The deadline-driven world of trade shows requires aN HYPER EFFICIENT planning TIMELINE
Important marketing planning gets overshadowed by urgent logistics planning.
Because of the flood of deadlines, often times you get more distracted by the “what to do” rather than the “why to do” it.
The essentials to plan for your trade show starts with your goals for the show, followed by your marketing messages for your graphics and staffers, and creating a promotional campaign that will get more of the right people to your booth.
Here are some ideas for your plan, either for a single show or for your entire program. Marketing and logistics steps are mixed together, as you need to do both to truly succeed.
Because of the flood of deadlines, often times you get more distracted by the “what to do” rather than the “why to do” it.
The essentials to plan for your trade show starts with your goals for the show, followed by your marketing messages for your graphics and staffers, and creating a promotional campaign that will get more of the right people to your booth.
Here are some ideas for your plan, either for a single show or for your entire program. Marketing and logistics steps are mixed together, as you need to do both to truly succeed.
6 months out:
1. Review Past Objectives: Evaluate previous year’s shows to see how many leads converted to sales, and your marketing return on investment. If you set different objectives, measure return on those objectives.
2. Set New Objectives: Set your top 2 or 3 objectives for your next year’s trade show program.
2. Set New Objectives: Set your top 2 or 3 objectives for your next year’s trade show program.
5 months out:
1. Set Budget: Adjust your budget based on what worked last year, your current financial state, objectives, and opportunities.
2. Select Shows and Booth Spaces: Evaluate your show schedule to determine which shows have the best match with your target market for the best value, and pick the spaces you will take in those shows (if you have not already reserved space)
3. Evaluate Exhibit: Review your current tradeshow display. If it still will help you achieve your new marketing objectives, keep it. If not, start researching new exhibit builders.
For a larger exhibit, start 6 or more months out.
For a small display or banner stands, start 3 months before the show.
Ask these Questions to Begin your Evaluation
1. What are the company's capabilities and specialties
2. How long have they been in business
3. How many clients do they serve
4. Where are they located
5. Typical turnaround for producing and shipping a display
6. Number of people on staff
7. Services they may contract to others
8. Whether they offer guarantees
9. A list of past clients for reference checking
4 months out:
1. Pick Booth Staffers: Review last year’s qualified lead counts by booth staffer to identify the staffers you want at your upcoming shows. Contact their managers to ask if they can attend. Ask your best booth staffers who else they would recommend.
2. Research Technology: Consider how you can integrate technology into your exhibit to help get more attention, tell your story, and facilitate better conversations between attendees and booth staffers.
3. Invite Exhibit Builders: If building a new trade show booth, set appointments to meet with 3 exhibit builders, and give them access to your key marketing decision-makers.
4. Start Building a Website Presence for your Event:
Whether you choose to have an event microsite, to add a mention of it on your homepage, or a dedicated event page on your site, a web presence should be part of your arsenal. If people are thinking about attending or planning to attend an event but want more information, their instinctive step is to… Google it!
Yes, you need to make sure they find the information you want them to know – location of the show, your booth number, your giveaway offer, new products you may be launching. This should all be easily accessible. You should add these links to all your social media postings about the event to help drive traffic to the page and improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking.
5. Start Building Content to Promote in Social Media — This media has proved to be very successful in promoting events before, during and after the fact. This promotion can increase attendance and engagement at the event. It can be used to poll attendees about their preferences before the event and gather real-time information during and after (this can be dangerous if things did not go as well as you hoped for).
Depending on your type of event, you can have your clients share social posts and even ask them to rate your company using social platforms. With all of this comes great data you can gather to further fine-tune your marketing tactics. In fact, events give marketers a great reason to communicate with clients on social media and further the client relationship from a digital connection to a personal face-to-face engagement.
6. Start sending out email invitations — Invite your clients and prospects to visit you at your next trade show via email. Just make sure you give them an incentive to do so, whether it be an activity, giveaway or a new product demo. It is also nice to have a feature that enables them to add the event to their calendar and to share the invitation with others.
2. Research Technology: Consider how you can integrate technology into your exhibit to help get more attention, tell your story, and facilitate better conversations between attendees and booth staffers.
3. Invite Exhibit Builders: If building a new trade show booth, set appointments to meet with 3 exhibit builders, and give them access to your key marketing decision-makers.
4. Start Building a Website Presence for your Event:
Whether you choose to have an event microsite, to add a mention of it on your homepage, or a dedicated event page on your site, a web presence should be part of your arsenal. If people are thinking about attending or planning to attend an event but want more information, their instinctive step is to… Google it!
Yes, you need to make sure they find the information you want them to know – location of the show, your booth number, your giveaway offer, new products you may be launching. This should all be easily accessible. You should add these links to all your social media postings about the event to help drive traffic to the page and improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking.
5. Start Building Content to Promote in Social Media — This media has proved to be very successful in promoting events before, during and after the fact. This promotion can increase attendance and engagement at the event. It can be used to poll attendees about their preferences before the event and gather real-time information during and after (this can be dangerous if things did not go as well as you hoped for).
