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I was at an Expo recently and saw some Vultures. I strongly encourage you to NOT be a Trade Show or Expo Vulture. Watch the video and see what I mean!
So what about you? Are you a Vulture? What can you do differently so that you add value to your visitor and not be a Vulture?
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
I have just spent three days working at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo. I am continually fascinated with how business and individuals present themselves, particularly at Expo’s and Trade Shows.
The key learning from the show I would give you is, make it easy for your customer to buy from you.
For me, Expo’s and Trade Shows are speed dating for your business. When going speed dating, the person who clams up, won’t share about who they are and what they are there for, doesn’t get the date.
So be clear:
Trade Show research has shown that the majority of visitors are there either to find out what’s new in the market or to get a “bargain”. Knowing that, wouldn’t you put up some simple signs saying “NEW”, “Expo Deal” or “20% off”? I am continually amazed at how people will stop to explore a bargain without consideration of what they are actually buying!
People want to buy from you. They want to use your services.
DON”T MAKE IT HARD TO DO SO!!
In your business, how can you make it easier for your customer to buy from you?
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Wifey and I went to the Holiday Expo at the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building on the weekend. We went looking for information on an up coming holiday Wifey is having with one of her friends and to just have a look at the Expo and how people and companies worked it.
Having said that, it is not really the best location for a trade show. The layout of the building makes it challenging to maximise the space for the exhibitors and the flow through of the traffic and air. Air?? Yes, air. It was so hot and stifling even though the weather was not very hot. This is one old building without the benefit of air conditioning!
There were a stack of people there, which was great news for the exhibitors. Many exhibitors were giving away free holidays so there was a frenzy of people wanting to win the trip to Disneyland, Tour of Africa and even a trip to Port Stephens. Experienced Trade Show people know that they are collecting the details of interested people to market to after the show. What most of the competitions did not have was a sign saying that by entering the person was agreeing to be contacted by the company to let them know more about their great offers. In this “new age” of privacy this is essential
Another thing that is essential is booth presence.
You also need something when the customer comes over. Another booth had run out of brochures on the first day and so had none for the second day. Running our of brochures is a good thing. It means you had way more prospects than you expected, but to have nothing to give is not OK. Surely the guy could have found a place to photocopy the front cover of a brochure with his website on it. While it may not have been as sexy or attractive as a glossy it gives them some resource to work with. He spent most of the day just sitting in the chair waiting for people to come and talk to him. You could see people look his way, notice the brochure stands were empty and walk away.
What have you done to dress up your walls or to replace brochure stock when you ran out? How do you create a Both Presence? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com
I got some great feedback from this weeks Get More Goer and I wanted to share it with you. By the way, if you haven’t signed up for the Get More Goer, visit www.warwickmerry.com and sign up!
Among some of the feedback was a link from Denise Owen from St John of God Health Care. She referred me to the Get The World Moving website www.gettheworldmoving.com. I strongly encourage you to check it out and maybe even get a team going in your office.
The other good bit of news is that I have started some video tips on my YouTube channel. Slowly but surely I will be adding to “The Adventures of the Get More Guy”. You can check it out at www.youtube.com/GetMoreGuy
You can also see the commercial I did for a toothpick while dressed up as a cowboy and where I sang on stage at Hamer Hall with Josh Groban as part of his Awake Tour.
Have a great weekend and let me know if you want anything specific address in the Adventures series.
Warm regards
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com
I spent a few hours at the Melbourne Motor Show on the weekend. So many of the booth holders are wasting their time, which is effectively hemorrhaging money!
So many of the stands had two types of people.
1) Booth Babes
2) Car Dealers
Booth Babes
After talking with some of the booth babes it was quite obvious that their training was minimal. Most of them confessed to not knowing much about cars. They could point out the different ones and possibly had a bit of an idea of idea about features and benefits but not much. I can put up with a lack of knowledge on product, particularly if they admit they don’t know the detail. Let’s face it, if you are an enthusiast you probably know more than the sales team does let alone a Booth Babe. What annoys me with Booth Babes is when they don’t know how to engage with prospects. Simple conversation – what models do you like, what colours have you considered, are you interested in buying a car, what are looking for at the show, are you having a good day. These are all really basic questions that can be used to engage and qualify potential prospects. A qualified prospect can then be introduced to a sales person.
I would love to have a car company understand that the “engagement” with the prospect (or future prospect as heaps of kids were there) is more important than knowing about the car.
Car Dealers
Car Dealers seem to ooze an aura of “I am more important than you”. Maybe they are assessing the prospect for financial value or maybe they see the Motor Show as a personal inconvenience, whatever it is, their attitude sucks. If I ran the booth I would keep the Car Dealer out the back. They tend to have a negative impact on people.
