Investing in the right trade show display is a serious decision.  Like anything else, there are hundreds of options on the market.  However, it is easy to make an expensive mistake by rushing into a purchase without all of the knowledge at your finger tips. Don’t sacrafice long term value for short term gain! Below are the 5 most common mistakes businesses make when purchasing a trade show display.

A newly published white paper by Marketech reveals what 3,341 trade show attendees, in interviews held at 30 events, said caused them to visit trade show exhibits.   Skyline has sponsored this new research report and made it available free to exhibitors, who can get a copy by requesting it here.

The Value Of People, Product, and Promotions in Attracting Visitors To Trade Show Booths

Attendees gave their primary reasons for visiting trade show displays, and when the answers are grouped, you can see that people, product, and promotions are key in getting attendees into your exhibit:

Source: Marketech, Inc.

Product:  The number one reason given to enter a trade show booth was to obtain product information (32%).  Add product demo (11%) and you get to 43% of booth visitors interested in product.  So being ready to help attendees to learn about your products is paramount.

Promotion:  There are several reasons for visiting a booth that can be grouped under promotion:  Giveaway (17%), in booth activity (11%), refreshments / hospitality (8%), ad / promotion (5%), and invitation (1%).  Those add up to 42% of respondents.   So consider this – does your promotion budget equal 42% of your trade show budget?  Probably less – so promotions are worth the investment.

People:  Attendees said they visited booths because of the greeter (13%), product demo (that a person usually does!) (11%), and to see a rep (10%), which adds up to 34% of interested attendees.  Thus, the people that you choose to staff your booth truly matter.

Other findings from the study.

• Sponsorships and ads do increase brand awareness among trade show attendees, but do little to increase booth visitation.  If the goal is to get leads, then sponsorship appears to be the wrong promotional tool.
• Pre-show promotions are key in getting attendees to the booth, as only 20% said they visited because of “happenstance.”
• Giveaways and greeters are effective investments for driving booth traffic.

Trade show booths are the intersection of people, product and promotion, and all are essential in attracting attendees.

The Incredible Value Of A Proactive Booth Staffer

When asked who started the interaction between them and the booth staffer, attendees said that 89% of the engagements were started by the rep.  So without booth staffers that engage visitors, exhibitors will get far, far poorer results.

To Influence Attendees To Buy, Help Them Learn

Marketech believes this is the key takeaway from this research report:  There was a strong correlation between learning from an exhibitor and being more inclined to buy from them.  For example, when an attendee learns something new, they were 27% more inclined to buy from the exhibitor, but if they did not learn something new, they were only 6% more inclined to buy from the exhibitor.  An attendee who learns from you is more likely to become your client.

But it has to be relevant learning, cautions Marketech:  “Identifying the visitor’s agenda and speaking to it must be one of the most important elements in preparing a staff to work an event.  Otherwise, the exhibit staff is merely delivering an information dump that does not achieve either party’s objectives and is a waste of time.”

Other “Best Practices” Recommendations For Exhibitors:

• Create a reason for attendees to put you on their “must see” trade show list
• Ask your sales reps to invite their customers and prospects
• Be sure to train your staff to best engage with attendees
• Create a learning environment in your exhibit to drive purchasing behavior, and be creative in transforming known information into something new
• Teach technicians to mention your brand name while they do demonstrations to increase memorability with attendees
• Pay attention to non-customers and influencers, too, because they can spread the word to buyers, too
• Increase memorability with hands-on demos

The size of this study – based on over 3,000 interviews – gives you an unprecedented body of experience to help you enhance your trade show program.  There’s great advice here, especially about drawing in attendees with product info, promotions, and the right people, and about creating a true learning environment to make attendees more likely to buy from you.

Boost your trade show results with insights from this new white paper, What Attendees Tell Us About Best Practices, based on over 3,000 interviews with trade show attendees.  Click here to get your free copy now.

