Trade-show standouts
MATCHING PRODUCT WITH AUDIENCE IS KEY TO ROI
by Matt Krumrie Mike Thimmesch says the average trade show has between 300 and 400 exhibitors, and the average attendee visits only 21 of those booths.
How to ensure your small business is one of the chosen?
With more than 15 years of experience in the trade show industry, Thimmesch has witnessed the best and the worst when it comes to trade shows. He’s director of marketing for Eagan-based Skyline Exhibits, a marketing communications company specializing in the design, manufacture, distribution and service of display and exhibit products.
“There are trade shows for just about everything and anything in the world,” says Thimmesch. “But there are good trade shows and there are bad trade shows. People still want to build that face-to-face relationship, and buy from people they have met in person, or buy products they’ve seen demonstrated right before their very eyes. That’s why trade shows have been and always will be a great market — if done right.”
Thimmesch says any business owner can put up a booth and try to sell a product at a trade show, but not everyone is effective. Getting the most out of a trade show takes time, money, and most importantly, placing the right product in the right show.
“You can spend all the money the budget allows, you can have a great-looking booth, and you can have a great pitch, but if the product doesn’t fit what the audience is looking for, it’s not going to generate sales,” says Thimmesch.
Skyline offers a seminar, Eye Power, which discusses how to measure the results of the trade show. Translation: Did your product sell?
“Trade show managers need to be able to justify the expenditures of attending trade shows,” said Elizabeth DeLuca, international business development manager with Skyline. “If the bottom line is not improving, then is it really worthwhile to attend?”
Succeeding at trade shows takes place long before the actual event, says Juli Wagner, meeting and expo manager of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) in Minneapolis. GEAPS is a professional association that provides education, training and safety development in the grain industry. A national organization, GEAPS annual trade show and conference is held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Wagner, who is already working on the 2004 annual conference, says business owners should always check out sponsorship opportunities prior to the event. They are sometimes more affordable than one would think, and getting the company name or logo on trade show material will add to your credibility.
Wagner also recommends doing a pre-show mailing that mentions your product and that you will be at the upcoming trade show. This will at least get your logo and company out there, and attendees will remember that name and logo when they come to the show.
If possible, include the chance to pick up a free gift (with your company logo and information on it) by bringing the mailer to the booth at the trade show. This will force customers to keep the mailer, encourage them to visit the booth where you can introduce your product, and by bringing the mailer, it will help track results and the effectiveness of those you sent it to.
Mike Porter says another way to add credibility is to try to get a speaking engagement at the trade show. He operates MCPorter Marketing Communications Inc. in Bloomington. Many larger trade shows offer breakout sessions, forums or seminars, and as a guest participant this not only will attract potential customers to your business and product, but it could also be a way to save money.
By trading a speaking engagement for booth space, small-business owners can sometimes eliminate the expensive fees associated with trade shows. Porter, who presented at the fifth annual Minnesota Small Business Expo and Conference in March, said one company at that conference that specialized in audio-visual equipment, allowed event planners to use its equipment in its seminars in exchange for booth space. This worked in two ways — the company saved money and also got its product in front of potential customers. Another way to save money, Porter says, is to consider sharing booth space with a business that ties both products together.
The trade show is the time to shine. As technology has advanced, so has the display equipment companies use to stand out from the crowd. While you can’t judge a book by its cover, a company can be judged by its booth, says Bradley Brown, manager of Fastsigns in Inver Grove Heights.
“Full-color graphics is the only way to get noticed at a trade show,” says Brown. “We go with the less is more theory. Try and present one clear message on your display that can rope a person in.”
Thimmesch says to think of the display as a billboard and that customers are driving down the road at 60 miles per hour — they only have a few seconds to glance at that billboard and to get the message.
“It needs to be bigger, with fewer elements, but with a clear message that attracts interest,” says Thimmesch. “From that point on you let the people in the booth take over.”
Skyline has designed displays for Red Wing Shoes that are set up just like one of its shoe stores. Skyline has also put together a display for Mobil Diesel that looks like you’re pulled up to the pump at the gas station. Etonic Golf once produced an electrostatic graphic to promote its new golf shoe, which resulted in a 48-foot-long mural that looked like it was suspended in mid-air behind the booth.
In other words, hand-writing product information on a piece of paper and taping it to poster board is about as hip as sending a member of your technical support team to sell the product at the show.
Display costs vary
Both Brown and Thimmesch said it’s important to put together a display that fits your company, and of course, budget. Brown said display costs range from $295 to $100,000. Brown said the average Fastsigns10x10 tabletop display costs about $3,000, but adding graphics can increase the price another $3,000.
John Driscoll, president of Showcraft in Burnsville, says one trend is using digital graphics attached to fabric stands to get a message across. In addition, using 3D graphics, DVDs and plasma TVs is hot. Driscoll said the small- business owner can expect to spend between $3,000 and $5,000 for a quality display.
“Everyone is focusing on how to stand out from the crowd on a limited budget, and with the advancement of technology, there are some cost-effective methods that are very appealing,” said Driscoll, who is also president of the Upper Midwest Exhibit Designers and Producers Association. “You want to be able to tell a story with your display.”
Jim Rogers, president of Inver Grove Heights-based Technology For Education, has been attending trade shows for over 25 years and has “been to thousands of trade shows,” he says.
“Signage is important, but you don’t want to have too much — you don’t want to have a cluttered look where it appears you are desperate to get everything about your company out to the audience,” Rogers says.
Adds Wagner of GEAPS: “It helps to have a product available for people to see. People want to be able to walk up and kick the tires and check out what you have.”
No matter how much you prepare before the show, and how much money you put into your booth, it all goes for naught if the message isn’t presented loud and clear to prospective customers. That means it’s important to have the right people in the booths.
“Think of the booth as the living room, and you are hosting a party,” says Porter. “If you don’t invite anyone in and don’t look approachable, no one is going to come visit.”
