Events

Getting to Know You

Undoubtedly the best way to get to know the needs of your prospects is to get in their face and press the flesh. There are many ways to do this, each with their related costs and challenges.

Trade Shows

The trade show business is growing exponentially every year. Booth space that cost $25,000 a few years ago is now going for six figures. It's an expensive proposition, and many companies participate in trade shows for all the wrong reasons. As a result, their return on investment is nil.

You need to limit your trade show participation or it can eat your advertising budget up in a New York minute. Select only a few pertinent shows where your exposure will do the greatest goods. Compare costs of shipping, set-up, services, real estate, and look carefully at your location on the trade show floor in comparison to your competitors and the buildings facilities such as food and restrooms, and where the exits and entrances are located. A good location can make or break your results.

Also consider the type of space and what type of booth will be most effective. For small companies who are participating in small shows, a draped table can be acceptable. For larger booths will more complex traffic (down and across multiple lanes and aisles as opposed to people strolling around a perimeter), you need to open your booth up to entice people from all sides to enter.

Displays vary from show to show. Some companies invest millions in their booths, effectively transforming them from gathering places to complex and ornate mobile theaters. Obviously, the greater the gimmick, the greater the traffic. You'll also go through your trinkets and trash much faster, too. T-shirts add up!

The best trade show booth presents a highly interactive environment. This helps capture and retain traffic. In many cases, for a multi-day event, people are more liable to return with a peer, client or manager. Interactive elements can include aninated kiosks (which help capture contact and demographic information) and performers (magicians, jugglers, singers).

Booth etiquette is a vastly overlooked element of managing trade show effectiveness. You can have the greatest booth and the best geographic placement, but if your folks are not well-versed in meeting and greeting strangers, you're trade show budget is being wasted.

Seminars

By renting a large meeting room or small auditorium from a local hotel or motel, and by using a highly targeted mailing list, you can hold a cost-effective seminar for your prospects and customers.

Seminars are great because they enable you to demonstrate your abilities and knowledge, and because you have a captive audience. They can generate instant credibility.

Typical seminars are structured around one or more guest speakers addressing a hot topic in a particular niche'. By educating your attendees, you have an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge about their needs and concerns, and to be perceived as an expert. Many companies hire third-parties to be keynote speakers, and then leverage the speaker's knowledge for their own benefit.

Seminars can be even more effective when combined with luncheons. In these cases, your audience is guaranteed to stay for free lunch . . . and that's when you go in for the kill.

Sporting Events

These types of events have limited effectiveness. Typically they revolve around a golf pro or racing pro who is participating in a local tournament or race. Usually, after the event, the pro is invited to visit a corporate tent or meeting area where guests can meet and greet them, and maybe have their picture taken.

These types of events are usually best held for existing clients as a way of saying thank you for their business. They are not real effective in signing up new business.

Trinkets and Trash

This is the term associated with promotional items typically given away at trade show booths or seminars and may consist of anything from an inexpensive pen or T shirt to something very elaborate like a brand name golf bag or leather portfolio. Virtually anything you can think of is available for a price.

When considering the use of promotional items, consider the audience, the message, the shelf life of the item (how long they will use it), who will see it (a mug may sit visibly on a desk forever, but a pen may sit inside a desk drawer), and quantity and cost (which are inter-related).

Having run trade show booths for years, we've given away thousands of T shirts. These are very popular and are usually hoarded by the crowds. A well designed T shirt can increase your traffic, but be sure to use these types of promotional items as rewards for having the visitor do something for you: watch a presentation, take a survey, submit to an interview, etc. And always, always collect either a business card or a referral card with the visitor's contact information before giving them their reward.