Tricks of the Tradeshow
While trade shows can be important venues for lead generation, product launches, and one-on-one interaction with prospects, the ROI is not always obvious unless you thoroughly prepare to make the most of your investment.
I recently led a CMA Power Series seminar, Tricks of the Tradeshow, exploring effective tradeshow planning, execution and follow up to maximize show results while minimizing unnecessary costs.
Choosing the right tradeshow. Do not always assume the biggest or best attended show is the one to participate in. Rather, choose the tradeshow best aligned with your product or service and which will draw the greatest number of targeted prospects.
Why are you attending? Have a clear show attendance goal and develop tactics supporting your objectives. There are many possible reasons why a company may choose to participate in a tradeshow including:
• Generating sales and leads from attendees
• Launching a new product or announcing an industry innovation
• Seeking strategic alliances with other vendors
• Performing competitive intelligence
Tradeshow budget tips. Tradeshows can require a significant investment, but savvy businesses leverage a number of strategies to minimize costs:
• Take advantage of discounted dates for ordering booth materials. For some shows this is almost one-half the cost compared to ordering on the “regular” deadline.
• Rent items for your booth, such as furniture, instead of purchasing them. Furniture can be heavy, increasing the overall cost of shipping.
• Ship to the show warehouse instead of direct to the show site, which adds special and absolutely unnecessary material and handling costs from the show services company.
Train your exhibit staff. Your staff needs to be briefed on all new programs and initiatives as well as being knowledgeable about the company and its products/services. Booth staff are expected to be experts and prepping employees in advance ensures they will meet that expectation.
Turn leads into sales. Offer to send marketing materials to an interested prospect’s office to lighten his/her load of materials carried around at the show or the airport. As a practical matter, confirming their receipt once the prospect is back in the office gives you a legitimate reason to follow up, and follow up and follow up. Otherwise, all the work at the show is a wash. One call doesn’t cut it. Be persistent!
Stay tuned for information about CMA’s next Power Series topic!
Erin Higgins
Manager, Client Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
JSPRAA Honors CMA with Nine Awards
The Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA), the area’s largest communications association, recently held their 35th annual JASPER Awards ceremony on October 9, 2009.
The awards program has a long-standing reputation of awarding the most impressive communications campaigns in New Jersey. This year, nine JASPER wins brought CMA’s overall total award wins to 187! CMA received gold and silver awards in the following categories:
Gold:
• Newsletter
• Public relations campaign
• Crisis communications
Silver:
• Product launch
• Tradeshow graphics display
• Magazine ad campaign
• Branding campaign
• Sales kit
• Holiday card
Over 400 entries were submitted in 105 categories. CMA is very proud to be recognized by this prestigious organization.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Are You Afraid to Follow-up?
No matter what line of business you are in, sticking to a well thought-out marketing strategy can give you a competitive advantage, especially as we close out one of the toughest years on record. The fact is no direct mail, ad or press release can stand on its own—building relationships by following up consistently is the key to successfully drumming up business, no matter what the economic climate is like.
It can seem much easier to simply send one follow-up e-mail or call once rather than several times to really get a prospective client’s attention. There are a whole handful of reasons why we don’t follow up as rigorously as we should, even though technology has made it tremendously easier to communicate more frequently than ever before.
It’s important now more than ever to set aside that fear of rejection and stop taking it so personally. When a prospect turns down your product or service, they are doing exactly that—turning down your product/service, not you.
Following up more than once also makes you stand out to the prospect simply because most people do not. Most people don’t like cold calling and don’t do it. But consider this. A call following two direct mail pieces is not a cold call at all; it’s a warm offer to continue the conversation.
I’ve written about this concept before but it’s worth repeating—opportunity favors those who are knocking at the door consistently. Circumstances change almost every second of every day. That prospect that had no need for your product or services last week may now be looking for exactly what you have to offer.
Unsure where to start? Let CMA know if we can help you develop the key messages and strategies needed before you even pick up the phone.
Jeffrey Barnhart
CMA President & CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com
It can seem much easier to simply send one follow-up e-mail or call once rather than several times to really get a prospective client’s attention. There are a whole handful of reasons why we don’t follow up as rigorously as we should, even though technology has made it tremendously easier to communicate more frequently than ever before.
It’s important now more than ever to set aside that fear of rejection and stop taking it so personally. When a prospect turns down your product or service, they are doing exactly that—turning down your product/service, not you.
Following up more than once also makes you stand out to the prospect simply because most people do not. Most people don’t like cold calling and don’t do it. But consider this. A call following two direct mail pieces is not a cold call at all; it’s a warm offer to continue the conversation.
I’ve written about this concept before but it’s worth repeating—opportunity favors those who are knocking at the door consistently. Circumstances change almost every second of every day. That prospect that had no need for your product or services last week may now be looking for exactly what you have to offer.
Unsure where to start? Let CMA know if we can help you develop the key messages and strategies needed before you even pick up the phone.
Jeffrey Barnhart
CMA President & CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A World Without Marketing
It’s October and 2010 projections for some businesses may continue to be even scarier than even the goriest Halloween horror flick. But what really scares me as a veteran of the marketing industry is how some business owners may be taking their eye off the ball and losing focus of what really generates sales—creative marketing programs.
