“Mending the Message”
To Improve Event ROI!
Next time you take a stroll through
a trade show exhibit hall, ask yourself, “Can I tell what these companies do by
looking at their exhibits?” Better yet, “What
is their primary selling proposition?”
And, “Can I spot a clear message that is strong enough to compel a
prospect to actually enter their booth?”
Chances are you will end up more
baffled than educated about exhibitors’ offerings. In fact, the sales message — that clear and distinctive clarion call to action,
one that will compel prospects to wake up and take notice — will too often be
buried under the “hip” graphics, clever but vague ad themes, and space-age
superstructures. All the money spent on pre-mailers,
plasma screens, display graphics and other pyrotechnics actually served to
decrease the ROI if the prospect didn’t get the right message.
A good message must be built into
the trade show or event strategy from the start. Spending more time on crafting the message
upfront—getting total buy-in from top management, marketing and sales, those
who will be working the booth, plus all copywriters, designers, agencies and
studios involved in strategy implementation—can reap significant rewards come
show time.
A good exhibit floor message must
answer one question—What (the magic
message) do I need to tell you
(the prospect) to get you to do (desired
behavior) what I want you to do
(marketing objective)? It is equally important that the message
encourage a behavior on the part of the prospect that is measurable, so that
you can quantitatively evaluate your event ROI.
Branding is important, but if your display, pre-show marketing,
advertising and at-show activities only create fuzzy, warm feelings about your
company, they’re not working as hard as they should for you.
The
Culprits
Most companies begin the event
planning process with all the right intentions (although it is amazing how many
companies do not even go to the trouble of preparing a written message
platform). Nevertheless, these good intentions
often break down during implementation, usually as the result of the pragmatic
everyday pressures of the business world, resulting in numerous “disconnects” in
the execution process. How many times
have you shown your “finished” display to management the week before the show
and ended up scrambling at the eleventh hour to make last minute changes, with
the final product ending up as a sorry compromise? Failure to get management buy-in upfront
invariably leads to a botched, inefficient process. Considerable angst can be avoided by getting
approval on a written message
platform and a few rough sketches early on in the process.
Other culprits that prevent the
intended strategy from being realized include emphasizing design over content. “Design
by committee” too often results in a water-downed compromised approach, failure
to fully brief copywriters, designers, studios and agencies on the precise message to be communicated. This
also results in failure to adapt messages to different industries and shows,
trying to load too many messages into an event, and—most importantly—an “inward
looking” perspective that fails to take into consideration the customer’s
mindset. (Boastful, self-serving clichés, such as “best-in-breed,”
“state-of-the art,” “leading-edge technology,” or “total solution” are
indicators of narcissistic messages. A
good event message should explicitly state how your company solves the
prospect’s business problem better, cheaper and/or faster.)
The
Solution
How do you avoid wimpy messages and
all the costly false starts, revisions, and organizational angst that are all
too common in the event planning process?
Here are a few tips:
1. Appoint a “Keeper of the Message”
Someone who is responsible for crafting and riding herd over
the message throughout the process with management and everyone involved in the
implementation process.
2. Develop a work-flow process map.
Process is key. There’s a time for research and input, a
time for planning, a time for reviews and approvals and a time for implementation. Appropriate personnel need to be involved at the
appropriate times. Lay it all out for
everyone to see and stick to it.
3. Put together a market/message matrix.
The matrix should include prospects by industry and job
responsibility down one side and the messages that will compel them to your
company along the top row. The matrix
should take into consideration the varying needs of different target market
segments for each and every event, including where the prospect is in the
commercial persuasion process (e.g., “unaware” versus “knowledgeable and in the
market”). What do you need to tell purchasing agents in the healthcare industry
to take notice? How can you recraft the
message to impress CEOs in the same industry?
What is the message that will create a buzz about your company among VPs
of manufacturing in the automotive business?
Sit down with your marketing and sales teams, work through the message
matrix, and use it when you put together your annual trade show strategy.
4. Incorporate
customer input.
Don’t assume you know what will turn on the customer. Do
some market research. Include a good
customer in the planning and review process.
