BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS AT TRADESHOWS by Kathleen Gage
A few months ago I went to a home show to talk to vendors about their
services and the needs I had with a recent home purchase. I talked to
at least a dozen vendors, gave them my contact information and
requested they call me. All assured me that they would. Surprisingly,
only two did.
Recently, I went to yet another home show. As with the previous show,
I gave my contact information to several vendors who had products and
services I wanted or needed. It is said that history repeats itself,
and in my case, it did. Similar to the first show, 90% of the vendors
never followed up with me. Having talked to other people with similar
experiences at shows, I have to wonder how companies plan out their
marketing strategies. Why in the world would they invest money in a
marketing campaign without doing all they can to gain the greatest
return on their investment?
Sadly, a great many companies don't know how to gain the greatest
benefit from their investment in a trade show. Many seem to think all
they need to do is show up and the rest takes care of itself. When I
asked one business owner why she didn't follow up on the stack of
names she got at a show her comment was, "I thought once they saw us
at the show, they would automatically come to our store." This
business owner missed a great opportunity to promote her business.
Tradeshows can be an incredible way to build your business. Or they
can quickly take your company into financial straits. Before you
invest in a show do your homework.
Consider your time and money. How big will your booth be? Who will
design it? How much time do you have to complete the project? Do you
have the manpower? How will you let your customers know you are at
the show?
What is your goal? Are you there to increase sales, have a presence
in the marketplace, introduce new products, and/or enhance or
solidify your image? Decide why you are at a show before you are
there. Unfortunately, many companies decide while they are at the
show and then management feels they have wasted their investment.
Be specific. Determine specific goals in order to create a successful
experience. Limit the number of reasons why you will be there. Align
your goals with your overall company objectives. It is a good idea to
have a team work on the goals and then make sure everyone involved in
the show knows what the goals are. This includes everyone from the
employees at the exhibit to the support staff in the office.
Is this the right show? Make sure the show you are planning on
attending will accommodate your goals. How big is the product show?
Who will be in attendance? Will decision makers be there? Who else
will be exhibiting? The answers can usually be obtained from the show
organizers. If the answers to these questions make it difficult to
reach your objectives, and you determine that there are probably only
a handful of members from your target audience attending, you may
want to reconsider participation. It could be a complete waste of
your time, money and resources. You may still want to attend the
show, but as an attendee rather than an exhibitor.
Develop a good working relationship with show organizers. Most
organizers are more than willing to help you in any way they can.
They want you to succeed. When you succeed, they succeed. Ask them
for past and present exhibitors list, attendance figures and profiles
on attendees. Find out about pre-show promotion and advertising. How
this is done will tell you a lot about who will be attending the
show.
Be prepared. Another area many companies put little, if any, effort
into is preparing the employees who will be in the booth. A great
deal of how an exhibit is remembered is based upon the personal
contact made with representatives of the vendor or business. Many
companies fail to realize how important it is to have the
demonstrators and sales staff trained for the show. There are plenty
of consultants who can give you the training you need to gain full
benefit at a show. The investment can pay off handsomely.
Tradeshows and home shows can be very effective marketing strategies.
With proper planning you don't have to be one of those who contribute
to history repeating itself.
Kathleen Gage works with individuals and organizations to increase
their visibility and occupy space in their customer's mind. . Call
801. 619.1514 or E-mail kathleen@turningpointpresents.com . Get
Gage's FREE E-Book "Keys To Creating Profitable Events" by visiting
www.kathleengage.com. Click on marketing resources.
More articles on MARKETING-STRATEGIES
Have You Forgotten A Key Aspect of Your Marketing?
How Do Current Trends Impact Your Marketing?
Building Your Business at Tradeshows
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