Depending on your type of event, you can have your clients share social posts and even ask them to rate your company using social platforms. With all of this comes great data you can gather to further fine-tune your marketing tactics. In fact, events give marketers a great reason to communicate with clients on social media and further the client relationship from a digital connection to a personal face-to-face engagement.
6. Start sending out email invitations — Invite your clients and prospects to visit you at your next trade show via email. Just make sure you give them an incentive to do so, whether it be an activity, giveaway or a new product demo. It is also nice to have a feature that enables them to add the event to their calendar and to share the invitation with others.
“There is immense power in an idea, because it unites people. It motivates them toward change. But the real power lies in their unity, in coming together – if enough can be rallied to a cause, no matter how ridiculous, it will be seen and heard.”
Imagine expanding your cause into a viable brand marketing plan for your business? Start with e-mail invitation. |
3 months out:
1. Review the “Show Book” -- The book or webpage from the show with all the forms for ordering services. Find the forms for services you need, and create a master list of all the deadlines to order and still get the discount rates. Start earlier if the show provides it earlier.
2. Create Promotions — Brainstorm ideas for pre-show and at-show promotions that will help bring in a greater number of qualified leads into your booth, plus help your booth staffers to engage attendees.
3. Start Blogging — In your blog, start posting about your event and the things you will be doing that may interest your clients and readers. This is a great opportunity to give your clients a sneak preview of the products, demos, and giveaways they can expect to see if they visit you at the show.
4. Start Producing Video Content – While production of videos used to be left to the experts, due in part to the cost of producing them and distributing them, now anyone can create and share a video. You can create videos with an iPhone and share them on YouTube to promote your event. Stream video of your demos on Periscope or share your videos on Facebook.
5. Given any Thoughts to Interactive & Trackable Digital Signage? – Creating digital signage is getting easier as there are apps and vendors to help you create content that can be used at your event to showcase your products and services. Also, these can be set up so you can integrate brochure requests, email and interactive capabilities. Some will even have a feature that can track what items you, or your prospects, look at and for how long. This can be a particularly useful feature if you are launching a new product or trying to gauge interest amongst the existing line you are showcasing.
2 months out:
1. Choose Staffers — Finalize your booth staff choices. If you are doing a major product launch, you will need the help of temporary staffers.
2. Arrange Travel — Book hotels and flights for booth staffers before rates go up. Here are some new travel apps that will help you keep organized.
3. Order Services — Order any show services you need according to your list from the show book.
4. Choose Your Exhibit Builder — Award the new build, and then continue to quickly and thoughtfully respond to their questions and requests for graphics art to ensure timely completion of your new exhibit.
5. Order Promotions — Select and order any promotional items you will be mailing pre-show. Some can take only a few days, some can take over a month, depending where they are made and imprinted.
6. Order Uniforms for your staffers — If you are providing shirts, pants, and more for your booth staffers to wear, order them now.
1 month out:
1. Optimize Your Customer Relationship Management System – This way you will be better equipped to follow up on those contacts and to estimate the revenue generated as a result of your show presence or event.
2. Check to See if your Electronic Brochures Needs to be Updated – Clients now use electronic brochures that can be viewed on a tablet or digital monitor during the show and emailed to them immediately – either during the conversation or right after.
Some software will even allow you to mark up the brochure via a touch screen before emailing the brochure to a client. This provides the client the information they want in an easily accessible, savable and searchable format. You can also keep track of the brochures you distributed at the show in your CRM, which will help your sales reps by letting them know what the client inquired about.
3. Send Promos – Send the first wave of your pre-show promotion campaign.
4. Train staffers, Part 1: Set up first booth staffing meeting, to train them on your main client profiles and your products.
5. Order More Services: Order any final show services you need from the show book.
6. Order At-Show Promos: Select and order any promotional items you will be giving away at the show, and have them shipped to the show (with a sample overnighted to you).
7. Ship Exhibit: Ship your new exhibit to advanced warehouse, getting it out the door soon enough to save on shipping. Take extra care in shipping out your AV equipments and your show specific technology
2 WEEKS out:
1. Train Staffers, Part 2: Hold your second booth staffing meeting, to review the booth staffing process and info about your new exhibit, your promotions, technology in the booth, the convention city, and the show hall.
2. Send More Promos: Send the second wave of your pre-show promotion campaign (if by snail mail, mail first class rather than by standard/bulk rate, or they may arrive after the show!)
3. Ship Staffer Supplies: Ship a tub with all the supplies you’ll need in your booth for staffers, such as pens, clipboards, staplers, staples, water bottles, snacks, mints and wipes.
2. Send More Promos: Send the second wave of your pre-show promotion campaign (if by snail mail, mail first class rather than by standard/bulk rate, or they may arrive after the show!)
3. Ship Staffer Supplies: Ship a tub with all the supplies you’ll need in your booth for staffers, such as pens, clipboards, staplers, staples, water bottles, snacks, mints and wipes.
