“One guerrilla sent a box with a picture of a large aspirin tablet and the caption, ‘Headache Relief Kit.’ Inside were three different types of pain relievers and the requested brochures,” Levinson says. “When this box arrived with all the other FedEx envelopes, it was opened first. When the follow-up call came, 100 percent of the prospects remembered getting the box, and 94 percent asked for a salesperson to call.” That’s quite a response rate, but an imprinted first-aid kit or some other themed promotional item would have added even more punch.
Another way to follow-up with a client, particularly if they’re local, is to stop by in person with the requested literature and a follow-up gift. In the article “Pre-Trade Show Marketing: Get Them Before They Get There,” we gave an example of successful pre-show promotion that utilized a pre-show mailing of a portfolio to draw attendees to the exhibitor’s booth where they could pick up a personalized name plate to attach to the portfolio. This program had a built-in follow-up component, because the exhibitor had an “in” for calling those prospects who did not come to the booth. Following the show the exhibitor’s salespeople could call those attendees who had not picked up their name plates and offer to stop by with them, or mail them out with some product literature. “Instead of having something called a ‘cold call,’ it was ‘warm call,’” says Margit Weisgal, president of Sextant Communications and author of Show & Sell, a book on trade show marketing. “No one is going to say ‘No, I don’t want to see you.’ So, it becomes very beneficial for a company.”
Instead of just one post-show mailing, Levinson suggests that you “serialize your mailings.” While you’re still at the show you can have a post card, letter, fax or e-mail sent out to the prospects thanking them for stopping by the booth and informing them that your information packet will arrive soon. All of this can be set in motion before leaving for the show, so that someone in the office can access the client/prospect database and send out the mailings.
After sending the information packet and a well-chosen promotional item, follow up with a phone call to make sure that the prospect received the package, and to see what else they might need to make a buying decision. If appropriate, try to set up a time for a meeting. The meeting would be another opportunity to present the prospect with a promotional gift as a thank you for their time.
If the prospect doesn t agree to a meeting, or if a meeting isn’t your objective, follow up your call with another mailing, fax or e-mail. “If you featured a show special, send a sequence of offers with escalating urgency,” Levinson suggests. “Guerrillas know that most business is won because the competition gave up.” Don’t give up. Keep these prospects on your mailing list by sending them your specials, media releases, articles, case studies, newsletters, brochures, samples, trade show invitations, holiday card and, of course, promotional items. “Sending lots of stuff on a regular basis is better than sending a work of art once,” says Mac McIntosh, a consultant on managing leads.
“Two good reasons to exhibit at trade shows are to build that customer base and to keep current customers loyal for life,” Levinson says. “If a customer requests information, materials, or a catalog, and you fail to respond, the customer will assume you don’t really care about the business and will switch vendors. They may assume that you conduct all your business in such a shoddy fashion. That’s why guerrillas must manage their leads.”
Follow-up is the most crucial part of the trade show marketing equation. True trade show success is not measured by the number of catalogs handed out or the number of business cards collected. It’s the sales generated from the leads made at the trade show that make your participation in the show successful. Pre-show planning and organization is the key to immediate and successful post-show follow up. So, find the appropriate sales literature, promotional products and packaging that will turn those hot show leads into profitable sales and lifelong clients.
Alyson Hendrickson Wentz, CAS, is a freelance writer specializing in articles about marketing with promotional products. She spent six years on the editorial staff of The Counselor magazine, the preeminent publication for the promotional products industry, and earned the Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) designation from the Promotional Products Association International.
Pre-Trade Show Marketing: Get Them Before They Get There
by Alyson Hendrickson Wentz, CAS
Some tradeshow exhibitors seem to think that if they have the biggest booth, the wackiest events and piles of promotional giveaways that they’ll draw crowds of buyers to their exhibit. Well, they might draw crowds, but they won’t necessarily be qualified buyers. “I’m not interested in a crowded booth,” says Steve Miller, president of The Adventure of Trade Shows, in his book Over 66 Tips & Tricks To Supercharge Your Trade Show Promotions. “I don’t want everybody in my booth I want the right people in my booth.” And, so should you.
To make sure that you draw the right people to your booth, you need to start promoting long before the show even opens. The most effective tradeshow promotion, according to studies done by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) and the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), are two-part promotions — one part before the show and one part at the show.
“What you want to do is have a target audience,” says Margit Weisgal, president of Sextant Communications, and author of the trade show promotion book Show & Sell. “It can be culled from the pre-registration list, your existing client or customer list. You want to target those people.” Once you’ve chosen the target audience to reach before the show, send them a mailing that will draw them to your booth. Remember, though, the product needs to tie in with the theme of the mailing, which should be consistent with the theme of your at-show promotion.