Imagine for a minute a world without the added spice marketing brings the marketplace. Without the creativity of advertising or PR stunts, the world would be a boring place. Your trip to the supermarket would be vastly different, for one—no variety, no competition and probably no special sales or incentives.
Just think, had you never been introduced to the wide variety of advertising characters on TV—whether it may be Juan Valdes, Tony the Tiger or the Geico Cavemen—you might have never developed brand loyalty or been exposed to quality products and services. Whether you’re aware or not, the creative minds in the marketing profession inspire your decisions with their chuckle-worthy anecdotes that people often can’t wait to tell others about. “Hey have you seen the commercial with the…” would no doubt be eliminated from the usual cocktail party conversation, and Super Bowls would simply be focused just on the football game instead of the great sponsorship spectacle it is become in recent years.
The business-to-business market would be even scarier, as it’s often the creativity of a marketing program that draws new business partners and reminds the most loyal supporters why they got involved with your company in the first place.
Times are still tough, but those who continue to market to their customers in clever ways, challenging them to consider something new or restore their faith in their own personal brand loyalty, are the companies that will remain ahead of the game once the recession fully lifts.
Jeffrey Barnhart
CMA President & CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com
Imagine for a minute a world without the added spice marketing brings the marketplace. Without the creativity of advertising or PR stunts, the world would be a boring place. Your trip to the supermarket would be vastly different, for one—no variety, no competition and probably no special sales or incentives.
Just think, had you never been introduced to the wide variety of advertising characters on TV—whether it may be Juan Valdes, Tony the Tiger or the Geico Cavemen—you might have never developed brand loyalty or been exposed to quality products and services. Whether you’re aware or not, the creative minds in the marketing profession inspire your decisions with their chuckle-worthy anecdotes that people often can’t wait to tell others about. “Hey have you seen the commercial with the…” would no doubt be eliminated from the usual cocktail party conversation, and Super Bowls would simply be focused just on the football game instead of the great sponsorship spectacle it is become in recent years.
The business-to-business market would be even scarier, as it’s often the creativity of a marketing program that draws new business partners and reminds the most loyal supporters why they got involved with your company in the first place.
Times are still tough, but those who continue to market to their customers in clever ways, challenging them to consider something new or restore their faith in their own personal brand loyalty, are the companies that will remain ahead of the game once the recession fully lifts.
Jeffrey Barnhart
CMA President & CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Following Up After the Show: A Crucial Part of the Sales Process
The tradeshow was a success. You’ve made connections, had great conversations and even exchanged contact information with a variety of potential leads. Now you’re back in the office with the goal of turning those prospects into clients. Following up with leads you’ve obtained after a tradeshow is a crucial part of the sales process that is often missed and even overlooked. The conversations you’ve had should not stop once the show is over, as following up is another important step in helping to secure new clients. Consider these tips for following up after a tradeshow:
Timing
Timing is everything. Once you return from a tradeshow, it is important to follow up with any leads you have obtained. The sooner you follow up with prospects, the better chance you and your company have of being fresh in their mind as well as any information you have provided regarding your company’s products or services. If you follow up a few days or even a week later, you run the risk of them forgetting about you and your message, further delaying your progress and the relationships you’ve worked so hard to create.
Use the Appropriate Form of Communication
Whether you follow up via phone, email or mail, make sure you understand the best way the prospect would like to be contacted. Nothing annoys people more than being contacted in a way that does not suit the manner in which they prefer to receive information. This can also result in a loss or deletion of information about your company and its products or services if not filtered through the appropriate channel.
Offer Something New
Everyone enjoys receiving new information, especially if it relates directly to them. When following up, make sure to offer something new, whether it is a new success story, additional product features, etc. This will help give you another topic to discuss with the prospect as well as further engage them in your conversation and your message. Also, make sure the information is of interest to them, this shows you’ve done your homework and are truly thinking about their individual needs.
The above tips will help you continue the conversation with potential tradeshow leads, in an effort to turn them from prospect to client. Conversation never stops, so why should you?
Erin Higgins
Manager, Client Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com
Timing
Timing is everything. Once you return from a tradeshow, it is important to follow up with any leads you have obtained. The sooner you follow up with prospects, the better chance you and your company have of being fresh in their mind as well as any information you have provided regarding your company’s products or services. If you follow up a few days or even a week later, you run the risk of them forgetting about you and your message, further delaying your progress and the relationships you’ve worked so hard to create.
Use the Appropriate Form of Communication
Whether you follow up via phone, email or mail, make sure you understand the best way the prospect would like to be contacted. Nothing annoys people more than being contacted in a way that does not suit the manner in which they prefer to receive information. This can also result in a loss or deletion of information about your company and its products or services if not filtered through the appropriate channel.
Offer Something New
Everyone enjoys receiving new information, especially if it relates directly to them. When following up, make sure to offer something new, whether it is a new success story, additional product features, etc. This will help give you another topic to discuss with the prospect as well as further engage them in your conversation and your message. Also, make sure the information is of interest to them, this shows you’ve done your homework and are truly thinking about their individual needs.
The above tips will help you continue the conversation with potential tradeshow leads, in an effort to turn them from prospect to client. Conversation never stops, so why should you?
Erin Higgins
Manager, Client Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com
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