1 WEEK out:
1. Prepare Lead Fulfillment: Create and gather your post-show lead fulfillment packets, and assign the team that will process the leads
2. Verify Exhibit Arrival: Ensure your exhibit has arrived at the show.
3. Collect Documents and Backup: Prepare and pack a master book or data file with all your at-show contacts including your booth staffers, exhibit house, and local show city vendors such as I&D to carry with you to the show. Include art files for your graphics.
4. Verify Staffers: Check in with all booth staffers that they are still all set to attend the show; get a substitute if needed.
5. Love Your Loved Ones: Be extra nice to your family and friends because you won’t be there soon.
6. Start sending out SMS (Short Message Service) or texting – According to the book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott, some companies use text as a way to make it easy for people to sign up to receive communications from a company.
However, make sure to ensure that people who sign up know what they are doing and give you explicit consent to communicate with them. One recommendation from Constant Contact is to provide a clear, incentivized call to action to promote a keyword, like “text keyword to 12345 to receive X offer and to join our texting list.” CTIA, The Wireless Association, has best practices outlined on their website. As they also state, not to contact the receiver too often or outside of the context that you laid out or they will unsubscribe or, worse yet, not want to do business with you in the future.
That said, a useful text message will probably be appreciated. If you set meetings with your clients at a trade show or provide a time-sensitive premium, a reminder text that they can opt in for will likely be appreciated.
2. Verify Exhibit Arrival: Ensure your exhibit has arrived at the show.
3. Collect Documents and Backup: Prepare and pack a master book or data file with all your at-show contacts including your booth staffers, exhibit house, and local show city vendors such as I&D to carry with you to the show. Include art files for your graphics.
4. Verify Staffers: Check in with all booth staffers that they are still all set to attend the show; get a substitute if needed.
5. Love Your Loved Ones: Be extra nice to your family and friends because you won’t be there soon.
6. Start sending out SMS (Short Message Service) or texting – According to the book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott, some companies use text as a way to make it easy for people to sign up to receive communications from a company.
However, make sure to ensure that people who sign up know what they are doing and give you explicit consent to communicate with them. One recommendation from Constant Contact is to provide a clear, incentivized call to action to promote a keyword, like “text keyword to 12345 to receive X offer and to join our texting list.” CTIA, The Wireless Association, has best practices outlined on their website. As they also state, not to contact the receiver too often or outside of the context that you laid out or they will unsubscribe or, worse yet, not want to do business with you in the future.
That said, a useful text message will probably be appreciated. If you set meetings with your clients at a trade show or provide a time-sensitive premium, a reminder text that they can opt in for will likely be appreciated.
AT The SHOW:
1. Be Your Best: Be brilliant, calm, hard-working, lighthearted, and creative.
2. Make It Happen: Execute your plans for booth staffing, at-show promotions, lead management, and booth logistics.
2. Make It Happen: Execute your plans for booth staffing, at-show promotions, lead management, and booth logistics.
AFTER THE SHOW:
1. Come Home: Give your family and friends souvenirs from the trip, preferably chocolate.
2. Say Thank You: Thank your booth staffers and vendors.
3. Fulfill Your Leads: Get promised packets out and update your CRM.
Note: Many companies don’t differentiate the casual booth visitor from the serious buyer who stops by the booth. If Marketing simply sends all trade show leads to sales for follow-up, they’ll probably make life more difficult for the sales reps. In this case, Marketing has done nothing to validate the true intent of each buyer. By sending an email follow-up to each lead and analyzing the Digital Body Language that follows, Marketing can pare down the list and send only the more qualified leads to Sales.
Once, you have done the above, keep checking on lead follow up with the sales team.
4. Check Costs: Review your actual expenditures against your planned costs to see if you are still on-budget, and the reasons if not on budget.
5. Measure and Analyze: Measure if you met your objectives, and figure out what went right and what can be improved.
6. Report Results: Let management know how well you met your show objectives, what worked, and what could be improved upon.
Give yourself the opportunity to succeed. Take the time to create a solid plan, then work the plan you created, covering both logistics and marketing activities.
2. Say Thank You: Thank your booth staffers and vendors.
3. Fulfill Your Leads: Get promised packets out and update your CRM.
Note: Many companies don’t differentiate the casual booth visitor from the serious buyer who stops by the booth. If Marketing simply sends all trade show leads to sales for follow-up, they’ll probably make life more difficult for the sales reps. In this case, Marketing has done nothing to validate the true intent of each buyer. By sending an email follow-up to each lead and analyzing the Digital Body Language that follows, Marketing can pare down the list and send only the more qualified leads to Sales.
Once, you have done the above, keep checking on lead follow up with the sales team.
4. Check Costs: Review your actual expenditures against your planned costs to see if you are still on-budget, and the reasons if not on budget.
5. Measure and Analyze: Measure if you met your objectives, and figure out what went right and what can be improved.
6. Report Results: Let management know how well you met your show objectives, what worked, and what could be improved upon.
Give yourself the opportunity to succeed. Take the time to create a solid plan, then work the plan you created, covering both logistics and marketing activities.