by David Beach Founder & CEO, Atlantic Skyline
Everything starts with an objective. When in the market for a new car, rarely will you set out driving, randomly pull into a lot, get out and say, “I don't care which car I buy, just sell me something.” We all set objectives before embarking on any type of personal or business venture. Without them, we operate completely in the dark with no idea of how we're doing, or if what we've done in the past is working.
The same holds true for trade show marketing. Prior to selecting a show, you need to sit down and come up with some objectives for why to exhibit in the first place. Who is your target audience? What messages are you trying to communicate? What do you want to bring home with you? These are all things to consider before incurring the time and expense necessary to successfully manage a trade show marketing program.
Why do companies exhibit? Why is more than $70 billion spent annually in the exhibition industry, with over 13,000 trade shows in North America alone? Because unlike any other marketing effort, trade shows provide face-to-face interaction with key decision makers in your industry. You can't accomplish this with direct mail, telemarketing or print advertisements. It's like putting your showroom or office on a truck, and delivering it directly to your clients.
Examples of innovative trade show booths incorporating durable,
lightweight components and bold graphics for maximum brand
identity and product merchandising.
Photos Courtesy of Skyline Exhibits.
Setting specific goals several months prior to the show is imperative for success. Most companies’ goals fall into one of four “core” objectives.
Increasing share of customer – You currently supply a product to your customer, but they
utilize another vendor to purchase something you provide. The objective is to convince them to purchase that product from your company.
Increasing market share – You want to increase total sales to new and existing customers. The objective is to reach as many clients as possible during the show, and convince them to purchase your product line.
Positioning or repositioning – Your company has changed a brand or logo, or possibly added a new product. The objective is to let your target audience know about the changes taking place.
Enhancing your brand – You simply want to be visible where your competitors are found. The objective is to keep your company at the forefront of the market.
To determine effective objectives, establish some qualifiers. Are your objectives specific and focused? More than just, “I've heard that this is a great show in my industry,” narrow down the thought process. An alternative would be, “We want to make direct contact with five widget purchasing agents while in attendance.” Effective objectives are also timely and meaningful. Simply meeting with these purchasing agents may not be enough. You may want to further qualify them as “five purchasers who have recently added a new assembly line where your widget could be used.” Finally, objectives should be measurable.
Measuring objectives can be a daunting task. Some are more easily measured than others. Cost per lead, for example, can be very easily measured. Simply take the overall cost of the show (including staff hours, travel, meals and lodging in addition to the expense of the booth space and exhibit) and divide by the number of “qualified” leads. Another simple equation for measuring objectives would be ROI (return on investment). How many widgets did you sell while at the show divided by the entire cost? This can also translate into ROO (return on objectives).
Other measurable objectives include brand awareness (did people learn about your new company or product?) or behavior change (since the show, are attendees more or less likely to contact you as a future resource?). These are most easily measured by surveys and/or exit interviews. In recent exhibitor polls, the most effective types of surveys used are: mail, telephone, post-show sales conversation surveys and in-booth surveys.
So, you've partnered with an established exhibit company like Atlantic Skyline to help design and construct a high-quality display, carefully selected a show based on the your target market, and established six measurable objectives you and your CEO set out to accomplish. One month after the show, the phones aren't ringing off the hook. What went wrong? Two little words...“FOLLOW UP.”
Figure 1
On average, 79% of all leads obtained at a trade show are never followed up on by the sales force. How effective is your follow-up system? Is there a start and a finish? (See Figure 1). In order to effectively manage marketing and sales productivity from any trade show, you must document each step in the process. This, of course, means stressing to your trade show staff the importance of gathering accurate information during those precious hours spent in the booth. Without useable, high-quality data, your investment at the trade show can become of little to no value. You must manage the entire sales process to achieve maximum effectiveness from your trade show marketing efforts.
Trade shows can be an extremely effective marketing medium to help you win and sustain business. Just keep in mind that the actual event is the culmination of weeks, and often, months of pre- and post-show planning. You must take the time to establish measurable objectives before the show, and put into place the processes necessary to follow up on the results generated from your efforts. Only then can you take full advantage of the incredible one-on-one marketing opportunity in which you've invested.
Atlantic Skyline is the mid-Atlantic's premier choice for quality modular and custom exhibits, custom museum cases and workplace build-outs of any size.