The Trade Show Experience

This past weekend, I was contacted by a former colleague of mine from Honeywell. He reminded me of a conversation we had had a number of years ago about the value of trade shows.

He wrote that over the years he has learned that a trade show was "a place where we could interact with customers and sell them on the benefits of products." My correspondent continued about "how everything tied together to accomplish that objective...."

What my friend was talking about was the trade show experience. No matter how many brochures we rain down on prospects and customers, no matter how many phone calls or web clicks we share with them, it really doesn't come together until you meet face to face. And the whole of the marketing experience must be consistent and on message.

My colleague also took it a step further by saying his career has morphed "from being this technical guy who knew everything about round thermostats to becoming a generalist who could create marketing platforms and strategies that were transferable to other products and companies."

That's another benefit of trade shows: they are the cauldron of business in that everything comes together on the trade show floor: marketing strategy, sales activity, competitive interaction and analysis. Employees benefit from being in this fire as it warms them up to the possibilities of the company, the product or offering and themselves. Another friend in marketing for a software firm routinely promotes his trade show managers into product marketing because they "know the way."

Being visionary isn't always about selling the most product. Sometimes it's nurturing not only the selling environment but the sellers.

TTSG

A colleague reports: Why Exhibit at Trade Shows?

Our colleague, Linda Musgrove, AKA the Trade Show Teacher, posted a recent video on YouTube. In it she outlines the top reasons to attend trade shows:

• Reach prospects. It's the best way to reach more prospects for fewer dollars
• Face-to-face interaction. You can learn more from people in less time meeting them in person.
• Showing off products and services. Your suspects/prospects/clients and touch and feel your products without having to visit a site or factory or have a sales person call.
• Gathering leads. Hey, you get to collect more leads in a shorter time.
• Develop relationships. More time with people means you know them better.
• Scoping out the competition. The show floor is great for this: see your competitors and their presentation within a short distance of your own.
• Media exposure. The trade media and popular press will be at the show and you can get their attention.
• Market research. Learn more about your market and industry in a shorter amount of time, See new products, get real-time opinions from clients or prospects (or industry insiders)

Thanks, Linda, for this good information.

TTSG

Linda Musgrove is The Trade Show Teacher, www.tsteacher.com

Why We Go to Shows

A story in today's Dallas Morning News Business section spells out a few reasons why we chose to market via trade shows.

The story focuses on CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, opening in Las Vegas this week and the 30-plus Dallas-based companies attending. Big or small, these companies see the value in being at a nexus of their business and markets.

"I'm not sure what to expect. I just want to explore the scene and learn as much as possible," said William Ross of Industrial Gaming Peripherals.

This is the heart of why you want to exhibit: you not only get to sell in the environment, you get noticed and get to notice others. You get to have conversations that you wouldn't have on the typical sales call or sitting in your office. You get to notice what your partners and competitors are doing. You are the beneficiary of the "buzz" in the industry. And with with a place as big as CES, you get to be part of several "things."

"I tend to think we'll get lost in the crowd, but if a buyer from Best Buy stumbles across us and likes what we have, we could double our revenues on the spot. It's a roll of the dice, but there's not much downside," said David Freeman of Gemini Consumer Technology.

Now, there is a statement from a real business person and savvy marketer: it's a risk, but it's worth it for the one contact. Sometimes the math doesn't add up, but it could.

"We're not going to the show to exhibit what we already offer," said Karen Raskopf of Blockbuster. "We're going there to walk the floors and meet with the most innovative people we see. We want to find the next big idea.....for our customers."

Not exhibiting can work--if you can use the show as Blockbuster is doing. They are veterans and know where to go and who (and what) to look for. It's all about the face-to-face and the customer.

Lesson Learned: know how to use a show to your best advantage and take a risk to promote your company.

TTSG

Special thanks to the reporting of Andrew Smith of the Dallas Morning News