The Exhibitor's Resource – Trade Show Marketing Blog

Exhibit Resources hosted another ICA (Independent Communicator’s Alliance) meeting Wednesday night at our showroom in Raleigh. And this time, in addition to providing the venue, we also offered the insight by presenting our talk “The Value of Face-To-Face Marketing.”

The trend in recent years has been for marketers with tight budgets to allocate their limited dollars to customer-facing and lead-generating efforts, including trade show and event marketing. At Wednesdays talk, I provided an overview of what it takes to create successful trade show displays and face-to-face marketing programs. I discussed how exhibiting benefits the broader marketing effort, how exhibitors can realize the greatest return on their event marketing investment, and I gave a sneak peek at emerging trade show display design trends.

Highlights from the talk were mentioned in a press release written about the talk by ICA member Cindy Turner.

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As trade show exhibitors continue to look for cost saving opportunities, many are discovering that outsourcing Trade Show Management services is a smart choice. Exhibitors are seeing that there is significant value to having industry experts handle time-sensitive trade show logistics on their behalf. A common situation is one in which an exhibitor’s schedule is just demanding enough to be unmanageable by the marketing manager or other staff, but isn’t quite a full time job that would justify the hiring of a dedicated Trade Show Manager.

There are additional efficiencies and benefits to outsourcing Trade Show Management in addition to freeing marketing staff from the burden. In many cases, trade show design firms are more efficient in planning for shows, working with show officials, and arranging freight, travel and accommodations. The overall expense for trade show management can be reduced significantly simply because of this improved efficiency.

Another benefit to outsourcing Trade Show Management is that exhibit agencies have the knowledge and experience to leverage the best outcome for their clients. Agencies are often more familiar with the city, venue, decorator, hotels and freight options than an in-house coordinator ever could be. The experience they gain from one trade show can help inform decisions for another, whether it’s for the same client or for one in another industry.

And because it is their job to reduce the cost of exhibiting, trade show logistics coordinators can often help exhibitors avoid rush fees and other penalties frequently incurred due to overworked marketing professionals who may simply not have the time or bandwidth to meet early bird deadlines, schedule freight to arrive via the lowest cost service, or research the best travel packages.

Ready to find out if outsourcing Trade Show Management makes business sense for your trade show program? We suggest contacting your exhibit house, or us.

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As a trade show display designer, and now as a trade show marketing consultant, I have been an advocate of having an initial meeting with a client to learn their specific marketing objectives, understand their unique place in their market, and establish the budget, time line and other factors that affect a new trade show display, before the design process is started.

But there is another approach: giving exhibitors the resources to develop trade show display ideas along with their agency. One of the most popular and effective resources is a gallery of work that the exhibit design agency has done for other clients that the new exhibitor can browse through in order stimulate creativity. Not only can a trade show display portfolio provide ideas to discuss, it can also help instill trust in the exhibitor that the exhibit house has the experience to pull off the project.

Another way to generate trade show display ideas and establish the overall direction of the design is for an exhibitor to flip through a set of images that represent different – often contrasting – design styles, and identify the look and feel that is most congruent with their brand, their corporate aesthetic, and their message. This type of process can ensure that both the exhibitor and their exhibit design firm understand what subjective words, such as “high-tech” or “established,” look like when translated into a trade show display design.

An additional resource is the case study, which can help fill in the functional or engineering details behind the visual impact of the trade show display. An explanation of why or how a designer’s ideas met an exhibitor’s marketing goals or solved a shipping logistics problem can trigger new ideas and ways of thinking about the trade show display design process.

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Trade show exhibit design and planning should focus on the following objectives that lead to sales:

Attract visitors to your trade show booth to learn more about who you are and what your company’s offer is.
Captivate your visitors once inside your trade show exhibit by presenting a compelling message or a high-energy presentation.
Engage your guests in a dialogue about their needs and how your offer may help meet those needs.
Educate potential clients and existing customers on the benefits and advanced features of your offerings.
Inspire trade show booth visitors to become subscribers to future communication from you and a continuation of the conversation.
Motivate your prospects to take the next step, such as accepting a product trial period, receiving a quote, or placing an order during or immediately after the trade show.

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Trade shows have been an important part of a company’s marketing mix for some time, and have supported the overall marketing strategy by complementing the other “pillars” of the effort.

The marketing mix used to only include
Trade Shows, Radio, Print Media, Billboards, Newspapers and TV

Now marketers also have
The Internet , Social Media such as Blogs, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook and Special Events.

Special Events have emerged as another successful Face-to-Face marketing strategy because of the focused, direct interaction with the customer that they offer. A special event could be an after hours, off show site, invitation-only social event held one evening during a larger trade show. It also could be an annual gathering at a company’s headquarters to pump up dealers or introduce new product to the media and existing customers. It could be an appreciation or awards event at a destination location to thank loyal employees, company partners or long term clients. Or it could be a sponsored event tied to a charity fundraiser or sporting event. No matter the venue or focus, special events often have an element of exclusivity, and can afford companies the opportunity to present their message to a receptive audience without distractions.

