January 20, 2017

Five Mistakes You’re Making at the Tradeshow

More than two-thirds of exhibitors do not have a solid plan in place and end up making mistakes at the tradeshow as they exhibit.

5 mistakes you're making at the tradeshow

In fact, not having an organized, comprehensive plan is one of the most common mistakes that exhibitors make.

And it’s safe to say that nearly all exhibitors don’t have a solid grasp of the metrics of their success or failure that comes from that tradeshow appearance. Why? Because companies tend to put all of their energy, time and money into putting on a good show, and very little into counting the results after the end of the show. Measuring your results – leads, sales closed – is one of the most critical measurements you can make.

Let’s look at some of the common mistakes you might make as you exhibit at the tradeshow.

First, you don’t have a comprehensive plan. This means going from A-Z and planning to cover all your bases, from pre-show marketing and show execution to having an exhibit that accurately represents your brand and communicates your message to counting leads and sales after the show is done. Know what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, how you’re planning to get back your return on the investment and where your tradeshow appearance fits in your overall marketing strategy.
Secondly, you may have the wrong people in the booth. Tradeshow floors are a chaotic busy mess where hundreds or thousands of people come and go all day long. Without proper preparation, which usually means staff training and picking the right people, you’ll end up with sales people or other staffers that can’t interact with precision, veracity and alacrity with those visitors. They’re not asking proper questions, they’re letting big fish get away and they’re spending too much time on little fish or people that won’t ever buy.
Third: you’re repeating yourself. Do you ever see the same company at the same show with the same exhibit year after year, showing off the same products? On close examination it seems nothing really changes from year to year. A company that’s on top of their game will upgrade the booth regularly or replace it when necessary; they’ll have new products to show off and new ways of interacting with visitors.
Fourth: you’re cheapening your brand by having inappropriate brand ambassadors in your booth. Pretty models in skimpy outfits may attract a crowd, but they do nothing to improve or define your company’s brand unless, of course, your brand is built on pretty models in skimpy outfits. Otherwise, in today’s climate, exhibiting in the US using those types of representatives will likely get you negative feedback.
Fifth: the biggest tradeshow marketing sin of all – you’re not following up on all of those leads in a timely manner. The fact that tradeshow leads are cheaper by the dozen and more targeted than any other kind of lead, coupled with the fact that your competitors have many of the same leads in their bucket, means that you must strike while the iron is hot. Letting a lead sit more than a few weeks means it grows colder and colder until you might as well toss it out with the other dead fish.

We all make mistakes – it’s part of life – but the more you can minimize mistakes with oodles of tradeshow marketing dollars on the table, the better off you’ll be.

Click here to grab my Tradeshow Follow-up Checklist

January 18, 2017

What’s your Tradeshow Marketing Narrative?

We all have stories – narratives that we can use to let people know who we are and what we stand for.

In the recent US presidential election, it was truly a battle of narratives. One side was viewed as a stable, dependable candidate albeit having been painted as crooked for decades by the other side. The other candidate was viewed as an outsider looking to ‘drain the swamp,’ but was painted by the other side as vulgar, unpredictable and unstable.

We all know how the election turned out. But what’s interesting is that no matter how much fact-checking came into play by countless individuals and entities, that the narrative of each side was what mattered most. We tend to believe what we want to, and if the story that’s depicted resonates with us, we’ll be moved by it.

It’s the same with tradeshow marketing. I have a number of clients in the natural products industry, and each company endeavors to tell a specific story using images, colors, graphics and messaging as part of an exhibit. Each company backs that up with products that continue that story and personnel that believe in the narrative. If there is a weak link in the chain, the dissonance will be felt, even if it isn’t clearly seen or understood.

That’s why, when crafting your tradeshow marketing narrative, all elements are important. Think of it: you’re under the microscope in a location where dozens if not hundreds of direct competitors are being examined as well. Every little thing contributes to the overall perception of your product and company: your employees, the clothes they wear, how they present themselves; the graphics, messaging, images, colors, booth construction materials, the flooring – are all communicating a distinct message. And if your story or narrative is not fully understood by the people designing the booth and creating the graphics, there is a good chance that the message will be garbled.

