Tag: brand positioning
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| Bruce Law |
For years, tradeshows have provided a venue for sales and marketing teams to put themselves directly in front of customers with the rest of their industry. Ultimately the goal for both the marketing and sales team is to interact with potential customers and sell their company’s products. However, the definition of a successful tradeshow varies for each role.
The sales team strives to attend a tradeshow and come home with a few highly qualified leads that will help them hit their sales targets within a month or two following the show. To that end, they will instinctively sort through the people to step onto the booth carpet quickly to grab the low-hanging fruit. Closing these sales equates with success at the show for the sales team.
The marketing team on the other hand views all tradeshow leads as valuable, and the more the better. Marketing success at a tradeshow means that everyone attending the show not only knew your company was exhibiting but knew it was the hottest thing going. Marketing loves to bring leads home from half the attendees. They will meticulously mine all of the leads they collect, viewing each lead as a chance to nurture a conversation and sell future prospects for months or even years to come.
Time is the differentiator. Sales teams need to hit numbers next month by closing deals with those who are ready to buy now, while marketing wants to build relationships with prospects long term and extract qualified leads for the sales team to close when those leads are finally ready to buy.
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| Bruce Law |
We’ve all been to tradeshows. And we’ve all seen those companies that show up ready to play hard. As a company, once you are in a tradeshow, you can hedge your bets on your booth, throw in a few other chips and compete for a while, or you can go all in.
There are hundreds of details that go into tradeshow planning and many of those details focus solely on the booth. Simply put, the booth is only the ante. Don’t get me wrong. It’s important to have a well-designed and functional booth that clearly communicates your message and attracts attendees. But there are loads of other aspects that are crucial to a resounding tradeshow success.
A tradeshow is your moment to shine while your entire industry is there in front you in person and up close. You can start letting every attendee know about your company before you show up at the show with pre-show mailers announcing promotions or show specials. At the show, you need to expand beyond the boundaries of your booth by creating an enormous footprint. Your goal: ensure that every attendee leaves knowing that your company was there exhibiting and that it was one of the best companies ever to exhibit at the tradeshow.
In addition you can find time to expand your strategic partnerships and strengthen existing business relationships. Conduct competitive research. Sponsor VIP receptions or breakout sessions. Take the opportunity to introduce and announce new products and services during the event. Add a healthy dose of PR activity to amplify your message meet with editors at your booth, in the midst of the excitement and energy.
At night, don’t go back and chill at the hotel. Move deliberately from cocktail party to reception, meeting with and speaking to industry opinion leaders. After the show is over, follow up immediately (within 24 hours) with contacts via email blasts and phone calls to key prospects. Don’t let the effort you put in fade just because the show is over.
These are just a few basic suggestions. Be creative and get out there. The options are endless. What are you going to do to make sure everyone knows that your company was there?
