Effective IAQ & Environmental Tradeshow Marketing

 

ATTRACTING VISITORS

Think of your exhibit booth as the display window of your company store. A place where shoppers passing by will want to stop and browse. Develop a successful promotion to attract customers by researching, planning, and thinking creatively.

BOOST YOUR SUCCESS WITH . . .

· Contests or Drawings

· Pre-Show Mailings

· Signs & Banners

· Promotional Giveaways

· Advertising

You want to design a theme that will entice qualified visitors. For example, if your demographics are baseball fans, then consider a pre-show mailer designed with a baseball theme. Prospects that bring the mail piece to your booth and view a product demonstration get a free baseball poster and are entered to win a grand prize autographed baseball. Make sure your mailers, booth and follow-up materials have a single integrated theme.

ATTRACT ATTENTION WITH . . .

· Demonstrations

· Inflatables

· Magician

· Mascot

· Celebrity

· Inter-Active Game

Live presentations are one of the most important reasons why people remember an exhibit. If your company uses a popular spokesperson or mascot, try to integrate this into your exhibit. Generate publicity by issuing press releases or announcements related to your participation at the show.

Make sure these powerful marketing tools are included as part of your overall exhibit objectives.

PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS

Show visitors enjoy receiving free gifts! With careful planning, promotional giveaways will improve your company image, promote goodwill, and say "Thank You" to the person visiting your booth.

AN APPROPRIATE GIFT WILL . . .

· Promote Your Business

· Communicate Products or Services

· Motivate the Audience to Visit Your Booth

· Reward the Visitor

Choose your company's giveaway merchandise based on the goals you set and the audience you will target at the show. The gifts will benefit both your company and the recipient if you have strategically considered your objectives. For example, a distinctive giveaway can be used as a means to invite targeted, pre-qualified attendees to visit your booth. Or, if your goal is to boost name recognition, you can offer every passer-by a free carryall bag or coffee mug emblazoned with your company logo.

Before ordering your giveaways ask yourself the following questions:

· What is the specific goal of the giveaway? Maximum name recognition, a thank you to specific visitors or an enticement to a pre-qualified audience?

· Does the giveaway merchandise reflect the company image? Within budget, which giveaway will command the most value?

·   How will giveaways be presented at the booth?

·  Will the gifts motivate visitors to complete a survey or participate in a product demonstration?

Careful planning of your promotional giveaways will complement your entire marketing and sales strategy. Visitors will remember your booth. The giveaways will act as unique, long-term reminders of the benefits of your product and services.

Develop a highly visible and creative display that will reflect your company's professionalism and eliminate visitors who grab and run.

Order giveaways early to eliminate the stress of late deliveries, manufacturing goofs or the disappointment in the quality of an item that cannot be replaced due to time restrictions.

TIPS . . .

· Determine the Primary Function of Your Giveaway

· Your Giveaway Mirrors Your Company Image

· Select Quality over Quantity

· Choose Unique & Useful Gifts

· Order Early to Avoid Delivery Delays

· Purchase Only Enough for the Visitors You Expect

· Qualify Visitors for Personalized Gifts

· Increase Name Recognition by Giving to All Visitors

Terminology you should know:

Ad Specialties carry your advertising or promotional message. Like subtle billboards, they constantly suggest businesses, brand names, and slogans. Popular ad specialties include pens, coffee mugs, calculators and notepads.

Premiums are incentives for a specific action. If an attendee gets a free t-shirt for viewing a product demonstration, he or she is responding to a premium offer.

NOTE: To avoid conflicts, verify in advance that show management approves your giveaway.

EXHIBITOR SALES TECHNIQUES

Your sales team, combined with the features of your exhibit, must attract interested buyers to stop by your booth. This sales method differs from the traditional approach where appointments are set ahead of time. Sales opportunities at shows can peak rapidly. Staffers need to qualify visitors and provide product/service information quickly and concisely, yet without obvious pressure.