From the whole grains company to the bread company to the natural deodorant company to the men’s hygiene products company, they are all working to tell their story so that it’s easily understood, that it’s intuitively inferred by visitors.

Smarter people that me have the knowledge to craft those stories based on their knowledge of images, colors, messaging and so on and how people absorb those messages. The top companies in any industry are the ones that do the best job of depicting a narrative that fully and simply tells the story that they intend to tell.

January 11, 2017

Tradeshows by the Numbers

Tradeshow numbers rattle around my brain. It’s just part of the scene, man.

For instance, when someone asks how much exhibits costs, I whip out this factoid: industry averages for a custom designed and fabricated island booth ranges between $135 and $165 per square foot. Your mileage may vary.

If they ask about inline booths: Industry averages for inline booths is around $1,000 per linear foot. Again, your mileage may vary.

But there are other numbers, too. If you toodle on over to Statista and check out their facts on tradeshow marketing in the US, you uncover some more interesting numbers:

Average number of tradeshow visitors per 100 square feet of exhibit space in the US: 2.2
Average time tradeshow visitors spent viewing exhibits: 9.5 hours
Share of tradeshow visitors attending that tradeshow for the first time: 38%

Let’s stop a moment. Think about that last one. Over 1/3 of all tradeshow visitors to that show you’re exhibiting at are NEW to the show. Never been there before! You’re exposed to a whole lot of new people. And think about the number of people – 62% – that may already be familiar with your brand. Put those together and 100% of the people at the show you’re exhibiting at next are susceptible to your brand message.

Now a few more:

Share of tradeshow visitors planning to buy exhibited products or services: 48%
Share of potential audience who remembered visiting a company’s tradeshow exhibit: 81%

A few more fun digestible numbers from WillWorkInc:

Worldwide the tradeshow industry is worth about $14 billion, which is about 2.7% in 5 years.
Even though tradeshow attendees average 2.3 days and 9.5 hours on the tradeshow floor each year, 46% of those attendees only go to one show a year – make that visit count!
82% of attendees had buying power, according to Exhibit Surveys. Sell something!

From big shows to regional and local shows, putting up a booth with an accompanying tradeshow marketing program is an effective way to reach new markets and create new business.

Let me close with some tradeshow numbers on one of the world’s largest shows. Last year’s Consumer Electronics Show drew more and 170,000 people for tech’s biggest show. In 2017, a show which closed down less than a week ago from this writing, the show celebrated its 50^th anniversary with more than 3,800 exhibiting companies and more than 2.6 million net square feet of exhibiting space. More than 175,000 industry professionals, including 55,000 from outside the US for the Las Vegas event.

January 4, 2017

Sell or Die Podcast: Are Tradeshows Even Worth it Any More?

As much as I love Jeffrey Gitomer’s sales training (along with books, speeches, podcasts and more), I wasn’t sure where he’d come down on the idea of using tradeshows as a way to generate leads and sales. But when I saw the new Sell Or Die Podcast with Jeffrey Gitomer and Jennifer Gluckow, I had to share. This is just a brief snippet they posted on YouTube talking about tradeshows, and it’s a great start to the discussion:

Hmmm…maybe I should tell them about the TradeshowGuy Blog? As an old radio guy, I could probably figure out what to say as a guest on their podcast! Check out the Sell or Die podcast here.

December 30, 2016

Consider the Full Cost of a Tradeshow Exhibit

A new tradeshow exhibit is great! It shows off a new look for your company. Visitors will see you’ve upgrade which is a clear signal that your company is doing well and wants to show off its stuff. Employees will see that the company believes in its products or services enough to invest in a new exhibit that properly communicates a clear message to clients and prospects.

But in a way, having a new exhibit designed and built is like having a kid. Once the new booth has arrived, you have to take care of it! So that means the initial tradeshow purchase is just the beginning.

Most exhibitors will set aside a certain budget for a tradeshow exhibit. They will budget for the design, fabrication and shipping crates. But there’s more to it than that. Don’t forget the cost of shipping to the booth to and from the show. Beyond that, there’s flooring cost (sometimes included in the exhibit cost, sometimes not), setup cost and of course any show services costs, such as cleaning, internet, sign hanging and so on. Having a new booth may mean that some of the costs that you’ve incurred before will change – some will increase, some will decrease. For example, if you’ve had a heavy wood booth and your new booth is aluminum frame with fabric graphic, the overall weight of the booth will be less, hence a smaller shipping bill.