One pre-trade show promotion that carried a consistent message through to the trade show floor was created by GTE Telephone Operations — “Innovations Alexander (Graham Bell) Never Dreamed Of.” The theme pointed out the new technical developments in products and services at GTE. All of the ad copy, pre-show mailings and at-show displays was stressed the “multifaceted” nature of GTE communication products and services. This concept was driven home through the unique gift that GTE prospects and clients received when they visited the booth — a GTE-logoed Dragonfly, a kaleidoscope-type device that used a multifaceted lens to multiply whatever image the viewer was looking at.
“Promise them a gift, and draw those people into the booth,” Weisgal says. “You can only see a certain number of people at a show. Rather than assume that the right people are going to come down the aisle, stop in your booth and say ‘hi, I want to buy from you,’ give them a business reason to come by the booth. That way you reach the people that you’re targeting, that you’re interested in speaking with and qualifying.” The objective of any pre-show mailing should be to get the prospect into your booth for a qualifying dialogue. Just getting them there, without getting the opportunity to talk to them, doesn’t accomplish your goal.
An effective pre-show promotional mailing technique that Weisgal referred to was to send the targeted audience part of a gift, and then promise them the other part if they stop by your booth at the show. One company sent an imprinted calculator case to its target audience prior to a major tradeshow, and then gave the recipients the actual calculator when they came to the company’s booth. Another idea might be to send out an egg timer to a select group of show attendees along with a card asking for a few minutes of their time at the show. On the card you could also indicate that if they give you some time during the show, you’ll be happy to present them with a elegant timepiece (clock or watch) after they meet with you. Again, it’s important to make sure that the idea of time and the related products fit the consistent marketing message your company is imparting.
Another idea for a pre-show mailing came from Miller’s 66 Tips & Tricks. He suggested sending your targeted audience a pocket planner that they can use to schedule appointments while at the show. Send the planner out four to six weeks before the show. “Be sneaky and fill in one of the time slots for a visit to your booth; they’ll get a kick out of it and be there at the appointed time. If they can’t make the appointment, they’ll usually call to arrange another time,” Miller says. Although Miller didn’t mention it in his book, to get the most brand awareness from the recipient you should have the planner imprinted with your company name and logo. If you want it to be a subtle reminder you can have the logo printed inside the cover of the planner.
Miller had another good idea for reaching your customers and prospects prior to the show — offer to handle their pre-registration. It’s a nice service to offer as it saves them the hassle of filling out forms and making phone calls. You can arrange for all the badges and materials to be sent to your company, and then send them out to your customers and prospects with an invitation to visit your booth while at the show. Include a neck tote imprinted with your company logo in the package, and your targets will be sure to stop by your booth to thank you for the helpful service, and the useful gift.
You might also want to consider presenting your targeted prospects with a personalized gift when they stop by your booth. One PPAI case study showed a 63 percent response from a pre-show mailing where recipients received a portfolio, imprinted with a message inviting the recipient to stop by the sender’s booth to receive a personalized nameplate for the portfolio. By showing up to get their nameplate, the recipients could cover up the sender’s promotional copy with the plate and have a presentable, functional portfolio to use.
Besides sending traditional promotional items in pre-show mailings, Weisgal suggests sending something that will add even more spark and excitement to your promotion. Use creative packaging for your pre-show mailings, such as tubes that look like sticks of dynamite, plastic wine bottles, Chinese food containers and more. Inside of these unusual mailing containers put something fun that the recipients can use in an interactive way once they reach your booth. Weisgal’s personal favorite is pieces to a jigsaw puzzle that the recipient brings to the booth to fit into a puzzle that is set up there. If the recipient’s piece fits he or she wins a prize. Make sure the prize is a promotional item imprinted with your company name, and make sure that it fits the theme of your promotion.
Other interactive ways to draw qualified attendees to your booth include contests, drawings and games, such as basket shooting, golf ball putting, etc. Invite targeted attendees to take part in these activities before the show by sending them appropriately themed products — logoed golf accessories, mini basketball keytags, tickets for the drawing attached to an imprinted magnet they can keep. You could also put together your own game based on the products or services that you have to offer. Invite prospects and clients to participate in a Jeopardy-style game where they answer questions about your products/services to win imprinted merchandise. Limit booth overcrowding by pre-qualifying attendees before inviting them to join in the games. By making the activities more exclusive you cut out unqualified buyers and make the qualified ones more likely to participate next year.
Whether you choose interactive booth activities, unusual mailing packages or halves of gifts, pre-show promotions are the most effective way to draw the right attendees to your booth. Plan a pre-show promotion that’s right for your company and its show objectives, and carry that same promotion through your entire trade show marketing campaign. Just make sure that you reach your target audience with your message before they reach the trade show floor.
For more ideas on tradeshow marketing, Margit Weisgal of Sextant Communications can be reached at #301-871-6523. Steve Miller of The Adventure of Trade Shows can be contacted at #253-874-9665.
