Measurement Tip 28

10 Steps to Better Visitor Attraction, Experience and Commitment for Increased ROI at Trade Shows and Market Events

I liken many companies I see at trade shows to a fisherman who simply hopes a specific species of fish will jump right into his or her boat!  It is a pretty unlikely scenario.

The step most critical to success in any marketing event is to attract enough people to your booth or space who can personally increase your revenue or reduce your cost. If the right people appear, they must also be properly engaged and quickly qualified so they are not lost among less important guests.  It is important that the staff concentrate their efforts on priority guests. If a large percentage of your guests are targeted, engaged and properly managed, you will have a great show. If the percentage is small, your results will be less than desirable.

Put yourself to the test and see how many of these steps you take as an exhibitor, or perhaps, observe as a visitor to an exhibit experience: (Check the ones you practice or observe regularly)

___ 1) Define the priority targets addressable at the event, by product set
___ 2) Attract them with targeted pre- and at event promotion and most especially through personal invitation by your executives and sales team
___ 3) Train the staff to engage each visitor and quickly separate the targets from the non- targets
___ 4) Have a specific engagement plan for each type of targeted individual

___ 5) Convey visitor specific, high priority information that is relevant to the needs and desired benefits of each targeted visitor set
___ 6) Set pre- determined commitment goals for each targeted visitor set (specific steps and activities that are the result of the exhibit interaction).
___ 7) Ensure that the sales team agrees that the commitment goals are in the company sales cycle for that product set
___ 8) Have a foolproof system in place to record the commitments and define what information is required (hint: gather enough to enable an effective follow-up)
___ 9) Provide motivation and support for the visitor who has committed to follow-through with you after the event.  Ensure adequate post-event communications.
___ 10) Pack your event with as many pre-scheduled meetings as possible with high priority customers, prospects, suppliers, partners and others who can improve your profitability in some way

How many did you check?  

There are few things that will increase your results and ROI at marketing events more than following these steps. It takes planning and the participation of your executives, sales team and event staff.  It also requires training.  When done well the results will speak for themselves and you will be seen not only as an event manager, but also as a manager of the business.

Ed Jones

If you would like to learn more about Constellation Communication's event measurement services, please contact us directly at +1.770.391.0015 or admin@constellationcc.com

Helping Exhibit Managers Find High Value Improvement Opportunities

The Constellation team was invited to develop a workshop on improvement in trade show and exhibit marketing programs for a meeting of the GA TSEA chapter. Our approach was to use our “self-assessment” tool with chapter members and present the results and recommendations at the meeting.

The Constellation Marketing Self-Assessment asks a series of very specific questions related to event marketing best practices. We took the opportunity to update our questionnaire to include questions facing the event marketing industry today, such as effective use of social and digital media. The areas addressed included: Target Marketing, Message Development, Exhibit/Event Effectiveness, Promotion Value and ROI Measurement and Continuous Improvement.

We sent a series of emails to chapter participants encouraging them to complete their self-assessment. Upon completion they received a print-out of their results, showing their individual areas of strength (best practices) and opportunities for improvement. Participants were encouraged to bring copies of their results to the chapter meeting for discussion.

Our team tabulated the results of the group to identify the areas of common strengths and improvement needs. The most consistently identified need was to address the disconnect between the sales and event marketing teams regarding event strategy, tactics and leads.

Once the group understood where they could improve, they wanted to know how to improve and they resolved to use their identified common needs for improvement to determine agendas for future chapter meetings. For example, the lack of effective communication between sales and marketing teams topic led to an idea for a panel comprised of sales managers and marketing managers. The panel would serve to find out how to create a synergy between sales and marketing to effectively achieve successful events and ultimately achieve organizational objectives.

Our study of membership needs was enlightening. We use this same tool to identify likely improvement needs with new clients. You can take this self -assessment of event marketing effectiveness yourself at no cost and without obligation. Just follow this link, complete the assessment and you will be able to print a list of your most valuable improvement opportunities. You might want to use these questions as the basis for internal discussions with your colleagues or management, or as the basis for a team meeting. Asking the right questions of the right people is one of the most effective research techniques an event manager or consultant can utilize.

Call us at +1 (770) 391-0015 to discuss ideas about how to get your team and management on the right path for effective trade show and event marketing.
Visit our website www.constellationcc.com for valuable case studies and tips on improving your event marketing program.

Heather Deloach
Project Coordinator
heatherdeloach@constellationcc.com