Earlier this year I visited a tradeshow in London and found it quite a sad experience. The organisers had obviously struggled to sell the space and had brought in some companies that had paid the money but obviously didn’t really care or understand the tradeshow. Many exhibitors seem to be questioning whether they’ll attend next year but whose responsibility is it to get the audience?
Over the years I’ve heard many exhibitors complain about the cost of exhibiting and how the show organisers are just not delivering the right quality of visitor but are they right in doing so?
I would always dispute that exhibitions are expensive. They can be but it’s all about working out why you want to be there and what you want to get out of it - then matching your expectations to your budget. But that’s a whole new blog.
For now I want to look at the role of show organisers to bring in the visitors. Yes, show organisers have a marketing budget. Yes, they have some responsibility to get visitor numbers – they certainly have the incentive but do you really think that once you sign on the dotted line you just need to get the stand and staff there?
Even if a show organiser has done a tremendous job of getting visitors to the exhibition, you as an exhibitor need to make sure that your clients and prospects know where you are within the show and have a reason to visit you.
I would always encourage clients to have a pre-show campaign – it can be a simple banner or link on your website or a signature on your emails. Hey, why not do that anyway and then think of more targeted elements? What are you showing at the exhibition? Is it new and exciting? Why should people come visit you? Create a call to action then add it to your newsletter or make a specific email campaign.
Again it all comes back to why you’re there – if it’s a branding and PR exercise with existing clients and prospects then get your sales people to call their contacts and make appointments to show them the latest and greatest offerings. If you’re exhibiting to meet new prospects then work with your whole team to decide how you’re going to handle passers-by. Who’s good at walking up to strangers and engaging them? Who’s best at evaluating whether the person is a worthwhile lead? How do you deal with time-wasters? If you have a strategy and use it effectively then you will make the most of your investment and really get the quality leads you need.
Lastly, why not work with the organisers on joint marketing campaigns? Like you they’re interested in making the most of their investment and want to engage with new visitors. What can you do together to target new and existing audiences? Can you encourage them to use social media to extend their reach? If they’re already using Twitter, what stories can you feed them? Can you work together to come up with new ways to engage the visitors on the show floor?
So take a step back and look at the exhibition objectively – work out what you want to get out of the event and then get your sales and marketing teams working on how to pull those visitors in.
Nutmeg's Blog
Thoughts and discussions on events and managing a business.
Why are Exhibition Visitor Numbers Down?
Elizabeth Rowden - Thursday, August 12, 2010
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