9 Insider Tips for Picking the Right Trade Show for Your Exhibit

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Jennifer Randolph

With an estimated 14,000 shows to choose from, picking the right shows for your trade show calendar can be a daunting task. However your exhibit strategy can help you narrow down the options, and prioritize and organize your trade show calendar.

Identify your target customers and the shows they attend. Work with your sales team to identify your product’s buyers, key decision makers and influencers. Another tip is to reach out to some of your best customers and ask which shows they attend.
Consult industry listings. Trade Show Network News offers a comprehensive search tool that will help you organize your search by industry, number of attendees and location. The database includes show dates and links to show websites. Most show sites provide an overview of attendee demographics and purchasing authority. While on the show’s website, check its history. A good show will have a track record of drawing industry leaders and key influencers year after year.
Keep an eye on the competition. Most shows provide a list of previous exhibitors. If a particular show is drawing your top competitors, it is likely because a high concentration of potential customers will also be attending. Missing the show could put you at a competitive disadvantage. Exhibiting in the same venue as competitors will also give your booth staff the opportunity to roam the exhibit hall and gather competitive intelligence. In addition to the exhibitor list, check the speaker roster for competitive companies.
Creating profiles of product buyers and decision makers. Most shows provide detailed attendee demographics. You can examine data on the industries, titles and purchasing power of the show’s attendees.
Use show timing to narrow down your options. If your product is affected by seasonality or other purchasing patterns, you can narrow show dates to those most closely aligned with your sales cycle. You can also align your trade show calendar to coincide with new product launches, product improvements or other newsworthy developments
Consider regional vs. national shows. If your product as a regional or location-specific target, keep in mind that as a general rule of thumb, an estimated 40-60% of attendees come from a 200-mile radius of the show location. Regional or local shows are considerably less expensive and visibility is much higher. Competition is often intense at large national shows. On the other hand, some of our clients have found that regional shows give them the opportunity to be the only exhibitor representing their field.
Even after going through the above steps, some companies still find they have more trade show options than they do budget. The following tips will help you further narrow down the options and finalize your trade show calendar.
Look for opportunities to extend visibility. Selecting events with pre-during-and-post show marketing opportunities will extend your visibility and presence beyond your both. Sponsorships provide branding and lead generation opportunities which can be tailored to fit almost any budget.
Select show and venues with lead retrieval services. If you do not have your own lead retrieval devices, make sure the event offers options for lead capture. Published reports show that up to 70% of sales leads captured at an event are not followed up on by a sales person. This is mainly due to an ineffective lead management process, before, during and after the event. An automated lead retrieval system will enable you calculate ROI for the event, update your CRM system, and most importantly, close more sales.

If you need a customized solution, we would be happy to help you. Contact Barbara Stroup for a free consultation.

9 Tips to Maximize Booth Sales

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

At Disneyland, they call all their employees “cast members,” because they’re all part of the “show” that’s taking place everywhere in the park, all the time. Trade show exhibitors and your booth staffers are putting on a show, too. How can you be more effective?

American Image Displays created a list of do’s and don’ts for booth staffers. Be sure to review them with your booth staff before your next event.

Pre-Show Planning: Leveraging the Theme

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

In our previous post, we talked about the importance of understanding your audience. We recommended that before planning your trade show experience, exhibitors should speak with the Association and become familiar with their marketing message to the attendee pre-event as well as onsite.

An example of the effectiveness of this strategy can be seen in the annual National Education Association Annual Meeting and Expo. NEA Expo, which opens two days before the Annual Meeting, is the largest education trade show in the county. NEA announces the theme for the Annual Meeting months in advance of the event. This year’s meeting was designed to launch a member-led movement in which all delegates were called to step forth as “champions for public education.”

ExpoPlus and Bodden Partners worked with exhibitors to incorporate the champions theme into the exhibit floor experience. The NEA Member Benefits area of the floor was completely designed and engineered to leverage the Champions theme and extend it into each vendor’s both. Pre-expo communications, on-site floor signage and booth signage, booth activities and post-event follow-up communications all revolved around, emphasized and celebrated attendees as champions.

