November 16, 2016

9 Secrets to Tradeshow Success

Secrets to tradeshow success? There’s no secret! It’s all out in the open. Actually, it’s all lurking online somewhere. Just for fun, I plugged the search term “tradeshow success secrets” into the Google to see what I came up with.

Everyone seemed to want to chime in: Huffington Post, Inc., Brandwatch, Forbes, Tradeshow Advisor, USA Today and others.

Success is measured by how much effort you want to put into it. I suppose that’s true of pretty much anything you do. But good effort is important.
Trade leads and information with other exhibitors (that aren’t your competitors). I admit, I’ve only heard this one a time or two, and I suspect it’s rarely done. I wonder if you could actually get anyone to do that with you.
Let people play with things. Yes, adults like to get hands-on experience as much as kids do. Create an experience where visitors can interact with something and they’ll stick to your booth longer than others.
Have a booth host that knows what’s up. A trained staffer is worth their weight in gold. The really connections are person-to-person.
Speak at a show. If you can’t speak at a show, sit on a panel. It’s better than nothing. If you can’t do either of those, create your own event that you speak at and invite everyone in your database.
Steam live video from your booth. With the advent of Facebook Live, it’s easy to pull out your phone and go LIVE! Interview guests, do product demos and more.
Stop people in their steps with creative flooring. Put your logo or some other attractive graphic at foot level. It’s still enough of a new thing that it’ll stand out and get people to stop.
Know what to say to people. It’s great to have a trained staff member, or to have booth staffers who are knowledgeable on the products you offer. But spend time honing a brief 30 second pitch that focuses on the pain people have around things that your products can solve. For instance, if you sell roofing with a lifetime guarantee, ask visitors if they experience leaks, or if they are due for a new roof but are afraid of hiring some fly-by-night firm that won’t back up the roof installation. Let them identify their pain, then tell them that your product can resolve that pain.
Follow up. When you do get leads, don’t sit on them. Pick up the phone and get back to them. Nuff said.

November 8, 2016

Using Virtual Reality in a Tradeshow Booth [Webinar Replay]

I love a good discussion where I come away with more information than I had at the beginning. That’s what happened with the 20-minute webinar discussion I had with Dave Beck of Foundry45, a company that creates content for virtual reality viewing. Virtual reality can be used in a number of ways, and content can be created from many different angles and for many different reasons.

Here’s the webinar:

November 3, 2016

The Five Stages of Tradeshow Management

Stage One: Don’t we have a show coming up in, oh, a few months?

This is the stage where you KNOW you have a show coming up, but you haven’t confirmed dates, haven’t confirmed who’s going, don’t yet know what products or services you’ll be promoting and, well, basically, anything to do with the show. There’s still plenty of time, right?

Stage Two: Have you signed up for the booth space yet?

The dates in the calendar are definitely getting closer. Should we confirm the space? Who’s going to do that? What about travel – should we book that yet?

Stage Three: When are we going to look at the booth to see if it still has what we need?

Just a few weeks left. Maybe time to update the booth. Let’s get someone to set it up and see what shape it’s in. Does it need new graphics? Is anything broken? You know the drill.

Stage Four: Panic!

Frantically shipping the booth, confirming lodging and travel with just a week or two left. Samples have shipped, right? What about the company branded shirts and promotional products? Isn’t Larry handling most of this? The PANIC stage moves from the brief pre-show panic into nearly full panic during the show, and finally subsides when you hit the airport.

Stage Five: It’s over, thank God! We don’t have to deal with it until this time next year!

Want a free digital copy of my “Tradeshow Success” book? Click here.

October 4, 2016

Tradeshow Marketing: To What End?

When it comes to tradeshow marketing, sometimes you have to ask the question: why?

It used to be that I liked to buy the new things without a whole lot of thought. If I could afford it, I’d get it. New camera, bicycle, car, album, phone, appliance, whatever. But these days I tend to think a lot more about it, and end up asking myself why should I buy that thing? To what end? Why should I get it? What is the reason for acquiring something new? In most cases, I don’t have an answer. It’s why my great little Macbook Pro is 5 and a half years old now, and runs great. It does all I need. It’s why it took me a few years to finally get that new bicycle that I’ve been thinking about. Now that I have it, I ride every day for at least 20 or 30 minutes, rain or shine. I ask “to what end?” and if I don’t have a good enough answer, I just wait.

