultation. The main purpose of a call to action is to capture contact information of prospects in order to call or email them at a later date so you may offer more information about your goods or services and close a sale. If you have no call to action, you are essentially letting possible customers slip right through your fingers.
3. Use Direct Mail to promote your exhibit space.
Despite the uproar of social media and electronic alternatives, direct mail is still a viable and effective medium to promote any event or exhibit space. Using postcards, mailing, flyers and the like are sure to be an integral part of successfully promoting your exhibit space and/or participation in a given event. Many times the show management will promote the event to their list or mass media. However, they will not be promoting your business specifically unless you are a title sponsor. The best way to promote that you will be exhibiting at an event is to mail postcards to your database using first class mail. Make sure that your postcards arrive a minimum of 3 weeks prior to the event start date. Another great idea is to design a postcard that stands out and promotes a compelling offer or sale. If you’re exhibiting at a trade show, you can insert your booth number or promote an offer for people who bring your postcard with them to the event tor redeem a discount offer.
4. Have give-a-ways that are irresistible.
Whatever promotional tactics you use, make sure that you have give-a-ways that entice people to visit your exhibit space. Remember there may be hundreds or thousands of people at the event that day, so the attendees will have lots of exhibitors trying to capture their attention. Your giveaway should be enticing and make your company memorable. The goal is to stand out. Giving away mints or candy is not memorable. Make sure to give away a premium item that is relevant to your business industry or so irresistible that no one will want to walk away without learning more about you and your company. Developing a dynamic and irresistible giveaway takes thought and planning. Consider the hot buttons that are important to your target audience. What are the biggest wants and needs? Consider having different gifts for different types of visitors. Use your website to make an offer for visitors to collect important information, such as free white paper, when they visit your booth. Giveaways should be used as a reward or token of appreciation for visitors participating in a presentation, demonstration or contest, or as a thank-you for giving contact information.
5. Use the exhibit space as a marketing tool.
Your exhibit space says a lot about you, your company and your brand. Make sure that you have proper promotional items that brand your business in the best possible light. Your exhibit space should have a focal point where you grab the attention of people visiting your space. Your booth should be friendly and inviting with room to browse if you have a large space. Most importantly on display should be a compelling marketing message that offers a solution for a common need or problem held by your ideal customers. Most visitors will not take the time to read materials with lots of copy, so use pictures and large print for any messages you want to convey. Remember the goal is to grab attention, stand out and make your exhibit space memorable.
6. Your team is your brand.
Recognize that the people in your booth or behind your table are representing your brand. If you are a small business owner and you are personally working the event, remember to smile and be engaging. There’s nothing worse than walking by an exhibit space only to find someone who looks like they would rather be any place else. If you hire a team of professionals, make sure to brief and train them about why you are exhibiting. Educate your team on your exhibit marketing plan so they are aware of the goals. Everyone on your team should greet the attendees in the same manner with the same marketing message. Image is everything. Your team should wear similar clothing or colors. Finally the most important task your team will have, is to sell your product or service. Make certain that your team consists of sellers, not just greeters. Keep in mind, you may not close all of the prospects that day, so the second best option is to make an appointment or get permission to follow-up to close the sale at a later date. Assign specific tasks for each person working the exhibit space so that everyone knows their role.
7. Follow up on leads promptly.
The essential element of participating in any event or trade show is the lead generation. Your goal should be to obtain the highest number of leads possible. For every prospect you should have a name, mailing address, email and telephone number. The key is to follow-up with every prospect after the event is over. A common mistake most people make is not following up with prospects and allowing a hot lead to grow cold. There’s nothing worse than calling a prospect several weeks or months after the event is over. It is to your advantage to develop a system for lead management and a follow process for inserting your prospects in a database. Make certain to log your contact with each prospect and log sales. Keep track of your success so that you are able to measure how effective a particular event was in bringing you new business.
© 2012 Quality Media Consultant Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved
This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group, master marketing & sales coach and founder of Trailblazer Business AcademyTM that shows you how to get more clients and sales for your business, guaranteed. To learn more about consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales specifically how to increase your revenue, please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.
Thanks for this article Lori – very comprehensive!
It’s surprising how many seasoned exhibitors forget a lot of this information – just by implementing 1 or 2 of these ideas could drastically improve results!
This is a gold mine of information Lori! I need to file this!
Timely words of wisdom as I have a booth next week! Thanks for the pointers, Lori!
Great article! Loved your 7 strategies and will be using this article a guideline and reminder for upcoming exhibitions!
Thx Lori!
I don’t know if I will ever have a booth, but I sure know where to get the info if I do. I’m clipping this to share with my colleagues that do exhibit frequently.
Great article! My favorite is #2 – a call to action. I like to go to trade shows and have manned a booth or 2. It’s amazing how people don’t collect contact information. They spend all this time and money preparing and no collection of leads? Of course, this goes with your #1 tip – to have that plan. I would say, to all professional marketing consultants and coaches, to visit these shows, look for booths without calls to action, and then give them your card, and contact them as your prospect. It’s just too common! Thanks Lori! Janet
Back in the days when I was doing exhibits, I remember how surprised were my prospects when I actually followed up and followed through. I’ve learned that this is single and most important step that makes or breaks your exhibition success. You can collect hundreds of contacts, give away awesome gifts, but if you don’t follow up, you’ve lost.
Oooo, these are all great to tips to make a much more productive use of exhibit dollars and time. I think #2 and #3 are my favorites and the ones so often overlooked, as you said.