In addition to recognizing all attendees as champions, a special contest was held on the exhibit floor. Delegates were invited to become champions for the exclusive benefits, products and services they had learned about during the Expo. A state based competition was held to see which state could generate the most product champions. Representatives from winning state won a trophy as well as a cash prize. 43% of delegates took the pledge and became enrolled as Champions and product advocates.

If you would like more suggestions on structuring your trade show marketing plan, continue following this blog or contact Barbara Stroup for a customized consultation.

Pre-Show Planning: Understanding Your Audience

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

In our last post, we discussed the importance of pre-show planning. One essential element of planning is understanding your audience. With the demographic shift going on in America, the audience for many trade shows is changing.

An estimated 10,000 Boomers a day turn 65 and approximately two-thirds of workers will retire at that age. As a result, exhibitors and show organizers need to revisit their trade show marketing plans to make sure they understand younger audience, what they are looking for and how they make decisions.

CEIR recently released The 2014 Young Professional Attendee Needs and Preferences Study. The results were encouraging and enlightening. Young people highly value trade shows. However, marketers shouldn’t rely on stereotypes when trying to reach them. Surprisingly the Internet Generation still relies on direct marketing when searching out information about shows. 58% rely on email. 41% rely on direct mail from show organizers or exhibitors. While social media is woven into the fabric of their lives, they seem to prefer direct mail, email and visits to the show’s site to gather in-depth show information.

Another surprising finding from the report is how dependent young professionals are on the printed show program. Despite how attached they are to their mobile devices, only 26% use a mobile app version of the program. The major barrier to using the app was their dislike of downloading an app that would only be used once. This finding is consistent with other mobile industry research. Phone and tablet space is limited. Most apps are downloaded in the first month of phone ownership and the most frequently used apps are those that came preloaded on the phone.

So what is a trade show marketer to do? Be sure to do your homework. Study the attendees’ demographic profile. Speak with the Association and become familiar with their pre-event and onsite marketing messages. Beef up your exhibitor profile with thoughtful and insightful content. Reach out to key customers, attendees and key influencers with personalized and relevant email and direct mail invitations to visit your booth and schedule an appointment.

If you would like more suggestions on structuring your trade show marketing plan, continue following this blog or contact Barbara Stroup for a customized consultation.

Trade Show Training – A Missed Opportunity by 90% of Exhibitors

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

Trade shows represent a large investment with huge potential ROI. A recent survey from ABM found that 89% of B2B marketers rate face-to-face event attendance as the most effective platform in creating awareness and generating targeted leads among prospective buyers.

However, in order meet your trade shows goals, event staff must be properly prepared. According to industry statistics only 10% of exhibitors conduct training before all their events and only 26% hold training sessions before most events. This despite the fact that depending on the size of the show, anywhere from hundreds to potentially thousands of buyers will come streaming past your booth. It would be easy for unprepared booth staff to become overwhelmed by the crowds and by the presence of so many competitors vying for attendee attention.

As a value-added service to our clients, ExpoPlus offers training to exhibit staff, both through this blog and through in-person training sessions. In preparation for the 2014 Georgia Building Owners and Managers Association Trade Show, we designed a customized training session for first-time exhibit booth staff.

The training session was customized and aligned with the theme of the expo. The scope of the training spanned everything from pre-show logistics to developing a staffing plan to setting goals to capturing, qualifying and following up leads. In future editions of this blog, each of these topics will be discussed in greater detail. Please join in and follow the discussion.

Research Report – What Trade Show Attendees Want

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research has released a new study about meeting attendee preferences. The study entitled Exhibition Floor Interaction: What Attendees Want looks at what exhibitors can do to create a more successful trade show experience.

The study revealed that interaction is key. Attendees are looking for a type of experience that can’t be replicated online. Although many consumers and business buyers research companies and their products online, the opportunity to interact hands-on with products on the trade show floor is one of the main reasons attendees go to shows. Additionally, the report states attendees are looking for the immersive experience that the trade show floor provides as well as the opportunity to engage directly with knowledgeable exhibitor staff.

Attendees are information hungry. They come to events for two primary reasons: to learn and to buy. As they look to make purchasing decisions, 58% of those surveyed say they like to collect and read literature on the exhibitor’s products and services. On the other hand, the vast majority of trade show attendees are not interested in watching product videos while at the booth. They prefer to view video at home or in their offices, rather than staring at screens on the trade show floor.