Alyson Hendrickson Wentz, CAS, is a freelance writer specializing in articles about marketing with promotional products. She spent six years on the editorial staff of The Counselor magazine, the preeminent publication for the promotional products industry, and earned the Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) designation from the Promotional Products Association International.
What Message are You Sending at Your Booth?
Recently, at two separate seminars, I heard the same information presented — the results of a research study into how people are perceived. Applying it to trade show exhibiting was simple because of other data I already possessed.
Fact: You have four seconds to attract someone to your booth. In the past, this information was applied to the booth set-up, its graphics, its design and layout. But is there more to it than that? Most definitely, yes.
We all make snap judgments. Our minds are computers which take in information, process it thoroughly based on experience, and spew it out before we even realize it. The most common way in which you become aware of this phenomenon is when you walk into a new situation involving new people and immediately decide that you like a person (without saying a word). Or, conversely, you decide that you dislike someone (and don’t know why).
Our judgments are made up of perceptions. And lots of different things contribute to those perceptions. In a trade show booth, you have four seconds to grab someone’s attention. And if, in those micro-moments, you are perceived in a negative fashion, then both you and your company will lose. In those four seconds, your booth message is transmitted. Your staff’s attitude, demonstrated by how they look, stand and act, is evaluated. How do you appear? Are you making the most positive statement possible?
The latest research into how people are viewed breaks down as follows: 55 percent is based on how you look; 38 percent on the tone of your voice; and only 7 percent by what you actually say. In other words, just by your appearance alone, you can turn someone off so completely that changing that attitude is an uphill battle. If your tone of voice is pedantic, holier-than-thou or superior, your words will never get through. Since the smallest part of the perception is your choice of words, if the rest of your message is inconsistent with what you say, you will not be believed.
Another question to ask is, “What subliminal message am I sending?” Behavior today is dictated by current values. If the picture you present reflects outdated values, your company is perceived as also being outdated. Actions and behaviors that 20 years ago were acceptable are now looked down on and simply not tolerated. The most obvious example is smoking. You can’t anymore. Not on planes, not in smoke- free buildings, not with clients, not any place where you are being judged. And especially not when you are prospecting for new business.
This all goes back to consistency of presentation — from your letterhead to your logo, from your advertising to the people you choose to represent your company. Ask yourself if each segment of the whole contributes to a cohesive picture of how you want to be perceived.
There are solutions to making a good impression, or at least not making a bad one. These solutions lie in the visual area, the one that accounts for 55 percent of an opinion. Start by taking a good look at how you appear. Next time you have a show, get someone people don’t know to take candid photographs at different times of the day. What do you see? Are people slouching? Sitting? Smoking? Eating? Talking with each other? Do they have their backs to the aisle? Are they standing with their arms across their chests (I’m barring the door), or maybe reading the newspaper or doing paperwork?
One easy way to deal with different clothing styles (and they do vary according to what part of the country you’re in) is to put the staff in a uniform. Dealing with some of the other behaviors is not so easy. The greatest fear of the majority of the population is change. We really are more comfortable with the status quo. Anthony Robbins says that a person changes only when the pain of staying the same is so great that the person must change. In real life, for instance, if you see your company going bankrupt unless you change — you change.
Another way to look at it is client turnover. One of the adages of sales is that you lose 10 percent of your clients each year due to moves, changed responsibilities, death or attrition. They must be replaced and (hopefully) added to so that your business grows. Often, those new clients and prospects are younger with different values, perspectives, skills and attitudes. You, as a salesperson, have to adapt. And adapting means changing.
Here’s one solution — There has to be a person in charge in the booth. Someone who can walk up to the exhibit staff and say, “Stop talking to each other. You can do that at dinner,” or “Do your paperwork some other time,” or “What you are doing is not acceptable for the image we want to present to our customers and prospects.”
Here’s another solution — Schedule a pre-show meeting with all the exhibit staff. Have a list ready for each person that describes what can and cannot be done in the booth. Read it aloud. Have each person sign their copy saying they agree to abide by these rules and return it to you. This way, when their actions are inappropriate, you have something to fall back on.
The last solution is very difficult — Do not let people who refuse to conform to required behavior be on the staff for the next show. When you have a limited staff, or the show is for customers and prospects of specific salespeople, it is hard to exclude them. And, in addition, they have to be made aware that this is, in effect, a punishment.
No matter what solution you use, you, as the exhibit manager or coordinator, must have the authority and responsibility to demand a certain type of behavior and take action if your requests are disregarded. Otherwise, you might as well not bother because then your problem is not the staff but the management’s perception of trade shows. With the current fiscal problems, each aspect of sales and marketing must pull its own weight in generating income. And trade shows are still the cheapest way to reach a large, targeted segment of your buying population.