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Greetings trade show and event marketers,
This installment of Trade Show Tips shares recent research on how exhibitors are noticing and reacting to changes in their attendee audiences. Our lead article delivers a fascinating look at new insights gathered from a national study completed this summer.
We also bring you a couple of short tips from readers who have felt some of the same pressures at work in their own exhibiting programs.
Read on, and enjoy!
Bill Dierberger – Vice President of Sales & Marketing
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| Exhibitors Adapt to Changing Demands |
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A recent survey of corporate exhibitors has shed light on strategies they are using to surmount the challenges posed by more demanding bosses and clients.
Today's corporate marketers are required to do more - more of everything, and usually with the same budget as last year. They now oversee more brands and brand extensions, new product launches, e-mail and online initiatives, public relations campaigns, and marketing partnerships than ever before. They have to move faster to keep up with shorter product cycles, rapidly changing corporate strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and changes in corporate leadership.
Corporate exhibitors are in the middle of these changes and challenges. In fact, they are closer to their clients and prospects than any other marketers. This makes their role even more critical.
230 survey respondents told us in June and July 2006 that today's attendees are better informed, smarter and more focused when they're at shows. Today's attendees also tend to be higher-ranking in their organizations with more purchase authority. As a result, they have raised the stakes at tradeshows.
So, how are exhibitors responding to this more focused, better-prepared, time-driven attendee?
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Developing themes and messages geared to higher-level executives
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Manning their exhibits with more senior-level staff
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Arranging more meetings in advance
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Adding more educational events in booths, and around events
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Becoming more targeted in terms of show selection and messaging
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Developing more interactive exhibits
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Integrating event marketing themes and programs with other media and marketing communications
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Taking advantage of more opportunities to build visibility, such as sponsorships
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Setting more on-site goals for booth and sales staff
Developing more sophisticated lead tracking and management systems
The survey also asked what exhibitors are doing differently to communicate more effectively with attendees. Doing more is a common theme; especially more pre-show marketing and more aggressive post-show follow-up, as the following measures exhibitors have taken demonstrate:
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Sending more pre-show mailings and e-mails, and doing more post-show follow-up with calls and mailings
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Providing more strategic messaging both before and during the show
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Conducting more strident post-show lead follow-up
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Paying more attention to providing a "wow" factor to attract attendees
A considerable number of exhibitors said they are focusing more on tracking ROI. In fact, 73 percent of exhibitors surveyed during TS2 said that they face increasing pressure to prove ROI. Nevertheless, only 46 percent said they actually track it.
Whether the exhibition industry stays healthy will hinge on exhibitors realizing how attendees are changing and understanding that the stakes get higher with each show. Buyers feel they can gain a competitive advantage by attending shows and conferences, but they need to engage with exhibitors that are ready to meet their needs and answer their questions quickly and efficiently.
Source: Michael Hughes – Associate Publisher & Director of Research Services at Tradeshow Week.
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| . . . and a Few Words From Our Readers |
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Make your schedule in the fall before a new year. Be very hard-nosed about which shows worked, and which didn't from the current year. Don't be swayed by a great city; look at what shows attract the decision-makers you're searching for, and exhibit at those. (Often, those decision-makers do show up in the great cities, but not always.)
- Sharon Leach, The MASH Program
Promote your presence at a tradeshow with pre-show promotion like mailers, at-show promotion with items delivered to hotel rooms of attendees or advertising outside the convention center and post-show promotion with follow up letters. Make yourself visible.
- Marilyn Corey, 3M
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The New Booth Staffing Guidebook: The Answer to Your Booth Staffing Questions
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Invest the time to train your staff with the resources in the Booth Staffing Guidebook and you’ll reap the rewards of a greater lead counts, a higher trade show ROI, improved staffer morale, and a better image for your company. Click here to request your complimentary copy.
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Adapt to Industry Changes:
White Papers On Exhibition Trends For
4 Key Vertical Markets
To help exhibitors better understand the market forces and significant trends affecting their trade show program, Skyline commissioned Tradeshow Week to write 4 White Papers that cover 4 key industries:
Manufacturing & Industrial
Medical & Healthcare
Information Technology
Professional & Business Services
These 16-page White Papers provide insight for each industry on the primary challenges facing these exhibitors and the key themes for success in their changing trade show environment.
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Skyline Exhibits
3355 Discovery Rd.
St. Paul, MN 55121
Phone: 800-328-2725
www.skyline.com
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© Copyright 2006 Skyline Exhibits. All rights reserved.
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