25. July 2008 by dexter.

Having been in the trade show industry for over 20 years as a designer,
manufacturer and collaborator with exhibitors and show management has been
very enlightening. What always seem to get my attention are the new trade
show attendees who come to the show with great expectations only to find that
at the end of the show they have made neither leads nor sales. I am here to
tell you that you have either exhibited at the wrong show or most likely you
went to the show totally unprepared. In this article we will offer some
pointers to the unprepared exhibitor. Here are a few suggestions:Â Goal:
First thing and one thing only, ˜sales and leads” Sure you want product
branding, but ultimately sales and leads ought to be the exhibitor’s primary
objectives

For the new exhibitor’s first trade show I would suggest taking this approach.

Secure your booth location preferably a location near the front of the main
entry to the exhibit hall, It’s also always good to get located near one of
the larger veterans of that particular trade show. This will help to get you
in the traffic spot light. Many people feel that getting on the front line of
the exhibit hall is the best location, but that’s not necessarily so,
sometimes people move through the exhibit hall pass the front line before
they truly begin to focus on what they want. Therefore, a location near the
front, but not right in the immediate front line.
The exhibitor’s booth should be a ˜crowd pleaser” while still projecting the
company’s image - a good way to get traffic to your booth.Secondly, offer a
good product give-a-way or a prize. Please make sure that this prize is a
good one, if you specialize in tire changing equipment do not give away iPods,

or plasma screens. Everyone in the convention hall would love to get a
plasma screen or an IPod. They will sign up for this, even if they are not
interested in your product. This is a waste of time. Smart move is to have a
drawing for a top of the line tire changing equipment or some service you
provided. This will ensure that whoever signs up for this has some knowledge
of systems and would prefer part of your service. They most likely are
interested and need a tire changing machine and are willing to spend that
kind of money on one. The list of sign-ups for the give-a-way/prize you have
a list of leads, remember you what you are there for hint leads which can
eventually turn into sales. How easy would that be to follow up a lead from
your list of people who signed up for your drawing to win a tire changing
equipment? Let’s call this a targeted lead, why? you know what they are
interested in - mufflers

Second thing, at your first trade show always have a theme for your trade
show booth. I have seen exhibitor at trade show with great looking custom
trade show booth, crowds form around the booth and say wow what a nice
looking booth, but five minutes later after leaving the booth they do not
remember the exhibitors name or his or her product, but they remember the
theme the booth had. Use this to your advantage design your booth with a
theme that relates to your product. Incorporate your product name as well as
your corporate name, now you are cooking with grease. I remember a few years
ago I met a childhood idol, Jerry Lucas, yes the same Jerry Lucas who played
for the world champion New York Knicks in basketball. When I met Jerry Lucas
he was promoting a way to remember names of people he met. Well I am here to
tell you it works, he simply would pick out some unique feature about that
person, it could be the voice, the person’s height or some unique feature, he
would then make a mental tie to the person’s name. This way he would remember
a unique feature and the name would follow. The same principle works with
trade show booth, remember the design and theme and then you will remember
the corporate name. That same theme should not only be reflected in the exhibit booth design but it should also be carried through onto your literature and give-away. That’s your “corporate branding”  for more

information http://www.eldsusa.com

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25. July 2008 by dexter.

Exhibiting at trade shows in these bad economic times is a major issue for the trade show industry. Many exhibitors are deciding not to attend various trade shows and are cutting back on the size of their booth.   Some seasoned exhibitors are now visiting the shows only as show attendees and not as trade show exhibitors. Why? The costs that accompany these events.  Other innovative exhibitors rent suites and invite their clients to their suites to demo new products etc.  In attempting  to  address these issues I would say that despite innovative measures to be a part of the tradeshow marketing process in these economic times, pulling out of the show is not the answer 

Here are some of the draw backs in not attending the shows that an exhibitor  normally attends:  a) exhibitor’s seniority is lost – putting you at a disadvantage in placement for the next show when you decide to re-enter that particular show  b) prime locations that were usually allotted to you as an exhibitor is now given to other regular exhibitors, thus only allowing some off-the-beat traffic location to you.  Another ill-advised alternative is to reduce your usual booth and show site.  An example, say, your company usually attend a show using a 20×20 or 20×30 and you now are using a 10×10. Reason? Your company’s image has a tendency to be diminished giving the impression to both clients  and competitors that your business is not doing well. Would you depend on this company be around in the future?

Few pointers: The best thing to do in this case is keep the same size booth and location. Try and reduce your labor cost, your shipping cost and your drayage cost. These are all changes that the consumer as well as competitor will never see nor notice.  The next sensible thing to do is to rent a custom trade show booth as opposed to purchasing one.  Custom means exactly that – your company is still doing well and still has the ability to exhibit your products in a custom booth. There will be no signage on your booth saying “rented”. You are still giving the impression that your company is not affected by the dim economy.  Renting a custom booth will cost you a lot less than purchasing one.  Advantages?  Exhibitor has no head-ache for transportation and refurbishment costs. Clients can now enjoy a full turnkey operation, while knowing  exactly what their cost will be in the end. This way there are no surprises, nothing over the budget unless added by the client.   Custom design rental booths are generally life savers for those exhibitors trying to keep abreast with this economy and still remain regular tradeshow exhibitors under a strict budgetary constraints.

Lately we have seen many larger exhibit companies trashing their custom exhibit booth and resorting to the use of a full turnkey rental trade show booth.  Multi rentals are also an advantage for most clients who attend numerous  show.  Different shows may require different  configurations as well as different sizes and locations. In the past client would have have to invest in two or three different booth, not so anymore, rental booth can be supplied in most major cities  with the same look and all are generated from one source   

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