Improve Trade Show Traffic USING PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS TO ENHANCE TRADE SHOW AND EVENT MARKETING

Improve Trade Show Traffic USING PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS TO ENHANCE TRADE SHOW AND EVENT MARKETING

Overview Before the show: pre-marketing and mailings During the show: presentation tips After the show: post-marketing and follow-up

Pre-show marketing Strategic pre-show marketing is one of the keys to a successful trade show. It is also one of the steps that many marketing managers overlook.

Pre-show marketing WHY? Make a first impression. Grab their attention in a quiet office, not at a noisy trade show where your competitors are 3 feet away. Qualify prospects. Visitors to your booth will have some prior knowledge of your company. Save your breath. A pre-show mailer does the work of starting the conversation for you. On the day of the show, you can focus more on answering specific questions and closing sales than on giving your sales spiel.

Pre-show marketing WHO? As an exhibitor, you can obtain a mailing list of all registered attendees from the trade show s management team. Your budget will determine whether you contact every single attendee, or just focus on those you consider to be your very best prospects.

Pre-show marketing WHEN? 6-8 weeks out, start planning your pre-show promotion. Aim to contact your prospects 8 business days before the show. Any earlier and they may forget your message. Any later and you miss your opportunity. Opportunities don t go away. Other people take advantage of them.

Pre-show marketing HOW? The main goal is just to introduce your company and product. Don t overwhelm prospects with information; give just enough so that they recall your name at the show. You want them to know more about you than the other companies present.

Pre-show marketing WHAT? Bulky mail is more likely to get opened, and creative mail more likely to be remembered. Promotional products are a proven way to make your message more sticky. Use them as a hook and tie them to a larger incentive. Critical information to include: 1) the show s name and date 2) your booth number 3) basic contact information

Pre-show marketing CASE STUDY PAS Passport Mailer Professional Accounting Solutions (PAS) sent out a creative mail piece to increase booth traffic at the 2010 HITEC trade show. Recipients received a custom passport filled with marketing literature about PAS s services. The passport doubled as their entry form to a raffle on the day of the show.

Booth Presentation Make sure your booth is consistent with the message from your pre-show mailer. Get your staff on the same page. Draw attention to your booth with colorful displays and banners, promotional items, and show drawings. A show drawing is a great way to track booth traffic. The prospect s contact info acts as their entry to your raffle.

Booth Presentation

Booth Presentation CASE STUDY KaBOOM! Sustainability Pledge At the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, KaBOOM! attracted visitors to their booth with eco-friendly seeded paper bookmarks and aluminum water bottles. The line to sign their Sustainability Pledge snaked around the corner. The items generated significant buzz for both KaBOOM! and their sponsor The Home Depot.

Booth Presentation CASE STUDY Tab Bracelet and ipad Drawing The exhibitor handed out a bracelet to every person that came by their booth. The first tab was removed and entered into the ipad drawing. The bracelet-wearer was then instructed that the other two tabs would be entered if they brought other bracelet-less visitors to the booth.

Post-show Marketing Timeliness is key. Follow up within two weeks of the show. If you diligently collected contact information, you should have a lengthy list of qualified prospects. Consider a post-show mailer to set yourself apart. Names are easy to forget, so include a photo of yourself or your company s booth to trigger their memory.