What I’d Like To See
What I would like to see is members of the associated car club on the stand. How cool would that be!! A group of people who are clearly passionate about the car and willing to engage with others to talk about them. Give them free uniform, free entry and free lunch and I suspect they would do the job willingly. Enough basic sales training to identify a qualified prospect and be able to pass them on to a sales person and then just let their passion for that car or that brand flow.
The person you select to operate the stand is as important as what you put on or in the stand. If the person is just sitting there, not engaging or not interested, you are wasting your time and wasting your money.
Who would you like to see on a stand at the Motor Show?
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com
I couldn’t believe it.
They would have spent a truck load of money for the stand. I wont mention who it was but it was a highly recognisable airline. I was at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne. It was hard to tell there was a global financial crisis going on. Some amazing stands (multi-level with suites for discussions) and some amazing marketing going on. A surprising amount of traffic was moving around also, apparently attendance was up by almost 10%. From an organisers perspective, it would have to be seen as a success.
There Was Static
So how would you take advantage of all this traffic? Well the airline in question had a reasonable size booth. Nice comfy chairs, welcoming decor, plenty of marketing collateral for people, an attractive woman in the booth and the plasma screen in the background was playing static. I thought it must be a glitch that they would fix but when I went past again 45 minutes later, it was still showing static.
The woman in the booth was not interested in much that I could see. She was still sitting in the chair waiting. I am not sure what for.
Take Responsibility
I understand that technology deserts you just when you need it. But surely there would have been a better way than just showing static. Some thoughts I had on what the company representative could have done:
Again this points to a key part of a trade show. Train your people and never forget you are the face of the company. At the very least, don’t just sit there!!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com
Image by Pablo Sanz
I was speaking to the Australasian Marketing Manager of a large IT company today. Naturally we got to talking about Trade Shows. He said that he always measures the ROI of the show and they are becoming to expensive and the cost per new client was too high. So much so that he was going to avoid Trade Shows for quite awhile.
Then he steeled himself. Surely as a supposed Trade Show guru I would try and talk him back to the Trade Show. So naturally I said, “Good on you, if the ROI doesn’t add up – don’t go!”
Of course we chatted more and I shared my thoughts on the value of Trade Shows but what was important is that he measured the value of the show to his company. So many exhibitors don’t! They go for a nebulous, immeasurable reason – or worse a measurable reason that they don’t measure, and then can’t tell if it was worthwhile going.
Trade Shows are big business. The organiser is in it to make money – they charge accordingly. You need to ask yourself is this the best place for your business to place your marketing money. For some businesses a Trade Show is the back bone of their marketing plan, for others it is an excessive waste.
What about you? Is the Trade Show worth it? If you don’t know you need to find out how to measure that. Naturally, I am always happy to help!!
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
I read on Twitter that Trade Shows are Dead.
Gordon Haff from CNET news wrote how technology has made many Trade Shows irrelevant. You can see the article here. It’s a good article and has some solid arguments. But I disagree.
Scobleizer blogs that Social Networking has also killed, or at least wounded Trade Shows. But I disagree.
Of course I would think that. I make money consulting to Trade Shows and companies that exhibit at them. Let’s look a little further, beyond the initial cynical reaction.
I think that Trade Shows as we knew them maybe dead, but not completely dead. Trade Shows are an incredibly expensive exercise. Floor space, booth costs, staff costs, promotional items, pre-event marketing, post-event follow up and opportunity costs can total to staggering amounts. Naturally, senior executives are considering ROI numbers and asking is it worth it.
Are Trade Shows Worth It?
The answer is a definite maybe. So many companies are not smart about their Trade Shows. They hemorrhage money for little return. Their booths are way over the top in an effort to be “the best”, their give aways are ridiculously expensive and not aligned with their message, they do not qualify prospects, they have the wrong people on the stand, they don’t followup effectively but worst of all, they have no idea why they are really there at the show. Naturally the ROI numbers are not there.
Trade Shows are speed dating for your customers. Your target market is walking up to you and saying “sell your stuff to me”. Prospects go to willingly buy from you, or at least do further research on your products/services and your direct competitors. A smart operator will make a Trade Show pay off big time. It is knowing why you are there, doing the pre-event marketing to get your prospects and clients in, having the right people in the booth with the relevant training about what they are to do, qualifying your prospects (even have them tiered), creating a buzz at the booth to get people in, following up within two days and then having a post-event review to look at what can be improved next time.
A smart operator will also realise while their competition is pulling out of shows, they will have a bigger market share. If they work the
show well, their ROI can be increased.
