Tradeshow Marketing Expert & Dynamic Public Speaker/Trainer
TradeshowGuy Tim Patterson and Jim Shelman, General Manager of Classic Rental Solutions, tackle the topic of #tradeshow #exhibit rentals: how they’ve changed, how to customize and much more on this week’s edition of the TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee.
This week’s ONE GOOD THING: Showtime’s documentary series The Trade.
One of my favorite newsletters comes from Bill Lampton, Ph. D., otherwise known as the BizComunication Guy. When I invited him on to the TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee several weeks ago, he offered to interview me for his weekly show as well. It was a pleasure to reciprocate. Bill is great interviewer and as you might imagine a professional communicator.
I love infographics, especially tradeshow infographics. So when Anna Carling at US Event Management reached out with an offer to share something new they’d been working on, I said, “Bring it on! Let’s take a look!” Turns out it’s a very comprehensive infographic that walks you through 16 tips and tricks. Well, let’s share what she sent along:
Are you wondering how to be successful at a trade show? Well, look no further, because this infographic will take you through 16 tips and tricks that will guarantee your success! From dressing to impress and creating a welcoming booth space to staffing and giveaways, this incredible infographic has everything you’ll need to know about how to successfully market your product, service, or even just yourself at a trade show. Thinking of doing something a little different with the design of your booth? This infographic will help you decide if that’s the right choice for you! Being successful at a trade show can do a whole lot more than just sell one product of yours, it can create connections that last a lifetime and create a boom for your business. It can also get your name out there to potential customers and raise awareness of your ever-growing brand, and in a world absolutely full to the brim of businesses offering goods and services, it’s good to be able to stick out. If you want to learn all about how you can become successful at a trade show, you need to check out this infographic right now so that you can be the shining star of the next show. All in all, these 16 tips, tricks, and tools will guide you to the success you’ve been dreaming of, promoting your business and building your brand all in a positive direction at the same time. You should already be checking out this incredible infographic so that you can learn all about the keys to trade show success, brought to you by US Event Management. Don’t waste any more time reading about what’s in the infographic, and instead, see for yourself what this incredible post can do for you and your booming business today.
Click here to download a full-size PDF of the tradeshow infographic.
A tradeshow is a competition that puts your product side by side with other companies in the same industry you’re in. You may or may not have a more superior product, but what can clinch the deal is how you interact with your visitors during your face to face encounters.
But how can you encourage engagement with trade show visitors? Here are some important tips that can help make your next showing a more engaging one.
People are naturally visual beings so the design of your booth will play a big role in making it inviting. Your booth has to be attractive but this does not necessarily mean that it has to be expensive as well.
What’s important is that your branding is professionally done in high quality materials. Remember that your booth is a representation of your company so if the overall feel looks sloppy or rushed, then the visitors will also assume that your standards in how you do business are not that high.
Most companies also make the mistake of using the standard booth layout of having a table at the front of their booth to display their products, with the space behind them empty or filled with clutter. This traditional layout actually blocks the visitor flow because the table is putting a barrier between you and the attendees. Instead, employ a more functional open design the next time you set up your booth. Try placing the table at the inside center area to display your products or TV screen. Stand at the front of the booth and encourage people to come in to investigate further.
This open design also allows multiple people to come in and explore even if you are still engaged with another visitor
There’s nothing more discouraging than seeing people manning a booth sitting down and looking bored. Visitors will think twice before approaching you so you need to be proactive to get people in. Smiling and being cheerful will always get a positive response.
When speaking to visitors, don’t launch into a monologue of your practiced spiel, rather, try to listen to their concerns in order for you to offer what they really need.
If the traffic in your booth is low, assign one staff to go into more populated areas to invite people to participate in your booth activities. You can also network with other business owners and make it an opportunity to build business connections.
Technology has made it easier for companies to promote their events at a more practical cost while still reaching a wider audience. With 96% of business getting on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, it is a great platform to drum up interest and invite visitors to your booth. Use an event hashtag and get booth visitors tag you in their social media posts as well.
During the event, ask people to follow you on your social networks and get their email ID’s instead of the old-school business card collection method. This will make it easier for you to engage with your visitors straight away instead of waiting post-event to reach out.
