Tradeshow Marketing Expert & Dynamic Public Speaker/Trainer
Nothing like catching a few rays in the Central Oregon mountains and grabbing a few ski runs, too! I had a chance to do that this past weekend and had my Flip video camera…and thought I’d share a few thoughts with you:
Business Name: Mountain Rose Herbs
Person responding to questionnaire: Irene Wolansky
Title: Marketing Director
Years in business: 22
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Approx number of employees: 65
Website Address: www.mountainroseherbs.com
Main target market: Our target market is fairly large, and includes almost everyone! We sell retail to the public as well as wholesale to stores, co-ops, manufacturers, resellers, etc.
Most successful marketing strategy/tactic or method: We don’t believe that there has been a single successful marketing strategy for us. Rather, we believe that it is a culmination of everything that we do which has led to our marketing success. This includes print and web advertising, sponsorships of festivals and conferences, postcard and catalog mailings, e-newsletters, and our presence at tradeshows with our beautiful booth made by Interpretive Exhibits.
What is the best thing you get out of tradeshow marketing? We enjoy the opportunity to meet our customers and suppliers in person, make new contacts, and show people who we truly are. For us, tradeshows are not about making sales, they are about strengthening new and existing relationships.
Biggest complaint? Our only complaints are sore feet at the end of the day and greedy attendees who grab everything in sight including our display materials!
Favorite Quote: Attendees often tell us that our booth is one of their favorite at conferences, but our favorite is when they tell us that they “find our booth an oasis in the middle of a hectic show.” People comment that it feels so relaxing and inviting at our booth that they don’t want to leave! We let them stay as long as they would like.
Biggest Lesson Learned: Find a reliable company that you trust to set up your booth. Interpretive Exhibits assisted us with this, and we are forever grateful to them. We will never hire show labor again!
Most extreme thing you ever did? Business or personal?
The most extreme thing that Mountain Rose Herbs has done was eradicating conventional products entirely from our product line. We offer over 3,000 products, so this was no small task!
On a personal level I can’t think of a single most extreme thing that I have done, but it might be backpacking alone throughout Southeast Asia. I spent 6 months in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia, and it was one of the most rewarding and amazing things that I have ever done.
All-time favorite movie? I don’t watch too many movies, but “Office Space” is definitely one of my all-time favorites.
What does it take to choose a professional tradeshow presenter?
We talked with just such a person in Emilie Barta, a New York-based independent tradeshow presenter. Some of the topics we covered included: how can you find a good presenter? What kinds of questions should you ask? What results should you expect?
And from the exhibitor’s perspective, why should you even consider bringing in a ‘hired gun’ to demo your products or services?
It all made for a lively and informative interview for our latest installment of the Tradeshow Marketing Podcast from Interpretive Exhibits in Salem.
You can find Emilie Barta online here.
Jeffrey D. Brown has re-launched Tradeshow Blues, a website that he’s maintained for years mostly as a labor of love. Tradeshow industry folks have congregated around features such as “Spill the Beans” and the Tradeshow Wall.
Jeffrey and I have had a number of conversations over the years and I find him to be a passionate advocate for tradeshow marketing. Definitely picked up some useful tips from him and the site, too.
Jeffrey’s on Twitter, so you might give him a follow at http://twitter.com/tradeshowblues.
One thing which fascinates me is the Tradeshow Wall, an interesting take on the ‘wall’ concept which seemed to be the rave for a short time back in, what, 2005? But it’s a wall with a twist. Take a look and see what you think!
Jeffrey also hosts a guitar wall, a wall for Orange County and the Housing Wall – just launched to help people find homes.
The Guitar Wall in particular is a terrific resource for anyone interested in guitars (me!). Lots of links to guitar manufacturers and suppliers.
Okay, rock on!
As an exhibitor, how can you get the attention of the media at a tradeshow? After all, media coverage is free and has a lot more credibility than a purchased ad. So it makes sense to have a strategy in place to court the media’s interest and – hopefully – good coverage.
