Tips & Advice for Small Business Marketing | Knowbits

Knowbits July 2004

The Trade Show Circus err...umm...Circuit

Becoming an Exhibitionist

The heyday of the traveling circus passed nearly a century ago. The heyday of Big Ticket Tradeshows may have passed by the turning of the millennium, vanishing along with evaporated venture capital. But though there are (fortunately) fewer events to consider adding to your calendar these days, it can still be a worthwhile business building activity to participate in tradeshows, conferences and exhibitions. Yes, even for small businesses. Maybe particularly for small, start-up businesses.

“Blasphemy!” I hear shouted from the marketing ranks.
“Cost Center!” quips the operations manager.
“Ridiculous waste of money and time!” chime in the CFO’s and sales people who hate pulling booth duty.
“How many leads will be generated?” demand the VP’s of Marketing and Sales.
“What kind of chocolate do you want in the candy dishes?” worries the Events Manager.

The shouting doesn’t go away. Instead it increases exponentially as the Big Event draws closer and bills continue to pile up.

Why in the world would I advocate something like this for companies typically working on tight budgets? Because the upside to doing one right can far outweigh the costs and cannot be easily duplicated by any other single marketing tactic, or even several combined.

How to realize fabulous returns from one Big Event

Do more than just show up. There are undoubtedly many variations on a theme here, but I’ll give a real life one that just happened with a MarketUP client:

Tech Solutions Plus (TSP) is a start-up. They opened their doors in January with an exclusive Bay Area dealership for GPS fleet management systems. Besides needing all the normal communications and marketing “stuff”, they knew a good-sized tradeshow was coming to town in June and it was focused on a large section of their target market: the building trades. It was perfectly situated at the Moscone Center right in downtown San Francisco. And they were able to procure a booth space at a reasonable cost, so they signed up.

Then what? Well of course we immediately decided what chocolate to buy…(Just kidding. That didn’t come until three days before "showtime"’.) What we really did was set goals and priorities for outcomes:

  1. Broad introduction of Tech Solutions Plus (brand building)
  2. Lead generation (new business development)
  3. Contact trade associations and trade-related publications (PR)
  4. Information gathering (competitive and market analysis)

Then we discussed optional tactics, cost/benefits, timing and what could be done realistically with the biggest impact. Building the biggest, baddest booth to “WOW” everyone – was NOT on the list. Hiring 50 telemarketers to cold call 100’s of potential attendees – was also NO GO. Renting a see-through phone booth contraption with hot air to blow money around inside while people tried to grab as much as possible – NOPE.

What WAS on the list of things to do:

Carefully researching related associations and building targeted contact lists months in advance.
Paying for a one-time use of the registered attendee list.
Developing a pre-show direct mail piece, with the real value proposition right on the front.
Creating a new service offering to launch at the show.
And yes, a promotional giveaway. For something useful. A computer on which to run the software and use the fleet management system.

There was also a follow-up plan:

How leads would be handled, by whom, and in what timeframe.
Follow up press release giving results from the show and the Savings Guarantee launch.
Communication messages to target groups announcing the computer winner and scheduling demos.

Borrow instead of buy, or buy frugally

Fortunately, TSP had available to them the use of a nice looking display booth from the equipment manufacturer. Other signage developed for the show reflected the Savings Guarantee Program service launch they had developed, along with reinforcing the value message from the mailer. The booth was attractive, but not flashy. The Dell give-away computer was used as a display. So was a bowl of quality Italian chocolate truffles.

Forego large piles of printed collateral. Instead, talk to people, discuss their needs, get contact information and let them know you’ll send electronic material later. PDF brochures are much more cost efficient – and give you another opportunity to contact someone.

Avoid clowning around

Don’t forget to have a coaching session with staff to discuss the game plan for the event. Discuss roles, develop lead qualification questions, and make sure everyone has the brand message clear as well as a networking focus. Give assignments that go beyond standing idly in the booth chatting it up with other staffers. There is nothing less inviting to a prospect seeking information than to see the sales people clustered together telling jokes.

Ringmaster’s Guide (Brief)

1. Do some research to find out where your audience is likely to attend. Pick shows with the largest concentration of your potential buyers, including decision makers.
2. Plan well in advance. It will help you limit last minute problems and additional costs.
3. Execute well-designed communications leading up to the show to let the right people know you’ll be there, how to find you and what’s in it for them.
4. Keep your booth/display simple, relevant. Focus on quality of message.
5. Make sure your booth staff knows what’s expected and has had some coaching. Seriously – act professionally.
6. Take advantage of every minute to network with attendees, fellow exhibitors and media contacts. Collect business cards, but more importantly, engage them in dialogue to build relationships.
7. Follow up immediately. If you can do it live during the show, even better.

Trade shows can be a big boring bust, or they can introduce you to new audiences and get you in front of potential clients, partners, and influencers. Yes, they can be very, very tiring. And if you are only there to spin a wheel of fortune or practice your golf putts, well, perhaps the carnival down the street would be more fun.

It’s too early to know hard sales numbers for Tech Solutions Plus, but let’s just say that the opportunities that came out of the show will more than pay for the costs to be there.