A good trade show plan should include preshow activities
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Written by admin on July 4, 2008 – 11:25 pm
For business-to-business firms, trade shows can be one of the most efficient ways of marketing your business. They attract a large audience already interested in the products or services you are selling.
A good trade show plan should include preshow activities, the development of sound objectives to be met during the show, and a strong postshow program. Trade show costs can get out of control make sure you’re maximizing your expenditures as you would with any other advertising or marketing.
• Ask for the percentage of participants that match your target market. If it’s a trade show for marketing executives, make sure you ask for the job title that’s most responsible for the purchase or influence on the purchase of your product. For example, the media manager, the Internet director, the VP of strategic planning, etc.
• Take advantage of the marketing value-adds that are available with most trade shows. Many allow access to mailing lists and attendees names and addresses including e-mail. This allows for pre- and postshow communication as well as preparation for specific booth content. Many trade shows also have preshow shows, and postshow publications. Also, most shows have forums with speakers. These provide excellent visibility for those selected to participate.
• Spend money to be where the action is in the convention center. Your location says a lot about your brand, so the placement of your booth matters. If the show groups similar vendors together and you don’t like where your classification is located, there are many creative alternatives you can explore. Ask to partner with a larger vendor or one that’s in a more desirable location. Provide preshow incentives or a reason to make the trip to your booth. You’re already spending good money to be part of the show, now work hard to make your time as effective as possible.
• On the flip side of the above point, there are ways to spend less money. First, ask for a discount. You’d be surprised how many shows will provide one. They want vendors and your presence is valued. Or, reduce the size of your booth, but explore ways to increase the impact. Sonic Foundry was a small software company that had a revolutionary new product called ACID. ACID allowed just about anyone to sit down and compose music.
Sonic Foundry wanted to make a splash at COMDEX, which is one of the biggest trade shows in the world, and is attended by all the big names in the software and computer industry. So we developed the ultimate street fighting campaign: When trade attendees got off the plane in the Las Vegas airport, they were greeted with protesters (hired actors) deploring ACID, with sayings like, “Acid, the end of music as we know it don’t go to booth 4590.”
When considering events or live marketing, make sure you have a set objective you want to accomplish. They can be used to sample your product, raise awareness, educate and inform, provide an experience with your product to increase customer connection to your brand, increase continuity of purchase, help position your product, recruit new employees, celebrate the grand opening of a new store, gain publicity, or help change attitudes.