When you choose your sales and technical team, select people who are professional, friendly, articulate, and able listeners. In your pre-event training session, emphasize the importance of body language.  Folded arms convey a stiff, unfriendly demeanor.  Smiles, eye contact with people in the aisles, and casual stances invite visitors to your booth.

TIPS

· Wear Appropriate Clothes & Comfortable Shoes

· Study the Manual before the Show

· Use Time Effectively to Achieve Sales Goals

· Use Professional Temps as Greeters

· Entertain Visitors after the Show

Remember that selling time is limited at a show and your sales team must make every minute count in order to achieve their sales goals. After engaging a prospect, instead of asking questions that require a yes or no answer, use open-ended questions such as "How can you use a product like ours?" or "What brought you to the show?" The answers will help your staff determine whether the visitor is a qualified prospect.

Examples of Qualifying Questions:

·  What product/service are you using now?

·  Is there a particular problem you would like to solve?

·  Who is your current supplier?

· What needs to be changed with your current  product/service?

·  When do you expect to make a purchase?

· Is there anyone else involved in the buying process?

·  How can we help you solve your problem?

Your sales team should listen carefully to the answers of people who visit your booth and respond to each question specifically. Lengthy product descriptions are too time-consuming in a show setting. Your reps need to talk to as many qualified visitors as possible, and should not spend all their time with only one prospect. Your company can offer the prospect detailed product literature, turn the customer over to your technical staff for further information, or set up an appointment for after the show.

To quickly qualify the people browsing at your booth, a reliable tool is a general buyers' profile created prior to the show. Your sales and technical reps can use the profile as a qualifying guide to eliminate show attendees who have limited buying authority, or those who are just checking out the competition. So, although a sales rep must always act kindly toward everyone visiting your booth, qualifying the visitor will help your rep calculate how much time to spend engaging the visitor in conversation.

Your sales team must also be skilled in sustaining the attention of the people waiting to speak with a rep. A smile in their direction, a nod of the head, or direct eye contact will assure the lingering visitor that they are recognized and will be attended to shortly.

Use your promotional giveaways, surveys, and company literature as a means to ending conversations on a high note so that your staff can move onto the next prospect. Your rep can hand the visitor the information as an expression of appreciation and thanks for visiting the booth.

Finally, a word about using show-temps. Some exhibitors hire professional show-temps to greet booth visitors and hand out introductory literature. Using temps can save you travel and hotel expenses. Sales and technical teams are then free to use their valuable time wisely in selling and demonstrating products. Before the show, you will need to provide the temps with some basic product/service training.

Managing the leads generated at the show is critical for measuring the results of your company's participation. Often, an exhibit team at a busy show will gather leads rapidly and without set procedures in place. The result can be disorganization and confusion over which prospects qualify for a follow-up course of action after the show. Here are some proven methods that will help you coordinate and manage your leads more efficiently.

During your pre-show planning process, with the help of your sales team, set specific goals and appoint a team leader to organize and coordinate all leads. If the show does not offer a badge-scanning device, design a simple lead card that records visitor information useful for follow-up. To save time at the show, ask each prospect for a business card and attach it to the lead card.

Prepare set questions for your sales reps to ask each visitor to ensure that enough information is gathered for effective follow-up. Develop a lead card rating system, such as #1 (ready to buy), #2 (needs more information), and #3 (not qualified), so that you can quickly implement your established follow-up procedures.

Meet with your staff at the end of each day to discuss and analyze all of the leads. Some members of your team may have valuable insight into the follow-up handling of specific prospects. The team leader is responsible for collecting lead cards and expediting follow-up procedures. Send the qualified leads by overnight mail to your home office for immediate action. Be sure to follow-up no more than 5 days after the show.

Cochrane & Associates has worked with Alliance, the author of this article, for years to provide tradeshow booths and displays for clients in the IAQ and environmental industries.  You can learn more about their tradeshow displays and products by visiting www.exhibitorease.com or emailing wade@exhibitorease.com. Let them know Cochrane & Associates sent you and I promise they will take care of your needs and give you the best deal possible.

www.cochraneassoc.com info@cochraneassoc.com
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