I interviewed Jeff Wells, an expert in tradeshow marketing. While most people are aware the current economy has caused the number of tradeshow attendees to decrease, the good news is that the quality of the attendees is up, and the shows are still effective. More upper management and decision makers are coming to recent shows which makes it even more important for companies to use their tradeshow budgets effectively.

No Virginia, tradeshows are not dead

The eye-opening statistics tend to surprise even the savviest of executives pondering the power of tradeshow marketing. On average, eight out of 10 exhibition attendees have buying influence, with 37% having the final say in the purchasing decision. And, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), more than half are planning a purchase in the next 12 months. Best of all, these potential customers aren’t waiting for a sales rep to call. They’re coming to the doorstep of every tradeshow booth.

Tradeshows are an excellent forum for decision makers to evaluate new products, make new contacts, enhance supplier relationships and conduct purchasing activities. More and more, companies are including exhibitions in the selling and marketing process.

Planning the Power

But just filling a booth space doesn’t guarantee sales leads. In the “Power of Exhibition” papers, CEIR identified successful exhibitors as those who integrate marketing tools in their exhibition activities and set, measure and quantify objectives. Show participation is also an opportunity to gain further exposure for a company’s message and brand. It is important to integrate your marketing message and brand into your booth planning in order to keep a consistent company image.

As part of the pre-show process, determine which tradeshows and booth space are right for you. Wells recommends checking an independent audit of show attendees, growth and market. Check if your competitors are in the show and whether other exhibitors are potential prospects for your product or service. And remember that advertising, targeted direct mail and staff training all help to attract more people and increase lead-to-sales conversion.

Generating Traffic

When considering booth space, bigger is better, but the dimensions need to fit your needs. Important factors to consider are: anticipated audience, number of sales people, product size and what the competition is doing. Location is subjective. A front booth space implies status, while some companies prefer to be near their direct competitors. Figure on spending $250 a square foot for a small linear exhibit to approximately $170 per square foot for a 30 x 40 single-level island.

To draw more attention to your booth, consider using live, professional actors who can deliver a presentation to an audience. People relate better to people, compared with letting video and computers tell the story. A well-attended booth involves many senses and emotions. We take in information through an integrated, complex system that involves sight, touch, emotion, hearing, smell and taste. We like to be entertained and stimulated, so the more senses, emotions and experiences the exhibitor can utilize, the better the message is received and remembered.

Wrapping It Up

Thank people who stopped at your booth to listen to your presentation with a small, but valuable gift. Give-aways don’t need to be expensive, but should be important enough that you wouldn’t give one away to anybody who hasn’t first given you their time. Formally thank the same people immediately after the show by sending out a note — then transfer the lead to the appropriate people. Follow up on those leads, get a report on the activity and quantify your results.

Companies often wonder whether they can participate in a tradeshow without outside assistance. Small, regional shows may only involve a table-top or pop-up exhibit and can often be handled well internally. National and international shows, however, require a great deal of planning, resources and knowledge, and most companies choose to partner with professionals who can plan and execute all segments involved with show participation. No matter what scale, tradeshows are important to the selling process.

Tradeshows enable a company to meet with a large number of new prospects, to strengthen the relationships with existing customers and to analyze the market as well as competitors. That’s a wealth of opportunities brought right to your doorstep.

Jeff’s Top 6 Tradeshow Success Tips & Tricks

1. It’s not the number of leads you generate, but the quality of the leads and whether your message was right that are important.
2. Comfortable, but appropriate shoes are a must for booth staff.
3. Set quantifiable sales-related objectives for every show and consistently measure them.
4. Even though approximately 80% of the literature collected at a tradeshow ends up in the hotel trashcan, it’s important to bring marketing materials that project the right message and create a larger-than-life image for your company.
5. Trained staff can qualify a person in 30 seconds.
6. It takes 1.3 calls to close a sale that is a follow up from a tradeshow vs. 3.7 calls where there is no tradeshow lead.

Great interview with Elaine Cohen, president of Live Marketing, a company that specializes in event planning and marketing. Her company averages 500 shows a year, helping hundreds of clients such as Cisco Systems pick up Best of Show awards along the way. Live Marketing is featured in the Marketing-Playbook.

The plans for your first tradeshow are underway. You want to impress the right people and score big with qualified leads—thoughts shared by each of your fellow exhibitors. So how can you generate attention, without breaking the bank? The answer is, grab a stage, go live and get noticed.

“Other than size, live presentations have more impact and are remembered longer than any exhibit element,” said Elaine Cohen, president of Live Marketing, who pioneered the concept of live, professional marketing presentations at tradeshows more than 30 years ago. “A live presentation can bring you face to face with more qualified prospects in three days than most sales organizations see in three months.”

Sizing down, keeping impact up

For start-ups, the news that booth size isn’t the only attention-drawing factor is especially encouraging. Emerging businesses are discovering that live presentations can put them on equal footing with major competitors, even if they can’t match them dollar for tradeshow dollar.

“When it comes to booth planning, many companies often miss the main objective,” Cohen said. “They focus on carpentry instead of communications.” Live presentations, she says, will maximize an exhibitor’s visibility, effectively communicate the message, reach the most-qualified prospects and cut the cost of lead generation.