After that, you have the expense of travel and lodging for employees, rental cars, product samples and shipping. Yeah, the list goes on and on.

The cost of a tradeshow exhibit is pretty straightforward. But once the booth is ready to go, it’s like having a kid: now you have to support it, care for it and make sure it stays in good shape and doesn’t get into trouble!

December 22, 2016

6 Unforgettable Tradeshow Tips

Here are six random but unforgettable tradeshow tips to take you to a successful tradeshow experience.

Standing out. Your tradeshow exhibit should stand out from others in any way it can. Of course, with hundreds or even thousands of booths trying to attract eyeballs, that may be difficult. But if you realize that every other booth is trying to do the same, you can stand out by being different. That may mean a dynamic color, a hanging sign, bright colors, bold statements and compelling questions in your marketing message.
Freebies. There are right and wrong ways to approach giving away trinkets and tchotchkes. Don’t give something away just for the sake of giving something away. Having a pen with your logo on it may mean something to you, but to a visitor, it’s like every other pen they got that day. If the giveaway is usable and memorable, it may get noticed longer. For instance, a premium giveaway for a special visitor that you’re really trying to sell may mean a metal coffee cup with your logo or something similar. Work with your promotional products company to find the appropriate freebie.
Business cards. When was the last time you went to a networking event or tradeshow and realized you didn’t have enou

gh business cards? It happens. In fact, it happened to me last week! Plan ahead and don’t forget to take more than you think you’ll need.
30-second pitch. Most standard sales pitches will be packed with features and benefits, but that is a good way to become very forgettable. Instead, come up with an engaging question, or an introductory question that gets a visitor to stop. Then you can go into a pitch that focuses on how you work with clients: “we help frustrated marketers that can’t find a good graphic designer, or they’re embarrassed by poor printing, or they don’t have an overall program to get their brand image out online – I don’t suppose any of these concerns or challenges affect you?”
Traffic Flow. If your booth is blocked off from the aisle by tables and chairs, people won’t come inside your booth. If they don’t come inside your booth, you can’t have a comfortable conversation with them about what their challenges are and how your product or service may help them. No matter what size your booth, the traffic flow should be a prime consideration of your booth design.
Have fun! Tradeshows are a short-term, high energy commitment. The more fun it looks like you and your staff are having, the more people you’ll attract. And tradeshow are all about attracting people and knowing what to do with them!

Take these 6 unforgettable tradeshow tips and use them to make your next tradeshow appearance a successful one!

December 20, 2016

How to Measure Tradeshow ROI and ROO

There are many ways to measure tradeshow ROI (Return on Investment) and ROO (Return on Objectives). Let’s count a few of the important ones.

Web traffic. You might not think web traffic relates to tradeshow success, but trust me, it does. Knowing how your traffic ebbs and flows before and after tradeshows is one indicator that is worth noting in your overall information gathering.
Social Media Reach. Compare before and after numbers of social media likes and followers. Your level of engagement, or reach, during a show, can show a spike in engagement on your most-used social media platforms.
Booth Visitors. Count the attendees in your booth. Yeah, it’s a pain to do, but if you can manage to at least get a rough count of visitors to your booth each show, you can compare from year to year and show to show.
Show Buzz. Do you have visitors that showed up at your booth because there was some show talk that drew them there? If you have an indication of that, try to find out if they were interested in your booth or products or both.
Networking. How many industry colleagues did you and your team connect with during the show? How were those conversations? Could you consider many of them fruitful, leading to future steps?
New product launch or demo. Count the number of people that attendee presentations or demos, or the number of product samples that were given away. Count the number of leads at those demos, which leads to…
Lead Generation – new leads in particular. Lead generation is THE key metric you need to track from show to show and year to year. That and…
Sales. How many dollars were generated as a direct result of leads generated at the show.

To determine your ROI, take the total revenue generated, subtract the investment in the show and you have your raw number. To get the percentage, divide your original investment into the net income.