While attending this year’s Exhibitor Show in Las Vegas last month, I could not help but ponder why a simple rule of exhibiting is so hard for many to follow.  The Exhibitor Show is the trade show for the trade show industry.  This is the collection of trade show pros!  You would think that all the simple bases of exhibiting would be covered.  Yet… not the case, even by the experts.

If you do nothing else with your graphics, get these two things right with your trade show exhibit:

Clearly state 1. Who you are, and 2. Describe what you do.

Who you are and what you do.  That’s it!  Simple.  Basic.  Trade show 101.  Yet…so hard for so many.

Depending on the size of your trade show display space, you have roughly 3-5 seconds to catch that prospective visitor’s attention.  If they cannot clearly identify who you are and/or what you do, your odds of attracting their interest dramatically fall.

In today’s economy, the trade show floor is now being walked by more senior level decision makers.  With more to do in less time, no one has time to waste.  If your prospective visitor (and future client) cannot clearly identify who you are or what you do, then the easiest decision for them to make is to keep moving on to the next space.  They do not have the time nor do they want to spend the energy to try and figure out what solution you provide.  At most shows, there are simply too many other messages competing for their attention.

If you are a large organization, stating that you are XYZ may not be enough.  What division of XYZ?  And then simply state what you do.  What is the problem you solve?  What is the solution you are offering? What makes you different?  The idea is to help your prospective visitor easily make the decision that you are indeed someone that may fill their need.  After all, that is why they are there at that show.  They have a need and are seeking out someone to fill that need.

Following this rule will also help save your booth staff time, energy, and money by helping the prospective visitors qualify themselves rather than wandering into your space trying to figure out who you are and what you do and eventually getting to the point where it is clear by eating away at your staff’s time and resources.  This frees your staff to fully concentrate on true potential clients.

Adding graphics that help tell the story, some pointed bullet points, and even a testimonial or two all help encourage that prospect to stop… once they can identify who you are and what you do.  And making sure your booth staff is properly prepared and trained to work as a team on the show floor will only help increase your show ROI.

But it all starts with the basics.

Who you are and what you do.  That’s it! Simple.  Basic.  Trade Show 101.  And not so hard.

Round out your knowledge of trade show basics by reading the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper. With almost 100 tips, the report reveals the most effective strategies and tactics exhibitors are using today to boost their results and stretch their budgets. Click here to request your free copy. 

How important is it to measure and communicate the results of your trade show program?  Here’s how essential measurement is to your success:

• “If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.”  - Robert Heinlein
• “What gets measured gets done, what gets measured and fed back gets done well, what gets rewarded gets repeated.”  - John E. Jones
• “In God we trust, all others bring data.”  - W. Edwards Deming

So yes, measurment is imporant.  That is why Skyline is honored to offer you an updated tool to help you measure your trade show program.

The 3rd version of the “Measurement Made Easy” Trade Show and Event Calculator CD program now gives you a place to record and calculate 20 different trade show metrics.  There are 5 measurements for before the show, to help you prepare, and 15 measurements for after the show, to help you measure how you did.

But like a bike with 20 gears, you may not need to use all of them.  So for this 3^rd edition, we highlighted the 7 metrics we feel are the most important:

Before The Show

1. Pre-Show Promotion

In today’s competitive trade show arena, you need to invest in promotions to get more attendees to cross from the aisle into your trade show booths.  This calculator helps you calculate your cost per contact from pre-show promotion, so you can see how much extra value promotions bring your program.

2. Attendance

Surprise: Your best shows may not be the biggest shows, but the shows that have the most people that fit your target market.  This calculator helps you delve deeper into each show’s audience to discover the shows that are the best value for you.

3. Estimated Budget

With this calculator you can quickly estimate for a show how much you might spend on key areas such as booth space, trade show displays, travel, show services, and more.  The estimates are based on industry average budget expenditures.

After The Show

4. Budget Versus Actual

So, how close to your estimated budget did you actually spend?  This calculator lets you compare what your actual costs to what your original estimates – and see where you had the biggest percent differences.