Another way to take advantage of digital techniques is by providing electronic fliers or brochures instead of giving away printed paper versions that only end up being thrown away. Have a laptop or tablet ready where event attendees can sign-up or leave their email addresses. They can then receive an instant automated email with a downloadable link that contains your company’s marketing materials. This is also more cost effective than printing or giving out USB sticks because you can access your cloud storage option of choice from your laptop or tablet. There are lots of brilliant free options available like Google Drive or Dropbox.
Simply giving away fliers or dishing out long speeches about your company is not enough to encourage engagement. Host activities that require attendees’ participation like games, competitions, product demonstrations, and sampling.
Hosting a game for example will give visitors a feeling of fun which they can then associate with your brand. Make sure that the game is related to your product to amplify your brand message.
In doing product sampling, go the extra mile by not only giving out samples supermarket style. Instead, make it into a challenge so it’s more exciting!
For example, if you have a food brand like a cheese product ask visitors to craft their own sandwich creations instead of just handing out a taster. Give a prize to the best participant and place a leader board so other attendees can also be motivated to participate.
Giving out freebies is still one of the best ways to get engagement, however, gone are the days when a free branded pen or t-shirt excites trade show attendees. These traditional types of giveaways are often ignored and chances are, some visitors won’t even bother to give you a second look.
Instead of spending your money on boxes of branded keychains that will not be used, try offering a premium gift to just a limited number of attendees who really interacted with your product.
Selection can be in the form of a raffle or a contest. A bigger, more valuable prize can also stir up more interest rather than an unremarkable souvenir. This also prompts people to seek out your booth and spend more time engaging rather than just taking a free stress ball and leaving.
Attending trade shows can be a stressful and tiring experience so one great idea is to offer a free service to visitors.
Setting up a mobile charging station or providing free dedicated Wi-Fi are just some examples that will surely get your booth awesome foot traffic. You can also offer free premium coffee, healthy snacks or shoulder massages if budget is not an issue. If you cannot afford this, something as simple as a comfortable seating space can even be inviting to tired visitors.
Once the visitors are in your space, use that opportunity to interact with them to let them know more about your product.
How to be remembered after the show is a big challenge for any exhibitor. Sadly not everyone has that bouncy personality that can draw people in. If you are not a naturally people person, think up ways on how to stand out. If it is a health & beauty event, maybe invite a social media influencer in your booth to help speak about the product.
You can also try offering valuable information by hosting educational sessions, mini-lectures or workshops every hour. For example, if you have a coffee machine company, why not invite visitors to a coffee-tasting session at your booth explaining the origin of the different coffee beans? If you have a photography company, host a free photo booth that will include a small logo of your company in the digital print. There are a lot of possibilities if you just think out of the box.
One of the main purposes of exhibiting at a trade show is to create awareness for your product. Don’t waste the opportunity, time and money by putting everything at the last minute and turning up without a sound plan. Using these techniques will help you create a bigger impact on your next event.
Resources:
Tradeshow Marketing Is a Competition – Tradeshow marketing is a competition against your competition.
A Basic Guide To Social Media Advertising – 96% of business now on on social networks.
The 5 Best Cloud Storage Options For Laptops – Free and paid suggestions for cloud storage options.
Author Bio
Nathan Sharpe is the entrepreneur behind Biznas. He knows that you have to wear many different hats in order for your business to be a success. He helps others achieve this success by sharing everything he knows over on his blog, as well as any new lessons he learns along the way!
What is the “revitalization of the human spirit” and how does it relate to events, tradeshows and conferences? Andrew Bennett of the Bennett Performance Group joins TradeshowGuy Tim Patterson on this week’s vlog/podcast to discuss exactly that, along with many other reasons that events are thriving, and in fact, will likely never go away.
Also, a tradeshow tip of the week.
And this week’s ONE GOOD THING: Chris Ducker’s Youpreneur podcast, etc. Good stuff!
So many exhibitors leave the end-of-tradeshow logistics to their staff or to the I&D crew. But what happens at the end of the tradeshow can have an impact on your bottom line and frankly your peace of mind.
Unless you’re intimately involved in the end-of-tradeshow dismantle and shipping, it’s easy to think that it almost happens by itself.
If only that were true, right?
A recent example from a client: the BOL (Bill of Lading) was handed in to the show services desk prior to the exhibit being dismantled and packed away. That was to happen the next morning. Unfortunately, the crates vanished. The BOL was in hand, so the order was given, and the crates were picked up. Fortunately, one of the I&D (Installation and Dismantle) crew caught the error and was able to track down the crates, which were at the nose-end of a trailer truck. But they were returned (at additional cost to the client), the exhibit was packed up and everything turned out as it should.