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Lana Calloway, President of Exhibit Resources, presented “The Value of Face to Face Marketing” at WBON-Cary’s August luncheon on Wednesday, August 5th 2009.

Marketing budgets are often on the chopping block when recessions hit.  But the trend over the past few years has been for marketers to move tighter budgets away from advertising and mass marketing and instead allocate those dollars to customer-facing and lead-generating endeavors.  It appears that this trend will continue. 
 
At the luncheon, Lana explained how to:

·  Leverage this trend in your own marketing practices
·  Use steady marketing as a tool to INCREASE your sales during a recession
·  Make gains in your market that will last for the next few years
·  Get the most value out of your face-to-face marketing efforts    
 
About Lana Calloway
Lana Calloway is President of Exhibit Resources, a Raleigh-based full-service exhibit design agency that designs, builds and manages trade show exhibits for clients throughout the Southeast.  Lana has over 25 years of experience in trade show and event management, and her company, Exhibit Resources, will be celebrating its 18th year in business in September of this year. 
 
Ms. Calloway was among 25 winners honored by The Triangle Business Journal at the 2000 Women in Business Awards Ceremony.   She accepted a Pinnacle Business Award from the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce in 2005 on behalf of her company, which was recognized as one of five established Triangle businesses that have exhibited exemplary success in staying power, business growth, community involvement, and innovation.    In November of 2006, Exhibit Resources was honored with a Fast 50 Award, and most recently was also named one of the top 100 Small Businesses in North Carolina by Business Leader Magazine.

About WBON-Cary
Women Business Owners Network (WBON) of Cary meets the first Wednesday of every month, 11:30 AM, at the Matthews House, located at 317 W. Chatham Street in Cary. WBON-Cary was founded in 1995 as a non-profit organization comprised of women in leadership positions.  We welcome all women in the Triangle Area who are owners, part owners, and prospective business owners, or are employed by businesses that support women in business. 
 
The mission of WBON-Cary is to provide experiences that educate, enlighten, inspire, support, motivate and foster growth professionally as well as personally.  Monthly meetings and guest speakers provide a forum for discussing issues and experiences relevant to professional women. Networking and local philanthropic projects help stimulate individual development and provide a positive presence in the community.  For more information about WBON-Cary, please visit the WBON-Cary website or contact Ruth Drum at Crossroads Business Center at 919-424-3801.

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While aspects of the face-to-face marketing industry – which includes trade shows, special events, meetings, conventions, and the related travel & hospitality - have all felt the effects of budget cuts in the past year, there is plenty of justification to continue this type of highly effective marketing.

According to a recent survey of Fortune 1,000 Chief Marketing Officers, meetings and events provide the highest return on investment of any marketing channel. According to a recent study by CEIR, the Center for Exhibit Industry Research, exhibitions and events remained at the top of MarCom spending, accounting for 20% of the budget despite reductions in overall marketing spending.

Still, as a result of the downturn, exhibition budgets for 2009 are down by 17% and an equal 17% of exhibitors have reported that they will participate in fewer shows in 2009. The US Travel Association estimates that 200,000 travel related jobs were lost in 2008 and expect another 247,000 to be lost in 2009 According to the results of a Meetings and Conventions magazine, 52% of respondents claim that the economic downturn has influenced their company’s decision to hold events.

So why should companies still exhibit during an economic downturn?

To Close Deals & Sell More Product – Why would you want to shut off a stream of revenue when every bit counts?  Studies have shown that sustained marketing during a recession yields higher sales in the short term. And market share increases accomplished in while weathering a recession are often maintained or expanded during the recovery and subsequent boom years.

To Remain “Top of Mind” for Prospects and Existing Customers – Let them know that your company is still strong, or maybe even take this opportunity to kick it up a notch and stake your claim to the top player position in your niche.

To Take Advantage of Less a Crowded Space – Perhaps your company can secure more prominent booth space that may have been vacated by the competition. And with fewer exhibitors, there will be less noise, allowing your message get through and resonate longer with attendees and the media.

To Make High Quality Connections – Although the industry has seen a drop in the number of total show attendees and the sizes of booth spaces have been reduced, the QUALITY of the visitor now is much better. Companies may no longer be sending 25 reps to a conference or industry expo, now it’s maybe 10 or 12 – but those that they are being sent are the key decision makers and top representatives of companies you are looking to connect with. While companies are watching travel and entertainment expenses, they still feel that it’s important for their staff to stay connected, stay current on emerging trends in their industry, and to participate in education opportunities typically offered in conjunction with trade shows and other events.

Face-to-Face marketing experiences are personal, sensorial, tactile, emotional, and tangible.  No alternate or surrogate for that kind of direct contact exists.

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