Companies have been using collateral at trade shows for years as a marketing technique.  How effective is this and what is it hurting?  Most collateral that is used at a trade show is thrown out.

Why is this?  Well, trade show attendees are walking by all of the booths and collecting collateral from the different companies exhibiting.  They take all of this information with the best intention to read it over, but because of busy schedules and large workloads, most of this material is simply thrown out.  The only hope is that your collateral stands out among the crowd, which leads to marketing departments spending additional time and money to do so.  Also, all of your extra collateral will most likely be thrown out because it will either cost more to ship it back than it would to reproduce it or the material is no longer relevant.  The amount of paper thrown out is staggering and is obviously not good for the environment.  What does this mean to you?  It means that if you use a lot of collateral at your trade shows you are wasting your marketing dollars and hurting the environment.

I’m not saying don’t use any collateral; however use it in a way that is more strategic and effective.  Here are some tips on effectively using collateral:

1^st Don’t have a large amount of collateral at the show.
Just have a little on hand for very “hot” leads.

2^nd If a lead asks for any marketing material, explain to them that your company has eliminated a lot of trade show collateral because so much was thrown away, and the company wanted to be more eco-friendly.

3^rd Explain to the lead that you will be sending the requested information to them through email and direct mail.  This way they don’t have to carry more stuff and you will follow-up with them to make sure they got the information the wanted and answer any questions.  “Is that ok?”  This qualifies the lead, provides you with contact information, and allows you to set up a follow-up phone call.

4^th Record the person’s information and what they would like to learn more about.  Make sure you verify all of the information.

What does this mean for you?  You are sending specific information to qualified trade show leads instead of just wasting money one useless collateral.

For more helpful trade show marketing advice, contact www.TMGExhibits.com

Recently Exhibitor Magazine put out a Social Media Marketing survey, which surveyed almost 8,000 trade show exhibitors.  This survey was conducted because of the large social media boom in the business world.  In fact, facebook alone grew by 42 million people from January and July of 2009.  With this large growth, the trade show and event world is keeping a close eye on social media marketing and deciding what it means to them.

Although a few companies that have utilized social media in the exhibit and event world, many of them are waiting to see if social media is just a fad or if it will result in a revolutionary change to trade show and event world.  The survey showed that over two-thirds of the respondents have used social media sites as part of their marketing strategies for trade shows and events.  Those who have utilized social media have reported an increase in brand awareness and enriched the relationships with their clients, increased booth traffic and even an increase in sales.  In fact, 58% of respondents of the survey believe that social media has moderate potential for exhibit and event marketing.  90% of the respondents insisted that social media has unlimited potential in the face-to-face marketing events.  Of the different types of social media, the two channels that show the most potential with trade shows and events are
Facebook and Twitter.  Even with exhibit and event professionals admitting that social media could be very beneficial, only 31% of the respondents claimed that they have effectively used social media with exhibit marketing and only 24% of them have used it effectively with event marketing.

What is the biggest hurdle for companies when it comes to using social media with their events and trade show exhibits?  In one word, TIME!  The companies lack the time that is needed to effectively use social media as part of their event and exhibit marketing campaigns.  This is why so many companies are starting to outsource this service to agencies that specialize in how to use social media in the trade show and event world.  This will most likely continue to be the trend until it is determined if social media is here to stay.

Do you think social media is here to stay?  If so, how will it affect the trade show exhibit and event world?

If you want to view the results of the survey visit: www.ExhibitorWebLinks.com.

Recently I was at the Adtech trade show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City with “Idea Launch,” one of our new clients.  While walking the show floor I noticed two very important things that all exhibitors should know!

1^st
There were quite a few people in the isles.  It was easy to notice that attendance was up!  This is a good sign to exhibitors as it shows that companies are starting to spend money and allowing their staff to attend trade shows.  Also, it is a positive sign to the economy because the companies are loosening their money belts to not only attend trade shows, but are looking to start buying again.

2^nd
When walking the isles checking out the different booths not only to see what the companies did, but also what their trade show strategies entailed.  While doing this I ran into quite a few exhibit booth models.
Companies’ will uses these trade show booth models to attract attendees to their booth, with hope that an increase of booth traffic leads to more leads and in turn more business.  This is also a good sign in the exhibit world as it shows that companies are also spending additional marketing dollars on these trade show booth models.

Has anyone else started to see this at any other trade shows?

CEIR has reported in the past that 79% of all trade show leads are never followed up.  That’s not missing pay dirt.  That’s throwing it away.  One measurement of trade show success is cost / lead.  Industry statistics say that number should be around $200.  What would you say to someone taking two crisp $100 bills and throwing them in the trash?  Oh yeah, and repeat that for every lead!  If your staff knew the value of a lead, do you think they would throw it away or treat it with kid gloves?

Before you can follow up, maybe you need to increase qualified leads at your custom trade show exhibit booths.  Are you looking for cost conscious trade show training?  Joyce McKee of Let’s Talk Trade Shows offers a Member’s Site.  She is on a mission to know, “Are leads from 2009 trade shows being followed up?”

“Is the trend for no follow-up after a trade show being REVERSED due to our current economic conditions?”

Share with us that you have a lead follow up strategy or not?  Are you implementing that strategy?  If you need help with your process, we know how to cut your trade show budget and sacrifice nothing.  Joyce is going to compile and share the results with us all.

Do you struggle with what to have for your promotional giveaways?  Having custom playing cards for your custom exhibits is a great idea.  Jason Arakelian of The 1 Eyed Jack blogged about his Hero Decks being a good promotional giveaway at trade shows.  In his blog about using custom playing cards as part of your thank you strategy, he said,

“I know people that have the same deck of cards in their kitchen drawer for the last 30 yrs.  That being said when I give someone a deck of cards as a thank you, I know they keep it, use it and remember me whenever they use it. Playing Cards bring people and families together.”

Your message, constantly in front of people, over a long period of time – isn’t that the perfect strategy for promotional giveaways?  If you want some other trade show strategies for custom playing cards, read Novelty playing cards are trade show magic.  There’s even a Go Green idea!

Tell us how you have used custom playing cards for your custom exhibits.

I think I’m psychic!  Are you a skeptic?  TSEA confirms trade show budget cuts for 2009 by 17%.  Having looked into my crystal ball a week ago, I posted Creative imaginations avoid trade show industry casualties, and showed how you can cut your trade show budget and sacrifice NOTHING!  Based on the survey numbers, that sacrifice is $78,100.  What are you going to have to cut?  Would you rather sacrifice nothing?

The survey also states that 51% do not provide trade show training for their staff.

Those who don’t train say they face budget issues, timing issues as well as even push back from their management.

More psychic proof is found in post Cost conscious trade show training.  It sure is odd that

Sales from leads (67%) and total number of leads (62%) were the most frequently cited ways exhibitors measured their success at a show.

Wouldn’t you do better if you trained your staff?

According to the survey, trade shows will get 1/3 of 2009 marketing budgets.  Why?  Because trade shows are still very important for generating leads and closing sales.  We are here to help you get the most out of your budget; to tighten up your trade show strategy; and to provide functionally designed custom exhibits for your trade show success.

My psychic powers are tingling.  I think you’ll be calling.