Exhibitions can be hugely productive affairs and fun places to drum up business, but how many exhibitors – and, indeed, visitors – at trade shows actually make the most of the opportunities presented to them once on site?
As an exhibitor you may well chuckle at some of those apparently ‘hiding’ behind their stands for a time in the mid-afternoon, hunkered down over laptops and seemingly oblivious to visitors passing by, but have you all of your own ‘ducks in a row’ (to use current Business Bingo parlance)?
I’ve devised a ten-point plan which might just help you – and your visitors – make the most of IFSEC International 2012.
1 – Write down your business goals
Do this before you even think about why you’re exhibiting. It’s to remind yourself what’s most important to your business while you’re planning your time away from the office.
If you don’t do this, you’ll get back to the office and wonder how your time away really helped shape your business for the rest of 2012.
2 – Work out your trade show goals
Exhibitors’ traditional lists of goals include finding sales leads, selling solutions, ‘parading’ in front of existing customers, searching out new suppliers, checking out the competition, increasing brand awareness, building mailing lists and subscribers and actively growing online traffic.
The lists seem to grow during and after any given trade show, and that’s probably because of a failure to achieve the most important goal. Work out your most important goal and aim for that.
Come on. Aren’t you there mainly to find sales leads and sell security solutions? Like any other marketing activity, set yourself some achievable targets.
3 – Decide on a compelling ‘call to action’
How will you achieve your goals? What will your visitors derive from the whole experience? Your ‘call to action’ is the reason why visitors will do something (like become a sales lead, or buy a product).
It’s probably best to settle on just one, maybe two. It’s a unifying, clear direction that you can repeat over and again during your pre-promotion and at the trade show itself.
Writing down an elevator pitch that pinpoints your ‘call to action’ will make it easier for you to repeat, and easier for your visitors to understand and do something about.
It should appear on your stand, posters, flyers, giveaways, promotions and online… and in your words. That way, you’re focusing everything on achieving your goals.
4 – Cost everything out
Adding up the cost of the pitch, stand and giveaways is the easy bit. What about ‘man hours’ and promotion? Make sure you cost EVERYTHING out!
5 – Create online and offline promotion
If you can, it’s a good idea to create a landing page on your website specifically to support your trade show ‘call to action’. Give it an intuitive extension, for example info4security.com/IFSEC. Here, you can showcase an irresistible offer for visitors and useful content for people who didn’t get the chance to talk to you.
Talk about your ‘call to action’ and quote your landing page URL in relevant e-mails and letters to your network.
Don’t forget your social media. Find out (or make up your own) Twitter #hashtags and LinkedIn or Facebook event pages. Start and take part in conversations there, too, for a targeted audience.
Repeat the ‘call to action’ and your offer on handouts and posters before and during the trade show.
Stand panels printed with lists of products are common but arguably rather boring. Instead, use the space to boldly spell out how you help people. And, of course, focus on your ‘call to action’.
To save reproducing stand panels each time, why not print posters with your ‘call to action’ to stick over the panels, on the sides of desks or straight on the wall?
Don’t clutter stand panels, posters or other signage with lots of detail. Focus on your ‘call to action’ and offer.
Even repeat your ‘call to action’ on your clothing. Printing polo-shirts is cheap and stands out as a message. Just think of everyone else there wearing standard business suits.
6 – Think about giveaways
Creative giveaways can be fun but how will they really help you achieve your goals? Unless the trade show is specifically about creativity, what’s the real point of spending money on unrelated chocolate fountains, bouquets of flowers, funky gadgets, massages or even keyrings, pens and other seen-it-all-before gimmicks?
If you’ve ever filled a trade show shopping bag before (so-called ‘gift gathering’), can you even remember who gave the best gifts?
Instead, make your giveaway(s) relevant to your ‘call to action’. Free, useful information like White Papers and research reports, for example, would go down a storm, so too aaccess to a seminar or an e-book.
Whatever you choose to give away, try to give it away by hand. Making eye contact and physically connecting with visitors gives you a chance to talk.
More importantly, get visitors’ details! That’s your prize for giving away something valuable (so make your giveaway valuable enough to earn their details).
7 – Shake hands – always!