5. Cost Per Contact

This simple calculation lets you calculate how much each individual contact cost you after your entire show budget is added up.  Then you have a cost that you can compare against other ways to get face-to-face contacts.

6. Cost Per Lead

One of the most popular metrics, this calculator not only helps you calculate cost per lead, which is your total trade show exhibit program investment divided by your number of leads, but also track (and define) leads by quality, such as “A” leads, “B” leads, and “C” leads.

7.  Potential Return On Investment

While ROI is the ultimate measurement for most companies, it can take many months, if not years to close B2B leads with their longer selling cycle.  This gets you a viable number quicker, by considering lead counts, percent of sales-likely leads, average sales dollars, and exhibiting investment to get to a potential ROI.

There are also 13 more metrics you can measure, calculate, record, and report with this updated Measurement Made Easy CD.  And as with previous versions, the program allows you to record your show data, then print reports for management.

We are grateful for Marketech for creating this program and allowing us to share it with you.

Measure and justify your trade show program with the newly updated Measurement Made Easy CD.  Click here to ask for your free copy of this program.

The tween literary sensation “The Hunger Games”  has been invading homes across America, and with the big screen opening, that spread is about to go even further.  The stories may have started out for youngsters, but the broad-sweeping message applies to more than you may think.  Just compare it to your trade show exhibiting plans, and you’ll begin to see the similarities…

The Reaping: Just as the names are chosen from a giant glass ball in “The Hunger Games” your company, too, will have to decide who the lucky people are that get to staff their trade show booth.  For some, this is the part of the job they love: talking to people, displaying a product or service they believe in, making connections, and feeding off the energy of the show.  For others, they may be dreading the thought of having to go.  Either way, once chosen you need to come up with a strategy to win. This means using your strengths to your advantage.  Are you outspoken and gregarious?  Use it to gather in attendees and start a conversation.  Are you more introverted, but are great at deciphering body language?  Use that to make a connection with your prospect. Everyone has something unique and important to bring to the table.

The Stylists:  In “The Hunger Games” the tributes are all given makeovers to persuade onlookers to root for and sponsor them.  The same goes for you when you’re in your trade show booth.  If you want to draw attention to your booth and products you both have to look good.  You can come up with a unified look, or let each individual choose for themselves, as long as it’s professional and flattering.  You’re on display as much as your product or service, so go out of your way to look ready for the game to begin and draw in your fans.

The Cornucopia:  In the arena, the cornucopia provides an arsenal of tools, weapons, supplies, and food and it’s up for grabs to whoever can get there first.  At trade shows, you have a huge pool of help to choose from as well, you just have to take advantage of it.  Does your trade show display builder also provide asset management or I&D to give you an advantage and make your life easier?  Use it.  Focus your efforts on the show and gaining the right prospects, and leave the other stuff to the experts.

The Games:  Now that you’re on the show floor, it’s every trade show display for themselves.  If you want to end up in the winner’s circle, you have to think fast and stay one step ahead of everyone else.  Do you have an eye-catching design or demo to attract attendees?  While that prospect has their interest piqued, don’t hesitate.  Engage them and uncover their needs.  The more times you do this, the greater the odds you’ll come up with hot leads that will go further into the sales cycle.  You only have a few hours to get all this done, and if you don’t take care of them, your competition will.

The Victor’s Tour:  Think once the big show is over you get to sit back and rest?  Guess again.  Now is the time to revisit all those people you connected with during the show.  Check in, see how they’re doing, and if their needs have changed or evolved.  Continue the representation of the brand you displayed at the trade show.  Show them your gratitude for choosing your company, and continue to prove that you are the best one for the job.

There is probably much more that can be learned from Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the series, so check it out for yourself and see what you can find.  And remember, the book is always better than the movie.

“The Hunger Games” was won with a bow and arrow, but you can hit your trade show target by reading the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper.  Click here to request your free copy of the guide that reveals what exhibitors say works for them in 7 key areas of trade show marketing. 