Planning to be or not to be (unforgettable)

Planning for most live presentations should begin six weeks prior to the show. Typically, the ball gets rolling as clients are asked to fill out a questionnaire about the company’s target audience, marketing and branding strategy and tradeshow objectives. From there, clients meet with the presentation team to discuss strategy and execution, which are matched with budget and timeline considerations. A scriptwriter joins the process once the creative direction is set, and the presentation is cast.

“Clients need to understand that tradeshows should build on their brand,” Cohen said. “It’s important that tradeshows integrate the marketing message and not exist as an element in a vacuum. You can go for the ‘wow,’ but that ‘wow’ has to work with the message.” For example, take offs on popular motion pictures, with presenters stepping into character roles, often work well by entertaining and impressing the crowd.

Selling the sizzle, in short order

Live presentations work best in conjunction with professional crowd gatherers, who serve as a cost-effective insurance policy by assembling a crowd of 25 to 50 people twice an hour, on average. The crowd gatherers address passersby, tell them about the next show and throw out a teaser or two about the giveaways—a small, but appropriate token or a chance at a grand-prize drawing to thank attendees for their time.

The spotlight then turns to the presenter, who not only delivers information but pushes the right buttons and brings the product to life. Presentations should be concise. Five to seven minutes is usually enough time to communicate the highlights of a message and motivate prospects to learn more. After the live presentation, the education should continue as attendees move to one-on-one or small group demonstrations. Lead cards, completed during the pre-show warm up, help filter each prospect to the right demo area.

“Companies may believe they have the personnel who can gather a crowd or stand up on stage,” Cohen said, “but being a tradeshow presenter is an art, just as sales is an art.” Presenters and crowd gatherers are trained professionals who understand the story they are telling. Their message is delivered consistently—even if that message is replayed 15 or 20 times a day—while maintaining a high level of enthusiasm. And they let sales representatives focus only on selling.

Attracting a crowd that counts

Professional presentations for a three-day tradeshow run $25,000 to $50,000 for an all-inclusive package of planning, scripting, production and media support—a necessary tool to help the audience see and remember a message. Expenses can be reduced a bit if companies take on a more active role, for example, by preparing the media in house. For many start-ups, though, live presentations tend to be a heavy-duty budget item, albeit one that is balanced by the prospect of substantial sales.

Take a look at the statistics. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), live presentations increase brand awareness five to 10 times and the number of leads three to four times. One Live Marketing client that verifies microchip designs took home 250 leads, half of them qualified, at the international Design Automation Technology Conference. Compare those numbers to the prior year, when the same company exhibited without a live presentation and overall leads numbered 50, with only six qualified.

“Professional presenters know how to get the audience to respond, to care, and to become involved,” Cohen said. “They get results.”

Elaine’s Top 5 Tradeshow Success Tips & Tricks

1. Plan ahead. Give yourself two or three months and have your budget approved up front.
2. Set clear goals and measurable objectives. Know what you want your presentation to accomplish and how you will measure results.
3. Focus on high-level solutions and messages. Use no more than four major points. More than that, and your message will be forgotten or diluted.
4. Keep it short: five to seven minutes is long enough.
5. Reuse the presentation for other shows, meetings, etc. Repackaging can save money—and continue the momentum—in other shows, press conferences, meetings or additional sales and marketing tools.

Ask a sales professional for advice on exhibiting at a tradeshow and you’ll get no end of advice, ranging from “hire booth babes” to “wear comfy shoes.”

So often, we overly-focus on the details of event marketing. The details are important, yes, but so is the big picture. If you want to improve your odds of succeeding at tradeshow marketing, ask yourself the following questions and be sure you’ve got good answers.

3 Questions

1. What do I want to get out of this show? As obvious as this might seem, one of the most common mistakes exhibitors make is to show up without a clear sense of what they want to accomplish.It’s important to ask yourself this question and come up with a list of answers before every show—including shows where you’ve previously exhibited. You might want to promote specific products or services. You might want to connect with a handful of key individuals. Your goals will vary, but if you identify them advance you’ll stand a better chance of accomplishing them.

   Besides, if you don’t have a clear expectation regarding what you want out of a tradeshow, how can you accurately measure your return-on-investment?

2. Why should attendees visit my booth? It’s not enough to simply show up and stand there. Take an objective look at your display materials. Are they in good shape? Are they high in quality? Is there something eye-catching in your display? If not, your display needs a makeover.

   And when it comes to booth staffing, it’s critical to have the right people in your booth. Seriously consider professionals who are trained to attract attendees’ interest and draw traffic. It’s an additional cost, yes, but what is the potential cost of missed business opportunities as attendees walk by without stopping at your booth?

3. What is my follow-up strategy? The tradeshow is over … now what? Before you leave for the tradeshow, schedule the postmortem meeting with your sales and marketing staff.

   Your post-show meeting doesn’t need to be a big, time-consuming production, but sales professionals need to compare notes and review what worked, what didn’t work and what needs to continue or change at the next show. Discuss the number and quality of leads, the type of companies represented at the show and any other pertinent details and metrics. End with specific sales follow-up actions being assigned. If you’re short on time, or dealing with sales professionals in multiple locations, consider using a web survey in lieu of an in-person meeting.

For more tradeshow exhibition advice, we recommend Susan Friedmann’s online articles. (http://thetradeshowcoach.com/)