The biggest (but all-too-common) mistake is visitors seeing any exhibitors ‘hiding’ in their booths, cowering behind desks, apparently oblivious to passers-by and even hunkered down over laptops with their backs to the walkways.
This is your chance as an exhibitor to shake hands, generate leads and collect data. That means standing right on the edge of your booth, giveaway in hand, making eye contact with everyone who comes close.
Be brave. Say “Hello” to everyone. Beaming smiles and welcoming gestures might feel cheesy, but you’ll find visitors can’t resist returning the gesture.
A simple smile can be even more welcoming than the more elaborate stands. It’s also irresistible to many people to accept a handshake or a small giveaway. Use those human connections to introduce your offer and ‘call to action’.
It’s easy to find out in advance which big names will be there. Check out the list of speakers or well-known personalities who’ll be taking part. Ask conference organisers which journalists will be covering the event for the press. Then, when you’re there, ask the organisers (who often walk around making sure exhibitors are happy) to help introduce you to them. Tell them all about your offer and make sure the organisers know what your trade show goals are.
With everyone you meet, try to capture their name and contact details (remember your trade show goals). Even better, make a quick note of what you talked about. That will make it easy for you to get back in touch afterwards. Forget about writing detailed notes: it’s not the right place or time.
8 – Go to break-out sessions and presentations
Taking part in break-out sessions, presentations, masterclasses and other surrounding events is worthwhile. You get to learn. More than that, you’ll see how competitors present themselves, think of interesting conversation topics and refresh yourself for when you’re back manning your stand.
They’re also one of the best places to raise your own exposure. Ask presenters and panellists questions (remember to say who you are and the organisation you represent before posing your question!) Speak to other delegates and get to know the organisers.
Even better, find out how you can become a speaker next time. Sponsorship packages often include opportunities to give a talk. Conference organisers also look out for experts who can share useful know-how at their future events.
9 – Be selective about supporting kit
Apart from promotional material, exhibitors often feel obliged to take demonstration kit.
That can be cool if it’s relevant to your ‘call to action’ and if it showcases how exactly your organisation can help. Your enthusiasm about your offerings rubs off on visitors. Yes, buyers like ‘geeks’!
Videos of your services and products in action help visitors imagine how you’d help them with their own issues. Think twice about live laptop demonstrations, though. If your offering is a computer-based tool, they might be the best way to show how it works in action.
All-too-often, exhibitors can end up being bogged down in long-winded tutorials. Or, worse still, they look like they’re trying to beat the highest score on Angry Birds!
Plan what you’ll showcase in advance so it won’t take too long. If the person you’re ‘demoing’ with wants to go into more depth, offer an on-site demo or meeting instead. Either way, don’t let a one-to-one demonstration force you to miss lots of other passers-by.
Before you show off any piece of kit, introduce a live demo or give visitors a ‘toy’ to play with make sure you ask for their details. “Can I just make a note of your name and number?” is a quick question to ask and it gives you a chance to get back in touch afterwards.
10 – Follow up with your new leads
Hopefully, you’ll come home with a big box of business cards and a whole host of new names for your database. Try to write to them all within two days of the exhibition. Just a short e-mail with a strong subject line reminding them of your offer and ‘call to action’.
It’s easy to personalise the e-mail with their name and just a one-line reminder of the conversation you had. Include a link back to your exhibition-specific landing page if you have one or include the White Paper or whatever else your offer promised.
Maybe even share feedback on the most common questions and issues your visitors raised.
You’ll stand out from the crowd if you show how diligently you keep in touch. And you’ll enjoy the return on your investment in being an exhibitor because you’ll have earned worthwhile leads.
Hope to see you at IFSEC International 2012!
Please feel free to add a comment to this article if you can you think of any more salient suggestions and share this article by clicking the relevant buttons below if you know anyone who needs to know such information!
David Chernick is managing director of TREACL
*David is a regular attendee at IFSEC International and a contributor to many security and policing events. He’s also a member of the Judging Panel for the Security Excellence Awards and chairman of PREFIT.
*As well as being well-known in the security sector David runs TREACL, the sales and marketing communications business. He’s passionate about effective communication and helping security organisations sell their big ideas.