You can also ask the same question about tradeshow marketing: to what end? What do you get out of it? Even though I’m in the business of selling tradeshow exhibits and helping people with their tradeshow marketing, I will ask what their goals are. They should be well-defined. They should have a reason for spending money on something new, or going to shows over and over.

It may be that going to a show opens new markets, or helps you connect with old clients on a personal level, leading to more sales, or to show off new products and new services. It could be anything that makes sense and will help grow your business. But since tradeshow marketing is an expensive proposition when you add it all up, make sure you answer the question:

To what end?

June 14, 2016

14 Proven Steps to Tradeshow Success [Webinar Replay]

Last fall I put out the book “Tradeshow Success: 14 Proven Steps to Take Your Tradeshow Marketing to the Next Level.” I’ve done several promotions around it, given away a bunch of copies, and use it as my main calling card.

But I’ve never done a webinar on the book. Until now. Check it out:

You can pick up a digital copy of the book at TradeshowSuccessBook.com. Or get your own copy here.

April 26, 2016

Tradeshow Memes Gone Wild

I hadn’t seen more than a couple of tradeshow memes until I stumbled across a Tumblr by Anders Boulanger, otherwise known as Anders the TradeshowInfotainer, called simply TradeshowMemes. There are some great ones there, but if you poke around the corners of the internet, there are quite a few out there. So let’s have a little fun and go through a few here:

Want to make some on your own? Check out MemeGenerator and see what you can come up with. And be sure to share!

Click Here to Get Your Digital Copy of My New Book

April 19, 2016

27 Rules of Tradeshow Marketing [Webinar Replay]

Here’s a replay of our April webinar, 27 Rules of Tradeshow Marketing:

April 7, 2016

Thoughts of a First-Time Tradeshow Attendee

This is a guest post by Christine Ton of Stratacache.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into my first-ever tradeshow. I imagined it to be like one of those state fairs where you would walk through different tents, or in this case, a bunch of booths. There were people everywhere, and the experience was incredible for a first time attendee. From the flashing signs to the abstract booth shapes and sizes—every stand was so unique and told a different story.

As a first time tradeshow attendee, I decided to make a pros and cons list while I was at GlobalShop 2016 to further breakdown my experience.

Pros:

Great Place to Network-There are so many companies that are at the show and it’s a good time to hand out your business card to the places you are most interested in. Strike up a conversation and see what opportunities lie ahead to strike a deal.
Show Off the Latest and Greatest-Tradeshows are a great place to test the waters on new products and services that your company is getting ready to launch. Get feedback on some of these items and take back some information that could make it even better for the next time. See and hear first-hand on how people react to your business.
A More Focused Industry– There are a lot of tradeshows that revolve around specific industries. When you are at a tradeshow with people in your market, you are reaching an audience that is relevant and important to your business.
The Lead Scanners Are Amazing-Collecting leads is extremely valuable, especially if you are at a huge show. It’s an easy way to collect information in order to follow up with your potential clients. Some scanners allow you to take notes too, which is incredibly helpful if you are meeting a lot of people each day.

Cons:

It’s Expensive- From electricity/internet, to the booth rental itself, everything costs money. It’s amazing how quickly it adds up, and I don’t mean by a few hundred dollars, I mean by thousands and thousands of dollars.
Risk Factor– You have no guarantee at getting your money back from a show—which is why it is extremely important to be prepared. You can spend thousands of dollars on your booth, but it means nothing if your audience isn’t engaged or interested in your business products/services.
A Lot of Boxes to Check-Setting up for a tradeshow isn’t easy. You don’t just put down your name and show up to your ready-made booth. It takes work and a lot of hands to get everything in order. Get your company organized before show festivities. You don’t want to end up at your booth to find out you forgot to ship the main attraction back home.

Overall, my first tradeshow experience was wonderful—but it wouldn’t have been without the organization and help from the entire team putting the show together. It’s a jungle out there, so get prepared and be ready to answer any questions that may come your way. The opportunities are endless if you know how to work the room.

STRATACACHE is a provider of intelligent digital signage, digital merchandising, mobile enablement and rich media solutions that help influence customers at the point-of-decision, leading to new sales opportunities, with over 1.3 million software activations globally.

Click Here to Get Your Digital Copy of My New Book

March 15, 2016

Expo West 2016: Notes from the Swirl

Natural Products Expo West 2016 is in the books. I’m sure they’re still counting the numbers, but I have no doubt the final tally of visitors and exhibitors will top last year’s 71,000 (update: final numbers: 77,000+ attendees, over 3,000 exhibits, 600+ of which were new this year). It’s my 13th time I’ve walked the floor and worked with client exhibitors, and have always enjoyed it. It’s a grueling and weary four days, but well worth the time.