What gets the media’s attention? How do you approach the media? What kinds of things do you need in place on your website that will help the media see you in a media-savvy light so they’re more inclined to cover you?
We put those questions to Public Relations Director Amber Lindsey with Koopman Ostbo, Inc. in Portland. KO is a Marketing Communications company, focusing on brand development, packaging, public relations, consumer testing and yes, media relations.
It turned out to be nothing short of a ‘tradeshow media relations’ primer! Listen here:
First off, what are your objectives for attending a tradeshow if you want maximum results? To network? To spy on the competition? To learn about new products for your store?
Determine your top two or three objectives, and then make an Action Plan. If it entails ‘learning’ you’ll want to figure out which workshops meet your goals. If it’s to learn about competition, go over a list of exhibitors and map a route through the show floor.
If you’re researching a specific company, study their website and search for press releases or news stories relating to them.
Tradeshows and conventions are the ultimate for networking. Clients, prospects, industry experts, consultants and company management will all be there. Looking for a job? A tradeshow is a terrific place to make connections. You get to see the company put on its best and meet some of the shakers and movers.
Attending a tradeshow is a bit like a hunting expedition. You never know what you’ll get in your sights.
Now that we’ve already had several dozen downloads of the free e-book “101 Rules of Tradeshow Marketing” from all our Tweets it might be time to do an actual, official post announcing the e-book. So here it is.
Given that tradeshow marketing is (or can be) a very expensive marketing proposition, and that almost 80% of tradeshow leads go down the drain, I thought it was time to compile a fun crib sheet or ‘cheat sheet’ of Rules of Marketing. Yeah, there are probably more than 101 rules, but it’s such a nice number.
To download the book click here or click on the image of the book.
And…yes! We’d love to have your comments and feedback! Feel free to tell us what you think.
As an exhibitor, no doubt the question of ‘greening’ your exhibit has come up. What’s the carbon footprint of shipping? What kind of materials can you use that are sustainable and recyclable? Are there ways to cut down the impact on the environment as you create, design and fabricate a new exhibit?
Great questions – and you should ask them of your next exhibit builder, whoever it is.
As those questions roll around, I got an email today from Tom Bowman of the Bowman Design Group. He had forwarded a story about the conversation in climate change and how many scientists are not talking the same language so how can the average Joe or Jane expect to follow it?
As I was browsing the website of Tom’s new venture Bowman Global Change, I was impressed by a couple of things. First, that Tom is getting into some very high-level and interesting stuff. Second, he had a link to a podcast that I did with him just over a year ago.
I listened to the interview, and think it’s even more pertinent today than when we recorded it. So I’m reposting it on our blog. Give a listen and learn how you – as someone involved in tradeshow marketing – can be mindful of your impact on our earth.
Climate Wire is the link for the news story that Tom sent on the challenges scientists face in communicating the issues to each other and to the layman. While you’ll need at subscription or at least a 30-day trial to access the actual story, it is a good source to review for news on climate change.
Warwick Merry joins us from Melbourne, Australia – land of Down Under. Warwick has done his fair share of great marketing and shares ideas and tips on how to improve the ROI at your next tradeshow.
When you arrive at the tradeshow with a well-trained staff, you communicate a subtle message to visitors and fellow exhibitors: We Came Prepared. We’re Ready for You. Bring It On.
It’s all part of your bottom line: a well-trained staff can increase both the quality and quantity of your take-home leads. Team meetings every day can keep your staff focused and on task. A well-trained staff will invite visitors in by smiling and asking pertinent qualifying questions. They’ll determine who’s a quality prospect and who’s not, and effectively move the prospects into the sales funnel and the non-prospects out of the booth.
By taking the time to train your staff in engaging and qualifying your visitors, you’re investing in a valuable resource. And that investment will reap dividends in the real world – your tradeshow marketing ROI.
