Nimlok News On Display:
Untapped Potential

Many exhibitors, particularly the "small" exhibitors, do not do a good job of on-site marketing. The value of on-site marketing should never be underestimated and can be extremely important to increasing corporate presence and traffic to the booth. There is untapped potential to increasing your presence on the show floor to attract qualified prospects to your booth.

Many on-site marketing activities can be expensive, particularly for the smaller exhibitor with limited budget and resources. Most of the "BIG 5"* exhibitors at your industry events are in a position to take advantage of these opportunities. It can seem daunting at times, but there are several simple AND effective techniques that small exhibitors can do to increase their corporate presence and traffic at industry events.

1. Press Releases

Take advantage of increased presence of the media at industry events and try to time announcements for these events. Schedule on-site interviews between the press and your senior management.

Alternatively, at major shows, your press releases can be lost in the crowd. Use clever timing; instead of waiting to release your news at a major industry event, release your news 4 to 6 weeks before the show so that your announcement appears in on-site publications.

2. Speaking

Being on the conference program can also raise your corporate profile. Be sure to coach your speaker to both include a slide and mention that your company is on-site at booth #X. You can also promote attendance at your session by announcing it on your Web site, sending reminders to customers and prospects, and putting a sign up at the booth to remind delegates to attend your session. Produce signs simply on the desktop or use a banner stand such as the SignUp Banner from Nimlok to really stand out.

Alternatively, if you can't get on the conference program, do presentations in your booth. Even in a small 10' x 10' booth, you could schedule a series of 3- to 5-minute "stand-up" presentations or longer ones providing seating for a few guests at a time.

3. Sponsorships

While many show sponsorship opportunities are beyond most budgets of the small exhibitor, don't be discouraged. Call the show organizer to see if you can develop an opportunity that fits your budget. Use your imagination and try to match the opportunity to your objectives. Carefully evaluate all opportunities and estimated return on investment. Hanging a corporate banner mentioning 2 to 3 companies can be more effective than hanging your banner with 20 others.

4. Draw Prizes

Drawing prizes can be an effective way to draw people to your booth. The prize is key. I have personally found that "business" prizes (e.g. "Win 3 months free service") do not attract many people. Again, you need to look at your target audience and determine what they would find valuable. One of my clients was promoting digital signage. We offered a Phillips® Digital Photo Display. The prize was appropriate to its service and was a "hot" electronic item. We attracted many visitors to the booth. More importantly, I had trained staff to interact with them as they approached to drop off their cards or complete a ballot. We were able to present and position our new service and qualify leads more effectively.

5. Gifts and Food

Gifts and food are other ways to attract attendees to your booth. You can get customized food—e.g., candy wrappers, M&Ms with a message, etc.—but I have found the most effective treat to offer is chocolate. It must have brand quality and be individually wrapped. If you want to attract international delegates, dark chocolate works best!

There's a knack to offering gifts. I'm a firm believer in offering a few quality gifts to quality visitors and having inexpensive gifts to offer to the masses. I have studied this a lot with my clients and you can actually increase/decrease traffic to your booth by how you offer your gifts. If the show is quiet, put out lots of items and you will attract people. When the show is busy, put out fewer gifts and the traffic will slow down. The more gifts you offer, the more visitors will take. For example, if you put out 20 pens, don't be surprised if visitors grab all 20. If you have 5 to 7 items out, most visitors will take one and will usually ask permission. If you only have 1 to 2 items out, most people, like the last cookie on the plate, will not take them. This technique works with just about any food or gift item.

As with all marketing, an integrated approach works best. Try to incorporate as many ideas as possible. These on-site marketing techniques work very well to draw visitors to your booth. However, it is equally important to train your staff to understand why you are using these on-site marketing techniques and how to use them to engage and qualify visitors.

Footnotes

* - BIG 5 exhibitors are those "top 5" companies typically with the largest booths, most staff and most marketing presence at your industry shows. They typically have large organizations and most of the market share.

Anne Barron, CME, is President of ABComm Ltd., an exhibit and event marketing firm that provides booth staff training and education.

Web site: http://www.ab-comm.com | Call Toll Free: 1-877-403-7056