Social Networking and Trade Shows
Social networking and technology in general has had a significant impact on Trade Shows.
Webcasts, Teleconferences, Viral Videos and many other forms of technology now mean that messages once given at these shows, can now be delivered far more effectively. As Haff says, companies like Apple have an easy access to the market place via their stores so you can touch and feel the product without the hustle bustle of the show.
Social networking also increases the buzz. Look at Twitter. Whenever their is a show on, blow by blow descriptions of presentations, booths, exhibitors and even the people attending are posted with pictures for all to see. This then attracts those thinking “is it worth it this year.”
It’s not Dead, it’s Resting
In the words of Monty Python, the Trade Show is not dead, it’s resting. It’s format is tired. The old way doesn’t work. Once the Trade Show does a bit of navel gazing, you will find the invigorated New and Improved version!!
The technology will never replace the face to face meetings of clients, colleagues, customers, suppliers and random interactions that you have at a Trade Show. But the technology of having virtual trade shows, webcast product launches and announcements, blogging latest releases and other forms of social media to interact with “your herd” mean that there will be an integration of this technology with the traditional Trade Show.
I look forward to it.
I look forward to the continual evolution of this market place. But some things will never change. The need for planning, setting KPI’s, knowing how ROI will be measured BEFORE the show/marketing activity, having the right people in the right place at the right time, pre-event marketing, post-event followup and the role that the senior management team have in the event.
The intent is the same, but the execution will be different. Face to face, technology to technology or just watching it all happen on your PDA.
I am looking forward to it immensely.
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/
I Twitter.
In the course of my Twittering I have come across Paul Warren from Warcom. He has had some success with social networking in its positive impact on his business – www.warcom.com. So I thought it may be interesting to hear about it.
So without further adieu – here we go!
Part 1: Social Networking with Customers
Since the infancy stages of my business journey, I have always been a strong believer in the adage that ‘there is no better form of marketing than social networking’. Over the past few years, however, the majority of my ‘social networking time’ has been concentrated towards contributing to online forums. Until recently, the likes of Facebook, and Myspace, were rather limited in their social networking scope, especially in relation to Warcom’s core business.
So where do I spent my time?
Whilst having been a long-standing member of the hugely popular forums Whirlpool and Overclockers Australia (OCAU), it is quite clear by the number of posts I have racked up, that I spend considerably more time on Whirlpool (16,000+ posts) than OCAU. Both forums have their positive and negative aspects.
Whirlpool is a bit too ‘regimented’ in my opinion, where its members must adapt to the Whirlpool style in order to fit in. While ensuring that I cross all my T’s, and dot all my I’s, I give potential customers the time they deserve, and the benefit of my industry experience. It is only when armed with intelligent answers, can my potential customers make informed decisions. Mutual respect goes a long way, but do not forget to watch out for the trolls!
On the flip side, when we look at OCAU, their member base is much more free and easy going, pretty much being themselves, and you can let your hair down and just ‘hang out with the boys’ so to speak. Whilst I do not condone over use of expletives and vulgarity, they are allowed on OCAU, and even the occasional ‘skin pic’ seems to float past the admins from time to time!
And then there’s Bigandy…. Do not get me started on this fella!
I do, however, believe that neither of these forums are overly useful (for me) in terms of ‘business networking’, only ‘customer networking’. I will explain what I mean by this towards the end of the article.
So what is my point? What is my plan? Why so much time on forums?
Simple – I am building a ‘Presence’!
From time to time, I jump into the help ticketing system and help my staff out with questions that our customers email to us. Without a doubt, almost every single time, I am told by a customer, “Hey, you’re that warcom guy! I love your posts, they were helpful to me!”
So, with comments as straight forward as that being thrown at me, I can see that my ‘presence’ in those forums, has contributed the following:
Part 2: Social Networking With Business People
As I previously opined, I believe Facebook and MySpace are next to useless for Warcom pertaining to Social Networking.
Twitter on the other hand – I now believe Twitter is amazing! (it has taken a while!) I have managed to strike up some very mutually beneficial ‘business networking buddies” using Twitter. Notably, the likes of Warwick ‘Mr Get Energised’, Glenn ‘Copyman’, and our resident ‘Energiser Bunny’ Sam from thinktankmedia. If not for Twitter, our paths would have neither crossed, nor afforded us the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other.
So, taking all of the above mentioned into consideration, Social Networking is fantastic for doing the ‘meet and greet’ with customers, and keeping in their good graces, and to meet new faces.
As an example, the speed at which the Internode ‘Social Scene’ has developed is staggering, and if companies fail to jump on board now, they may as well take their bat and ball, and go home right now.