Want to be a smarter exhibitor?  Not just above-average, slightly ahead of the pack, but a full-blown trade show marketing genius?  Then follow these 6 (not so easy, but worthwhile) steps:

• Be Genuine
• Be Experimental
• Be A Nerd
• Go International
• Be Useful
• Drive Sales

Be Genuine

Trade shows offer a huge opportunity to gain exposure for your company’s brand image.  So make your trade show exhibit true to the heart of your brand.  Trade shows let you go beyond just your brand colors and taglines.  You can create an entire experience that helps your visitors connect to what makes your company genuinely different — and better — than your competitors.  Get prospects involved and engaged with activities that embody the best of your brand.  And set the stage for a deeper personal relationship between your company and your clients and prospects.

Be Experimental

Don’t get stuck doing the same-old, same-old, just because you’ve always done it that way.  Great marketers are always testing new waters — without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  Experiment with new booth staffers, new training methods, new exhibit layouts, new promotional ideas, new booth sizes, new shows, and more.  Ask your peers what they’ve done to boost results, adapt their ideas for your situation, test, measure, and retain the best winning ideas.  Just be sure to set expectations with your bosses that you are not expecting to succeed on 100% of your tests, but need to keep experimenting or you risk being left behind.

Be A Nerd

I’m not asking you to start wearing pocket protectors or to fix your glasses with tape.  To be a trade show genius requires using more tools than paper and pencil.  It means going to school on new technology that is revolutionizing trade shows.  So go beyond knowing what Twitter is, to actually pre-scheduling a pre-show promotion campaign of tweets via a free account on www.hootsuite.com.  Learn how to take the Excel file loaded on the USB drive you get when you return the show’s rental lead retrieval machine, and import it into your company’s marketing database for quicker lead fulfillment.  Get the best content on your website adapted into an iPad app that lets your booth staffers better interact with attendees anywhere in your trade show displays.  Go ahead and get techy; it’s never been cooler.

Go International

There are 7 convention centers outside the U.S. that are larger than McCormick place, the biggest the U.S. has to offer.  What’s more, a new facility being built in Shanghai, China will be twice the size of the next largest existing show hall.  Moreover, 75% of the world’s economy lies outside our shores.  So pack your bags and go!  Just do your homework on the differences in exhibiting overseas, such as how attendees interact (more about relationship building), promotions (privacy laws make it harder to reach attendees directly pre-show), costs (show space may cost less, but travel and hotel costs cost more), and more.  We have done a lot of the homework for you – just click to request your international exhibiting white paper.

Be Useful

Increase your social intelligence by making yourself more useful to all the stakeholders of your trade show program.  Help your sales manager drive more sales from your trade show leads by finding out what questions booth staffers should ask to qualify attendees in your trade show booths.  Then your sales manager will be more willing to let you handpick your favorite booth staffers.  Provide answers quickly to your exhibit house account executive (such as approval on graphics files) and you’ll build up a reserve of goodwill you can call upon for help in an emergency.  And most of all ask your top management what are their main goals for exhibiting at trade shows – then measure and report how your program achieved those goals.

Drive Sales

Perhaps the smartest thing you can do for your trade show career is be known as a rainmaker that positively moves the dial generating revenue.  You drive sales by going to the shows where your buyers walk the aisles, pulling them into your trade show exhibits with enticing promotions, engaging staffers, and attention-getting exhibits, then giving the best leads to your sales force, and finally proving those leads generated sales through measurement.   Prove that you can profitably generate sales with your trade show program and you’ll soon be known as an exhibiting Einstein.

Stretch your exhibiting brainpower by pursuing some or all of these 6 ideas.  You’ll be seen as the genius within your company that knows how to get the most out of trade shows.

Find more smart ways to boost your trade show results in The Value of Trade Shows, a 24-page white paper that reveals why exhibitors and attendees value shows, and how exhibitors can get more out of them.  Click here to request your free copy.