Some notes and thoughts…

At first blush, it appears that hundreds of exhibitors really stepped up their game. New booths, refreshed and repurposed older booths and new looks were the common themes that run throughout. Having said that, there were still a lot of exhibitors that seriously looked like they didn’t really know what to expect. I did talk to dozens of exhibits (maybe a hundred or more), and many are looking to upgrade for next year’s go-round, simply to compete with their neighbors down the aisle.

Last year I lost count of the time I saw the word ‘natural’ used in graphics. This year, not so much. I did however, see the term ‘superfoods’ used extensively.

Things are always in flux. I talked to several company reps who are facing personal changes because the company they work for has been or is being acquired by a larger entity. This means that while doors close, others open; new opportunities abound because there are always changes afoot in the industry. And even with 70,000+ visitors and exhibitors, it seems like a small industry (which I’m not even a part of, except peripherally!). Many people change companies but still land at this industry show each year.

Big is in – always. While there are hundreds of smaller exhibitors that are in the aisles with 10×10 or 10×20 in-line booths, the convention center is packed with large island booths, 20×20, 30×30, 40×40, 40×70 and more. I know the space is not cheap, so the investments made in marketing at this show are substantial. I spoke briefly with Bob Moore, the iconic “Bob” of Bob’s Red Mill, and he reiterated what he’s said many times before: exhibiting at Expo West year after year has helped the company expand and grow and reach new markets they couldn’t have otherwise reached. Without a doubt, many companies increase the size of their booth simply to show competitors that they’re in charge.

Exhibit construction: while I saw numerous fabric graphics and hanging pillowcase signs, there were hundreds of exhibits that featured solid wooden panels in their construction. At least six companies brought in vehicles (trailers, cars) as part of their exhibit. I saw one table made from a surfboard, a photobooth, one stuffed bear sitting on a toilet, and one iconic dread-deaded lion drinking coffee. There were loads of large graphics that caught your attention from several aisle away.

Social media: always lots of action on Twitter and Instagram. A handful of exhibitors pushed contests from their booth to tag them or tweet or ‘gram them from the show floor for a chance to win. A few years ago, that was a big deal, now it’s just part of the game – some are involved and some are not. Nobody seems to make a big deal about it, but social media engagement and contests are there, just not ubiquitous.

As always, Natural Products Expo West is a big deal – the biggest show of the year for the industry. Always great to be a part!

Check out the photo gallery!

Click Here to Get Your Digital Copy of My New Book

March 1, 2016

Booth Staff Body Language Primer

Have you ever walked by a tradeshow booth and felt somewhat put off by the vibe you were getting? So much so that you just kept on walking?

That’s not a surprise. The way that people stand, move and hold their body communicates a great deal. We don’t need to hear words to get a very plain message, and often that message is “we’re not really interested in talking to you right now.”

While you can spend a few minutes Googling body language and get a ton of great information, let’s stick to specifics for a booth staffer in a busy tradeshow.

Arms crossed: indicates a defensive position. People will see you as someone who is really not all that interested in talking with you right now.

Sitting on a chair: tired and non-energetic. Therefore it will be seen as not ready to engage.

On the phone: whether you’re talking or just checking out Twitter, Facebook or whatever, this also shows the visitor that they are less important than that stupid cat video (at least that’s what they think if they bother to think).

Holding a clipboard: can often be seen as someone who is on a mission to fill out the form, and will pounce at the first moment. Visitors often avoid this person.

Eating: Ugh.

No eye contact: again showing a visitor that you’re not important. It also shows shyness or desire to avoid interaction.

Direct eye contact and a smile: a positive sign that most visitors will interpret as a willingness to engage.

Hands down at side: another good positive open body position which tells a visitor that you’re ready to have a conversation.

Clenched fist: seen as a negative or aggressive stance.

A visitor can make a snap judgment in just a few seconds while standing 10 or 15 feet away. They will often make a decision on visiting your booth based entirely on the body language that your staff is using. Learn to read body language, and learn to use it positively to communicate an upbeat, welcoming message to your visitors.

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Tradeshow presenting

Stage One: Don’t we have a show coming up in, oh, a few months?

Stage Two: Have you signed up for the booth space yet?

Stage Three: When are we going to look at the booth to see if it still has what we need?

Stage Four: Panic!

Stage Five: It’s over, thank God! We don’t have to deal with it until this time next year!