To figure out your Return on Objective, identify your objectives prior to the show. You may have non-financial event goals such as customer meetings, samples given away, press coverage, branding, name recognition improvement, collecting emails, enhancing client relations and so on. Then make notes by observing and documenting as much related information as you can. ROO looks at items that do not directly translate to immediate sales or sales opportunities.

You can evaluate such things as:

What was the best part of the show?
What was the least valuable?
Did the booth size work, or was it too small or too large for your purposes?
Did your signage convey the right messages?
Was your pre-show promotion effective?
Were there enough visitors throughout the show to keep your staff busy? Were they overwhelmed?

No matter your overall approach to tradeshow marketing, the more information you are able to gather relating to your ROI and your ROO will make you a better marketer.

December 16, 2016

Tradeshows Bring Buyers

It may be obvious, but tradeshows bring buyers to your booth. Often, as exhibitors, we’re so focused on presenting a cohesive message, making sure our staffers are on top of things, keeping the booth clean, greeting visitors and answering questions that when someone is ready to buy we miss a beat!

In some tradeshows you’re looking for distributors, in some you’re looking for customers, in some you’re looking to solidify and strengthen relationships with existing customers, distributors and clients. But at the bottom line, you’re at a tradeshow to connect with more buyers. More people who will say YES and open their wallet to your products and services.

By keeping this YES top of mind during the show, your staffers will be more prepared when the question does arise. Certainly not everyone in your booth is a buyer, but buying decisions and referrals are made at tradeshows. THAT’S WHY THE ATTENDEES ARE THERE: TRADESHOWS BRING BUYERS. They’re there to check out new products, new services, new releases, new iterations of current products and so on. If they’re at the show, there’s a real chance they may either eventually BUY from you or know someone who will.

Exhibit Surveys Inc’s Trade Show Trends Report from a couple of years ago shows that 49% of tradeshow attendees come to a show with the intent to purchase. Yes, that’s why they’re there – to BUY, and hopefully from you.

Are you doing all you can to facilitate the buying activity?

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December 14, 2016

How Fabric Graphics Changed the Tradeshow World [Webinar Replay]

In our webinar How Fabric Graphics Changed the Tradeshow World, Dave Brown of Optima Graphics and I discussed myriad topics regarding tradeshow graphics. We looked at new trends in materials, print capabilities and color. We went over advancements in UV printing, Latex printing and fabric printing. We talked about Tac Tac graphics, a unique one-time use graphic that can really dress up a wall, booth, elevator door or whatever. We ended with a number of questions that tradeshow marketing managers can equip themselves with when discussing new graphic options with their exhibit house.

It’s less than 30 minutes! Take a look:

December 13, 2016

Weekly Tradeshow Marketing Vlog Coming in 2017

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I produced a podcast for years back in the Golden Days of Podcasting. Actually, it happened starting before podcasts were a thing, mainly because I’m an old radio hack who tried to learn about the tradeshow industry by calling experts, consultants and others and recording an interview with them. Those interviews got posted on the website of my former employer (now retired and the business is gone), and when podcasting rolled around as a thing in 2005 or so, I morphed the interviews into an intermittent podcast.

Then a year ago I started doing a webinar a month and eventually set up TradeshowGuyWebinars.com as a landing page for signing up. My goal was to do one per month and managed to pull it off for the most part. Some had guests, others did not.

In the past few months I’ve stumbled on a handful of business people who are doing weekly video blogs, or vlogs. They’re turning on the camera and going either live or recording themselves for 5 – 10 minutes and then posting on their blog. They discuss business and personal stuff. To me it’s a great way to get to know someone beyond just their business self.

After mulling it over for a couple of months, I’ve decided I’m going to give a try. Starting in January (exact date TBD), I’m going to log on at nine o’clock Monday mornings onto the webinar platform and do a live vlog. Should be fun! We’ll see what happens. I’ll give it 3-4 months and if it’s still going well, I’ll keep going. If I run out of things or just can’t seem to get in a groove, I’ll pull the plug. Fair enough?

Okay. Sign up for login links at TradeshowGuyWebinars.com or watch for the replay here on the blog.

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