Trade Show Marketing

Five Simple Steps to Trade Show Success
By Jim Thebeau

“Our trade shows and special events cost a fortune and rarely generate any results.” That’s a familiar lament at many companies that rely on these activities to introduce new products, generate sales leads or just show up simply to show their customers they are present.

If your company is not seeing a return on these substantial promotional investments, the problem may be related to planning and execution as opposed to the actual show or event.

In my 20 years of trade show experience, first as an exhibitor and later as a public relations advisor to clients, I observed more show problems than successes when it came to measurable results or creativity. It seems a lot of exhibitors go to shows, put up a table and some brochures, play a video and then sit down and wait for the prospects to come rolling into the booth. In a world where the average show attendee takes less than 10 seconds to decide whether or not to visit your booth, this approach is not likely to generate a lot of success.

Successful shows begin with detailed planning that starts months in advance.

Step 1. Determine what you want to accomplish with the trade show or special event. Do you want to generate sales leads? Get prospects to see a new product? Provide a company briefing on new activities? Host a special side event for a few special prospects?

Step 2. Next, develop a plan to support those goals. For example, if you want to generate leads or launch a new product, you should plan to promote your presence at the event via direct mail, advertising or public relations weeks in advance. It often pays to tie a drawing or contest into these promotions to get qualified leads to your event. Get creative during this process. To get highly valued prospects to attend a special event at one of their trade shows, one of our clients engaged us to create a unique mailer. We developed a Mission Impossible-themed piece with a personalized message on a digital recorder and sent it to 100 invitees. Nearly 50 of them showed up for the event. The client was delighted.

Step 3. For prospects to develop an interest in or to buy your product, they must believe it has value to them. Remember - they buy benefits, not features. You should talk to your customer, not at them. Pre-show promotions and booth graphics should point out key benefits. For instance, if you are selling GPS personal navigation devices, you don’t want to hand out a spec sheet listing minute details about the technology. You would be better served to plant a single thought in the prospect’s mind, such as “Locate your hotel in Chicago in less than 30 seconds.”

Step 4. Integrate your key messages and supporting visuals into everything you do. Everything should look as though it goes together. Simplicity is your friend. Avoid clutter to avoid making it too difficult or complicated for the attendee to understand your message.

Step 5. Once you return from the show, it’s time to follow up with your leads. One industry source indicates that up to 79 percent of all show or event leads are never followed up on. Your best chance at converting a trade show lead into a sale is in the first few days after the show. Set up a system for your marketing or sales team to sort through the leads and assign specific leads to specific team members for follow-up. You can even draft a response letter before the show begins to save time on responding to leads once you return to the office.

The next time you have an event, plan ahead and follow some simple guidelines that can lead to a successful event. If management wants to know the value of your company’s attendance, you will be better prepared to provide the answer.

Author Biography
Jim Thebeau is a partner and the director of public relations and a partner at Henry Russell Bruce, a strategic marketing firm that uses research, brand-building, advertising, public relations and Web strategies to help clients grow market share, generate new business, create brand loyalty and measure marketing results to build and support its clients’ brands. HRB, founded in 1973, has offices in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa. For more information, visit www.hrb-ideas.com.

Jim Thebeau
jthebeau@hrb-ideas.com
www.hrb-ideas.com