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65
Education
Some metrics you may want to define and track
include booth traffic, sales leads, cost per lead,
brand exposure, media coverage and estimated ROI
– if you know how many qualified leads it takes to
make a personal sales call and then turn those into
a closed sale.
Pre- and post-show musts
Take exhibiting seriously because your company's brand,
image, reputation and overall business are on public display.
Put your best salespeople in the booth. Preparation
and planning are essential, but booth staffers make or
break the event and are the key to your success.
So provide preshow training covering event goals, expectations,
responsibilities, and rules and behavior. Teach
booth staffers to listen to people as they visit your booth
and how to quickly qualify or disqualify them as prospects.
Prepare succinct messaging about your featured
products and services so staffers can successfully deliver
these messages, handle questions and concerns, and identify
opportunities while differentiating your company
from the competition.
Identify in advance key customers that will be attending,
and prepare to engage them in some way. Determine the
hottest prospects in advance, and set appointments to
meet them. Instruct staffers to accurately record information
so sales opportunities can be followed-up on, and
– this seems intuitive but is often forgotten or neglected –
make sure to follow up on show leads in a timely manner.
Finally, you'll want to measure and evaluate results in a
post-show report and make recommendations for future
improvement.
The time is now
Now is a good time to make sure your tradeshow strategy,
plans and goals are in place for the coming event season.
Remember, companies that continue to market themselves
in down times are the ones that capture the largest
"share of mind" when the economy turns around.
People remember and like to do business with companies
whose products and services are visible. Tradeshows offer
an effective means to keep your business top of mind
while furthering your business goals.
Peggy Bekavac Olson recently founded Strategic Marketing, a
full-service marketing and communications firm specializing in
financial services and electronic payments companies, after serving
as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for TSYS
Acquiring Solutions for more than five years. She can be reached
at 480-706-0816 or peggyolson@smktg.com. Information about
Strategic Marketing can be found at www.smktg.com.