Social Networking is a very powerful tool when done right, however, just like a precision instrument, it is the skill of the engineer behind it that dictates whether it works in perfect harmony with others, or falls dead flat.
Just a quick blog for you.
A good friend of mine, and brilliant sales and marketing guru has just released a free ebook on “The Survival Trap”. It is not a “get this free and then you can buy other stuff” kind of offer, it is simply him giving to other small business owners who may be starting to panic in tight economic times.
To get the ebook, visit his website http://www.survivaltrap.com/
Check out what he has to say, I am sure you will find it worthwhile.
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
From a previous blog you may have read how Adobe are not having a booth at Macworld this year. It seems that they have started a trend. AppleInsider has reported that other big names like Belkin and Seagate are also not having a booth. You can read the article here.
My favourite bit in the article is where it says that smaller booths who had previously been placed out in the low traffic areas are being moved much closer to the Apple stands and the majority of the traffic.
This principle applies not only in Trade Shows but in marketing in general. Many business are taking on the mind set that business will be tough so I will cut marketing expense. This can lead to a decrease in customer awareness which in turn, leads to decreased sales which will guarantee you tough economic times!!
I am not saying “Spend like you have never spent before!!!” (That seems to be the Government line at the moment.) What I am saying is now is the time to continue working your marketing strategy. If Trade Shows are part of it, continue doing them. Continue your normal marketing as well. Some of your competitors will get scared of economic times and so will cease their marketing work, this means you have less competition for your message. If big players drop out of the marketing space (like at MacWorld) you can now get a real boost to your message.
Stick to the strategy and take advantage of the economic times. They won’t last forever and when everything picks up again, you will be in a stronger position than when they started. How cool is that!!
Enjoy
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
It is always the big question. Should you exhibit at a trade show or not? Especially if you are a bigger player in the market where people will be expecting you there. If you decide not to show you have to take action on it.
As and example, Adobe have decided not to show at Macworld this year.
What would have been disastrous would be if they just didn’t show, or worse if show organisers said they were going to be there so Adobe would have to go on the defensive. Now I am sure Macworld wouldn’t do that, but other less scrupulous event organisers may try and “bully” or “influence” a significant player to exhibit at their
show. What Adobe did was communicate via the media that they were not exhibiting. You can read the article here.
You will notice that although they are not exhibiting, they will still have a presence at the show. Some are saying that, along with a large number of layoffs, Adobe are feeling the pinch of the current financial crisis. Whatever their reason, their approach to managing their “No Show” has been well done.
While I am still of the belief that now, more than ever, exhibiting at a trade show is a great thing to do, if you are going to be a No Show, you need to manage it well. You may not have the bucks that Adobe’s PR department does so lets learn from them!
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
getmoreblog.blogspot.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
Over the weekend, I spent time at the Mind, Body and Spirit expo in Melbourne. I was there to work with a client of mine and also to check what others were doing at the Trade Show.
I was chatting with a booth holder who had a large corner booth right near the food area (which was next to the toilets). They took that booth because it was at the far end of the room away from the exits. They learnt last year that too close to the exit/entrance means that people rush past you in the excitement to get in or the desire to get out.
What they were finding this year was rather than the access to the crowds that were dining that they expected, that they got ignored completely! They thought it was just like being near the entrance. People either were in a rush to go to the toilet or were having a rest and something to eat so had zoned out of the show completely. They just wanted to sit and rest.
So based on their experience and one what I have found over time, here are a few tips on booth location:
Because you are investing significant time, effort and resources into your Trade Show, you want to get the best location you can!
Enjoy!
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
getmoreblog.blogspot.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
Have you seen the freebie trolls?
You know the ones I am talking about, they walk around the trade show or expo taking freebies from every booth they pass. They are sort of like the anti-Santa. They just keep filling their sack with all of the treats available.
It is enough to make you ask the question, do you need freebies on your booth? I mean what’s the point if it is just the trolls who are going to take them all?
It is a good question, do you need the freebies or promotional item. A better question would be whats the value of having a promotional item? With your trade booth, you want to always consider what is the value. With your promotional item there are several things to be considered:
Cost per impression – Don’t just consider the cost of the item but think about how often you get a chance to lock in your branding. This is why t-shirts and coffee cups can be effective items versus a disposable toy or golf tee.
Relevance – To strengthen your brand and your message, go for items that match your theme, organisation and message.
Streamed – Consider streaming your promotional items so that only qualified prospects get the higher valued promotional items and having something of lesser value for unqualified prospects and freebie trolls.
While these are not the only things to consider for your promotional items, they will definitely aid you in Getting More value from them.
Enjoy
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
www.warwickmerry.com