Tradeshow shipping is a different kind of cat as the saying goes, and there are a lot of moving parts. The best approach? Plan well ahead so you know what will happen and when.
Know when the advance warehouse will be able to receive incoming shipments. Working with a trucking company that is familiar with how the tradeshow shipping grind works will pay off. Time windows for both delivery and pickup can be a bit crazy, and it’s not uncommon for a truck to sit in line for hours (on the clock) awaiting their time to pick up their freight, especially at a busy show. This is even after they’ve checked in at the marshalling yard at the appropriate time.
At the end of the show, someone that’s in charge of making sure the paperwork is handed will need to fill out an MHA (Material Handling Form) and give it to show services, which is paperwork that authorizes the show contractor to pick up your crates and deliver them to the loading dock – this is called drayage. And make sure to read the fine print. The MHA must be filled out accurately to make sure that the crates and other materials are picked up. The fine print will also tell you that the show contractor has no liability for handling materials after the show deadline has passed, which means they can choose to ship your materials back in any way they deem. If they do it at all.
The afore-mentioned BOL is a document that outlines the agreement between you and your transportation company that authorizes them to pick up the crates and deliver it back to the warehouse.
Often your EAC (Exhibitor Approved Contractor) that is charge of setting up and dismantling your exhibit can handle all of these logistics – they do it all the time. But to make sure that happens, coordinate with the supervisor or your client representative.
In short, the goal is to get your exhibit and materials packed up efficiently and properly, and have it picked up and shipped to the proper destination. Sounds easy, right! It isn’t hard, but there are a number of ways things can go sideways, so make sure all of the pieces are handled properly and you’ll be able to relax on your plane ride home.
This is a guest post by Mohamed Bah of Springrates.
If you have plans to exhibit at a tradeshow any time soon, or you want to bring your newest product to the latest conference, you’re going to need a way to market your product. Doing well at a show or conference is a great way to generate early buzz and test a product out before it hits the sales floor. If you’re still not sure about how you should be showcasing your product to promote sales, we have a few suggestions on the most effective methods you can use.
Absolutely everyone will tout the effectiveness of being “unique,” or doing something that no one else does to stand out of the crowd. It’s for a reason: Being unique will help you stand out, but only if you do it right.
When you’re trying to find a way to stand out of the crowd, think about the things that make your product special, or the characteristics of your brand that are unique. A marketing strategy is more effective if it’s meant specifically for you! If your brand has a more “fall” theme, then something like business cards made in the shape of rectangular-ish fall leaves would be a specifically you strategy. Someone else could copy it, but it fits you far better than it would fit them.
Large displays can be intimidating. This is especially true when they’re not yours, but you don’t need to have the biggest budget to have a big wow display. Maximize your airspace and do something unexpected! Bigger isn’t necessarily better, but bolder can be pretty close.
Instead of going for a massive banner or a 3D style, try eye catching colors, or upright flags. It might be a throwback to grade school, but don’t hesitate to run the proverbial underwear up the flagpole: if you’ve got something that makes your product stand out, or you’ve got a brand-specific t-shirt, make sure it’s flying high for the duration of the show. It’s a quirky way to attract attention, and it should set you apart from the crowd.
People, as a general rule, love seeing things in the wrong size. Is your product too big to hold in the human hand? Shrink it down to toy size, and watch people play with it all day. Is your product more on team teensy? Scale it up to enormous, and see people gawk over how huge it is.
Things like rescaling the size of your product can also give you an opportunity to put it in context. It’s all well and good to have the full-size model next to your booth, but if you can provide a scale model of your brand’s lawnmower trundling around a standard-size yard, people are going to appreciate that a lot more than having to imagine what it might feel like. Alternatively, blowing up the size on something small can give people a better look at the little details they might not otherwise get to see.
If your product is something that people can really get their hands into, why not let them? “Try before you buy” has become an increasingly popular selling tactic, and offering conference attendees and trade show goers the chance to test out something you’ve made demonstrates confidence. A bigger demonstration will also attract more attention to your booth, especially if you can work it into the schedule of main events.
