No matter what industry you’re in, from high tech to finance to manufacturing, chances are your organization is struggling to deal with economic challenges. Slowing sales and a sluggish consumer base with limited confidence have plagued the marketplace as a whole.
You can see the results of this at tradeshows. Smaller shows, with fewer exhibitors and a subdued atmosphere have been reported from several market sectors.
However, this doesn’t have to be a gloom and doom scenario. Recessions are not isolated events: we get one of some magnitude every decade or so. Savvy exhibitors know the trick is to be smart when times are tight.
Here are seven strategies you can use to thrive in this challenging environment:
Strategy #1: Pinpoint Your Exhibiting Efforts
Now, more than ever, it is critical to ensure you exhibiting at the right shows. You need to be at those events that attract a large number of attendees likely to be interested in your products and services.
Do your research. Examine each exhibiting opportunity with critical eyes: will this show expose you to an audience likely to buy? When there’s a lot of money floating around, exhibiting at shows outside of one’s industry can generate new business, but when times are tight you may prefer to go for the sure thing!
Strategy #2: Embrace Low Cost Pre-Show Promotion
On some level, tradeshow exhibiting is very much a numbers game: you need a certain number of attendees to visit your booth in order to convert an acceptable percentage into high quality leads. The way to generate the required tradeshow traffic is with strategic pre-show promotion.
Low cost pre-show promotion methodologies include e-mail marketing, mentioning show participation on your website and blog, and having your sales force spread the word to your existing customer base. Make sure to include the show’s date, time, and location, as well as your booth number and information about any show specials you’ll be running.
Strategy #3: Unify Your Marketing Message
Recession proof exhibiting requires efficiency. Tradeshow exhibiting needs to be integrated into your overall marketing campaign. That being said, research tells us that the vast majority of attendees come to a tradeshow to see what’s new and exciting.
Meet and surpass attendee expectations by focusing on your newest offerings. If you don’t have a new product, present a strong seller in a new way. Often highlighting features and usability can enhance an established product’s appeal.
Strategy #4: Think Through Giveaways
Promotional products -- the goodie bags, giveaways, and ‘swag’ that appear at every tradeshow -- can eat up a substantial amount of your budget.
Consider these items carefully. For a giveaway item to be truly effective, it should be something your target customer would likely want, keep and use -- particularly at those times you’d like them to be thinking of your organization!
Informational products work particularly well in this regard. Tip sheets, checklists, and booklets require minimal production costs yet offer real value to attendees.
Strategy #5: Notice Networking Opportunities
After show parties, dinner theater outings, and networking summits might seem like ancillary functions at best, secondary to the ‘real’ business of exhibiting. Yet many lucrative relationships begin and thrive in exactly these settings.
Remember, people prefer to do business with people they like and trust. In order to like and trust you, your customers have to get to know you. Networking venues make this possible.
Train your booth staffers to know they’re always “on”. Attendees can and will judge your organization based upon your staffers’ conduct at networking events. Eschewing alcohol and embracing discretion should be the order of the day.
Strategy #6: Capitalize on Competitiveness
Each booth staffer should have individual goals and objectives. These goals and objectives should be specific and quantifiable, and be used to introduce some measure of accountability over the course of the show.
Augment these goals and objectives with an incentive program. Having a tangible reward to strive for can push your team to higher, more profitable levels of performance.
Never lose sight of the fact that a tradeshow is a high pressure, high stress environment. Recognition and support of your booth staffers’ efforts is essential. Use pre and post show meetings on a daily basis to boost morale, recognize and address any problems, start action on high priority leads, and fine tune overall performance.
Strategy #7: Focus on Follow Up
The hours and days immediately after the show present your prime opportunity to leverage an appearance into multiple sales. It is critical to have a follow up plan, delineating what actions will be taken after the show, who is responsible for those actions, and an element of accountability to ensure results.
Develop a ranking system for all leads collected at the show. Hot leads are obviously top priority and require immediate action. Warm and cold leads also need follow up: relationships sometimes require substantial cultivation before they can flower into their full potential!
Recession Proof Tradeshows: Seven Strategies To Stay Strong in Tough Times - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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Susan Friedmann
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Susan Friedmann, CSP is an internationally
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and events. Susan offers programs to
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She is the author of numerous books
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