Show him a sketch of a pre-mailer or display and get his reaction. Do some “reverse-engineering” of the
commercial persuasion process. Sit down
with a few customers (not prospects) and have them retrace for you the various
steps, including messages that they heard during the sales process that
ultimately led them to your company.
5. Write-up message platforms for each
event.
Put it in writing.
What’s the dominant compelling message (your “elevator pitch”) that the
pre-mailers, display, and at-show activities should deliver verbally and
graphically? What are the key subpoints
you want those working the booth to emphasize?
What do you say when the prospects mentions Competitor X? Do you have organizational-wide buy-in to
responses to the 20 or so most challenging questions prospects are likely to
ask? Hold an internal workshop if you need to hammer out your key messages and
responses, put everything in writing, and distribute the document (password
protected) to everyone involved in
the process, from the CEO to the display house.
6. Build-in quantitative measurement.
Measurement forces everyone in the process to think and not
be satisfied with lazy messaging (such as “Tomorrow’s Technology Today” and
other tired bromides). Every aspect of
an event can and should be measured.
7. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Event marketing remains more of an art than a science. If you aren’t quite sure what message is
going to bowl over a prospect, try two. Break your mailing list in two, send different
variations of your material and see what version delivers the best
results. Design your display so that you
can easily change out messages or graphics and see which version attracts more
visitors to your booth. Is it, for
example, a back wall with beauty shots of the prospect’s industry, or hard
numbers that underscore the cost-savings you can generate for customers?
8.
Employ the
concept of “Message Hierarchy.”
It is okay to put your company identity at the top, in bright
neon if you wish! Let everyone know
where you are. However, the targeted
individuals are who you seek, so be sure the next most prominent signage is
devoted to the “What’s In It For Me?” for your targets. This allows the visitors you want to see to
self-select based upon interest, applicability and need for your offerings. Ten
feet off of the floor should be the equivalent of “Street Signs” that identify
what is available for your visitors to see, learn or experience. Finally, the features, benefits and details
should be portrayed at the desktop and back wall level.
9.
Ensure
consistency between the corporate advertising and PR plans during the time
frame of your event.
Nothing can undo a successful ad or PR campaign, or a
successful event marketing activity like disconnected if not contradictory
messages. Your first step in developing
the written message plan should be with the corporate and marketing
communications folks in your company.
10.
Ask customers
for feedback on your messaging after the event.
What resonated and what didn’t? What was the major learning point of value
they derived from their visit? Are they
more inclined to buy as a result of being at your event? And if so, how much
will they spend? As part of your
post-event measurement, evaluate your messaging and you will be able to make
focused improvements at every subsequent event.
Before you call in the event agency or invest in a new
high-tech exhibit, you might consider spending a bit more time with good-old
pencil and paper and a flip chart or two. Work through your message strategy
with your marketing team before you start spitting out tactical plans. It will pay big dividends in your event ROI.
# #
#
Here is a little test that might
surprise you. Choose which of the two
messages is the best (Don’t fudge by looking ahead!)
|
A
The World’s First “PC” based Scanning-Electron
Microscope!
- Leading-edge
solution
- Superior
Interface
- Best-in-breed
tracking software
- Ease-of-use
|
B
Automated
Micro-Particle Analysis for
Pharmaceutical
Production Powders Under 10 microns
- Meets FDA 1098
- Approved for inhalable powders
- 100x faster than laser
techniques
|
Answer:
|
“A” is an example of
a typical vague, inward-looking message that will do little to attract or
persuade prospects or customers...
|
“B” - While this
message may lack “creativity,” it explained what the company/ product did
(without even mentioning the product!) indicated a speed improvement of 100x,
and contained the key buzzwords that would stop targeted prospects dead in
their tracks.
Hint - The buzzwords
prospects use are gold - Your buzzwords are lead.
|
Effective messaging is the one of the most important parts
of your event marketing plan and essential to attracting and persuading your
targeted audience to act upon your behalf.
Ed Jones
President, Constellation Communication
For help developing your event's creative or strategic brief, please contact Constellation Communication at 770.391.0015 or email inquiry@constellationcc.com
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