This option also pairs well with the previous, and doubly so if your product is something like a game, or if you’re planning some kind of stunt for the demonstration. Getting your audience involved in the usage of your product, or creating some kind of game around how it works, will get them even more invested in what you’re doing and what you have on offer.
Event marketing is tough. Depending on where the event is held, you’re in a larger space, and you’re competing with dozens, if not hundreds, of other vendors, for a limited amount of time and attention. By focusing on what makes you great, and playing to your product’s strengths, you’ll be able to effectively draw attention and showcase and sell your product well.
Mohamed Bah handles public relations for Springrates and in his free time enjoys playing with his dog, Leo, and working on cars.
The article I posted last week on influence got me to thinking: how does influence work, how do people wield it, how do people gain it?
Also, this week’s tradeshow tip of the week (a brief list from Tradeshow Superheroes and Exhibiting Zombies)…
And this week’s ONE GOOD THING: the ScannerPro app.
What is an INFLUENCER? To me it’s someone that gets your attention in any number of ways. It could be a video I saw. Could be a book or article or blog post. Or podcast. Or someone I know in my actual, real life as opposed to online.
These are the people whose tweets I read, whose podcasts I listen to, whose blog posts I read, whose newsletters I make sure not to miss. They write and say things that make me sit up and pay attention.
These are listed in no particular order. Some I’ve been aware of for years, others not so long. Some that were influencers ten or fifteen years ago may have popped back into my consciousness to make the list. And in a sense, it’s incomplete because it will always be incomplete. Influencers come and go. The ideas, writings and videos that catch anyone’s attention also wax and wane like the moon. But to me, these are all worth checking out:
Seth Godin: Daily blogger, host of the Akimbo podcast, speaker, author.
Peter Shankman: Founder of HARO (Help Out a Reporter). Speaks and writes frequently. Author of a new book about ADHD, working on a documentary about ADHD. See his TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview here.
Scott Monty: Ford Motor Company’s first Social Media Director. Fortune 500 Advisor. Speaker, Pragmatic Futurist.
Jeff Barjorek: Parabola Consulting. Sales trainer, writer, speaker.
Jeffrey Gitomer: Sales trainer, author, speaker, podcaster.
Steve Miller: Author of Uncopyable (terrific book), speaker, blogger. Marketing gunslinger.
Pamela Slim: Author, business consultant, speaker, coach.
Bill Stainton: Emmy-winning producer, speaker, author. Also appeared on my podcast. Really fun newsletter. See his TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview here.
Roy Williams: Former radio salesman who teaches sales, marketing and advertising. His Monday Morning Memo is not to be missed.
Shep Hyken: Hall of Famer in the National Speaker Association. Forward-thinking and best-selling author, blogger, writer and expert on customer service. Here’s his appearance on the TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee. See his TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview here.
Mel White: VP of Business Development at Classic Exhibits. Mel and I have known each other for close to a decade and a half. His insight and knowledge of the tradeshow world, and in particular the latest in tradeshow exhibit materials and trends has always been helpful. Not to mention his crucial help in making both of my books a reality. Here’s his TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview.
Terry Brock: Relationship marketing speaker. Another Hall of Famer in the National Speaker Association. Holds forth all the time on the use of technology in communication and presentation. See his TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview here.
Denise Wakeman: Blogger, author, writer, digital media marketing expert.
Casey Neistat: NYC-based videographer and story-teller. Ten million YouTube channel followers tells you something. Here’s one of his most-viewed and fun videos:
Gary Vaynerchuk: Social media expert at the highest level. Has parleyed his success with his family’s win business into a multi-million-dollar company, and he’s become an angel investor.
David Newman: Founder of Do It! Marketing. Marketing for Speakers, Authors, Consultants and Experts
Brene Brown: Best-selling author, research professor at University of Houston. Studies, speaks on courage, vulnerability, shape and empathy.
Candy Adams:. Long-time consultant in the tradeshow and event industry, known as The Booth Mom. See her TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee interview here.
Unfinished – more to add later!
A few weeks back Mike Montague, host of the How to Succeed Podcast from Sandler Sales, interviewed me for his sales podcast. Had a great deal of fun! I’ve listened to this podcast for years and learned a lot. Now it’s my turn to join the conversation and share what I could about How to Succeed at Trade Shows:
And thanks, Mike, for having me!
Check out the How to Succeed Podcast here.
