Tradeshows are one of the most effective B2B marketing tools
available. Attendees are highly committed to learning because of the
intensiveness of the show experience. While you may use the Internet and search
engines to generate awareness and product information, there is nothing better
than being able to meet, qualify and have a meaningful dialogue with a
prospective buyer or decision influencer.
Within a few short days, your company can gather leads,
build your brand image, interact with new and current customers and launch
products. Unlike many other marketing media, tradeshows allow you to control
your environment and the image of your company, so you can make a big
impression on current and prospective buyers.
The size of your booth isn’t nearly as important as how you
present the company and how effective your team is at engaging qualified attendees
and following up with interested buyers.
Chief Marketers must lead the effort and resist delegation
of tradeshow strategy. Your leadership, mentoring, encouragement and demands for
verifiable returns will pay substantial dividends.
It’s critical to define quantifiable goals, set up
measurement tools, and challenge marketing and sales staff to align tactics
with your company’s marketing strategy. It may sound basic, but so many times
“budget” takes precedent over “business objectives”.
Consider and specify your goals. Here are most common top 10
reasons exhibitors participate in tradeshows:
Collect
qualified leads from prospective customers.
Launch
new products or relaunch existing products.
Meet
with current customers and build relationships.
Re-connect
with lapsed customers.
Conduct
research among your target audience.
Showcase
the expertise of exceptional staff (e.g. engineers) that may have little
customer interaction.
Re-energize
your sales force or partners with training activities around the event.
Find
joint venture organizations.
Sell
to other exhibitors.
Sell
products/take orders for future delivery.
Exhibit at only the
“Right Shows”
Before you sign a contract for an exhibit booth, it’s
critical to assess the fit” between the “purchasing power” of attendees and
your products/services.
Make sure your marketing team asks the right questions of
show organizers, so that you’ll exhibit at only the “right shows”. Here are
some key questions/issues that will ensure that you invest only in appropriate
events:
Describe
the event to me and what makes it different from others?
Request
detailed demographics of who attended the prior show. (Note: resist asking
the “HOW MANY ATTENDEES” question). Large numbers are irrelevant if they
don’t buy what you sell. Get job titles, company size, how many people
actually attended that buy your product category. Nearly all show
organizers will be pleased to provide demographic information to exhibitors
that ask.
Ask
which industry magazines and online partners participate as
sponsors—compare this to your advertising schedule to compare buyer
audiences. Remember tradeshows can multiply your marketing with their
activities.
Identify
what marketing tools the show organizer includes as part of the basic
exhibit package (e.g. web listings and links to your website, free
attendance tickets to your prospective clients, etc.). Ask for additional
program options and factor what these extras can do to help you attract
key buyers to your booth.
Inquire
about the availability and cost of lists (mailing or email) of attendees
from prior shows to which you can do your own pre-show marketing. Ask if
the show organizer can email your company website logo-URL as part of its
own attendee marketing programs. Do be aware of issues related to CAN-SPAM
in sending emails to the show organizer’s lists if they are not “opt-in”.
This is the first in a two part article for
Chief Marketing Officers of B2B organizations that use tradeshows as
substantial components of its marketing mix. The first part focuses on show
selection and planning, while the second article describes on-site and post
show actions that can ensure your organization gets the best returns on its
investment.
Howard Friedman is a former vice president of Reed
Exhibitions, group director of Nielsen Business Media (formerly VNU Expo), and
is now the principal of his own tradeshow marketing strategy and business
development consulting practice near Los Angeles. For additional helpful tools,
visit http://www.hftradeshow.com. He
can be reached at howard@hftradeshow.com.