The study provided additional insights into how attendee preferences vary by age, by whether or not they are familiar with a particular exhibitor and by where they are in the buying process. Watch our blog for more insights into attendee preferences and how your company can increase its exhibiting success.

Choosing the Right Show-Part III

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

In our previous post we offered three tips to help your company identify which shows have the highest concentration of the target audience. Yet some companies still find they have more trade show options than they do budget. In this article, we will discuss three tips to further narrow down the options and finalize your trade show calendar.

Look for opportunities to extend visibility – Selecting events with pre-during-and-post show marketing opportunities will extend your visibility and presence beyond your both. Sponsorships provide branding and lead generation opportunities which can be tailored to fit almost any budget.
Select show and venues with lead retrieval services – If you do not have your own lead retrieval devices, make sure the event offers options for lead capture. Published reports show that up to 70% of sales leads captured at an event are not followed up on by a sales person. This is mainly due to an ineffective lead management process, before, during and after the event. An automated lead retrieval system will enable you calculate ROI for the event, update your CRM system, and most importantly, close more sales.

In order to maximize trade show success, every element of trade show marketing requires a strategic approach. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you design and execute a successful meeting, contact Barbara Stroup BStroup@cepiexpo.com

Choosing the Right Show – Part II

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

Trade show success begins by picking the right show to attend. The right show will have you face to face with motivated and qualified buyers. Picking the wrong show will result in wasted time, money and effort with very little to show for it. How can you decide which show is right for you?

In a previous post, we identified three strategies exhibitors can use to determine which shows to include in their trade show calendar. Creating profiles of product buyers and decision makers, consulting trade show industry listings and studying your competition can help you narrow down your trade show options and prioritize your efforts.

The timing and location of the event can also help guide your show selection:

Use show timing to narrow down your options – If your product is affected by seasonality or other purchasing patterns, you can narrow show dates to those most closely aligned with your sales cycle. You can also align your trade show calendar to coincide with new product launches, product improvements or other newsworthy developments
Consider regional vs. national shows. If your product as a regional or location-specific target, keep in mind that as a general rule of thumb, an estimated 40-60% of attendees come from a 200-mile radius of the show location. Regional or local shows are considerably less expensive and visibility is much higher. Competition is often intense at large national shows. On the other hand, some of our clients have found that regional shows give them the opportunity to be the only exhibitor representing their field.

Trade Show Industry Continuing to Improve

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

The trade show industry closed 2013 on an upswing after a year of sustained, but marginal, growth.

The business grew 3% in the fourth quarter and 1% for the year, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research. CEIR measures overall industry performance using an aggregate formula that accounts for net square footage, exhibitors, attendance and revenue.

Both revenue and exhibitors saw improvement during Q4. The gains marked the 14th-consecutive quarter of growth for trade shows.

Trade Show Marketing Success, Choosing the Right Show-Part I

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

With an estimated 14,000 shows to choose from, picking the right shows for your trade show calendar can be a daunting task. The following tips will help you prioritize and organize your trade show calendar.

Identify your target customers and the shows they attend – Work with your sales team to identify your product’s buyers, key decision makers and influencers. Reach out to some of your best customers and ask which shows they attend.

Consult industry listings – Trade Show Network News offers a comprehensive search tool that allows you to search by keyword, industry and location. The database lists number of attendees, exhibitors, show dates and links to show websites. Most show sites provide an overview of attendee demographics and purchasing authority. While on the show’s website, check its history. A good show will have a track record of drawing industry leaders and key influencers year after year.

Keep an eye on the competition – Most shows provide a list of previous exhibitors. If a particular show is drawing your top competitors, it is likely because a high concentration of potential customers will also be attending. Missing the show could put you at a competitive disadvantage. Exhibiting in the same venue as competitors will also give your booth staff the opportunity to roam the exhibit hall and gather competitive intelligence. In addition to the exhibitor list, check the speaker roster for competitive companies.

In order to maximize trade show success, every element of trade show marketing from targeting to followup requires a strategic approach. In our next post, we will discuss ways to further refine your trade show targeting strategy.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you design and execute a successful meeting, contact Barbara Stroup BStroup@cepiexpo.com