Back It takes only 3.5 seconds to walk by your booth
D. Murali
YOU may not be an introvert. Perhaps your products and services are. When was it last that you showcased them "at a trade show, conference, sporting event, mall, hotel lobby, or in a boardroom"? Was it too long ago or never? In which case, bury yourself in Barry Siskind's Powerful Exhibit Marketing, from Wiley (www.wiley.com) for, by the time you're through Barry, he'd have prepared you for `face-to-face marketing' at consumer shows, hospitality events, seminars and so on.
"Exhibit management is a relatively new corporate function," explains the author. "While some organisations have a dedicated exhibit staff, often the role of exhibit management lands on the desk of an unsuspecting, overworked, or unwilling sales or marketing person who feels as if he or she just bought a new car without receiving the ignition key."
However, before putting up your stall, get your objectives right. To help, Barry provides a list of `100 reasons for exhibiting.' Quantify your objectives and check periodically, he advises. For example, you may set your goal at 15 leads per day after determining traffic patterns at the show, attendee habits and so on. "If, after the first day, you find that your results fall short of expectations, you have until opening time the next morning to identify the problem and fix it."
On costs, the author cites `ballpark numbers' from Trade Show Week. Thus, total cost of a show is "three times the cost of exhibit space," factoring in expenses toward design, show services, shipping, travel, entertainment, and promotion. There's some math too to work out: computing the number of potential visitors, using the `audience interest factor.' Each `booth person' needs 50 square feet of "unoccupied space to work in," informs Barry. Therefore, in a 10 ft by 10 ft space (or 3m X 3m), "two people can carry on conversations simultaneously with two visitors." Check if you can calculate space required if eight booth people are to be accommodated, and 100 sq. ft. reserved for product display.
Not all events are for you, unless you think, "All strange and terrible events are welcome," as Cleopatra said. Choose the right event in three tiers: "regional, national, and international." And search in sites such as www.Expoworld.net or www.TSNN.com, suggests Barry. When you get down to setting up the booth, work to create a three-dimensional marketing experience. Remember that visitors pass through `three distinct zones of interest,' viz. common, potential, and genuine. The last is where "you spark visitors' desire to learn more."
`Nuts and bolts' of display include due thought to colour, lighting, flooring, safety, signs and graphics, showstoppers, technology, sound, and so on. Choose the right configuration — in-line, corner, peninsula, or island. Layout can be `the classic diamond,' `the club,' random, or theatre. Barry advises on `areas to avoid' — such as a stall in a dead-end aisle, or near loading docks and washrooms.
"Attracting attention at a show is a challenge," points out the author, because "it takes approximately 3.5 seconds to walk by your booth." To get the attendees to stop, despite "glitz, glamour, and a torrent of information," give them a live demo. "The Centre for Exhibition Industry Research reports that what visitors remember most is good product information and a chance to see it in action."
Exhibitors love brochures "as a great way to avoid answering difficult questions," but Barry says that 85-95 per cent of brochures "will either end up in a landfill or in a plastic bag somewhere in a closet." Promote the show before it starts; send out invites, with special passes or incentives, and arrange for a press meet. Train your staff to increase the percentage of qualified leads.
Get to know also: four stages of `boothing,' six people you are likely to meet at a trade show, dos and don'ts in ice-breaking, three parts of presumptive disengagement, four reasons why show leads are superior to other leads, and eight steps of your strategic intelligence plan.
In Othello, Iago speaks of "many events in the womb of time which will be delivered." Good exhibitions too involve a gestation time. And, if you're planning to deliver one, get on to Barry's back.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu Business Line