In this section, we will address some practical tips to optimize business from two points of view: that of the exhibitor and that of the visitor.
by Augusto Diego Berard*
An exhibitor is any company or organization that places a stand to exhibit its products and services at an event. The objectives pursued, with their participation in an exhibition, can be summarized as:
* Attract new customers.
* Launch and present new products.
* Strengthen the relationship with current customers.
* Position the corporate image and / or that of the products that are marketed.
* Differentiate yourself from competitors.
* Improve personal contact with customers in areas that are little visited due to distance issues.
To achieve these objectives you have to design specific marketing actions and the main items to work on are:
Invitations
To ensure the visit of potential customers it is very important to invite them. Traditional mail or email is used. You can also make personalized calls and invite by phone. Any of the means to use are valid and all of them aim to increase the number of contacts and improve sales.
Invitations have to meet certain formal requirements. In them, it is necessary to mention the location of the stand and, if possible, add a map with the route that must be made to reach it. Given the large number of exhibitors, it is difficult for the visitor to locate and orient themselves within the fair. With a map of the place and some indications, the task is facilitated.
Invitations can start being sent 3 or 4 months prior to the fair. There are visitors from abroad who need to plan the trip more in advance and book hotels and flights.
Invitations can be sent to former clients and / or customers with whom there were problems and who stopped buying, since the exhibition is the ideal event to resume truncated relationships and enhance the
Current. The fair is an event that generates a warm business climate and in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.
The stand
The stand is the image of the company within the premises and represents the culture of the entire organization. The design, then, will mark part of the success to be achieved. Visitors passing by the stand should be attracted by the image and design of the venue.
The stand communicates and the visitor decodes the message in a few seconds: it will approach if the message was clear and attractive to your business.
The stand has to communicate, at first glance, which product is marketed and who is the company that makes it, so it is very important to invest in its design.
I suggest hiring a company specialized in the field and working with it, transmitting the message that is sought to provide to visitors. However, we must not let the decisions of the image be made by the advertising agencies, since they do not know the organizational culture or the message that is sought to be transmitted to visitors (potential customers).
Taking advantage of the maximum allowed height of the stand is essential to optimize the contracted space. Many exhibitors do not do it and in this way they miss the visual impact that the space has to have.
This point must be highlighted and requested from the construction company, so that it can contemplate it at the time of the assembly of the project.
Brochures and commercial stationery
I suggest designing brochures with more images than text. A picture is worth a thousand words. Use creativity and ingenuity to create a unique and differentiated design.
The brochures to be distributed within the exhibition have to be designed for the event and must convey a clear and forceful message. You always have to place in the brochures all the contact details of the company.
The potential buyer will resort to brochures once visited the fair and needs to easily obtain contact details to make inquiries or place the first orders.
It is common to receive brochures in which the contact details of the company are not present. The contact details that must appear are the logo, name of the firm, address, telephone, mail and website. The color of the
Brochures and the quality of the printed material are also very important, since they make the message that is sought to be transmitted and the corporate image to be communicated.
Sponsorship and publicity within the event
The exhibition has an official catalogue and an excellent series of conferences, in which specialists from the different branches of security speak. Sponsoring the conferences and participating in them is part of the work that must be done and planned.
Advertising in the exhibitors' catalogue is a communication tool to be taken into account. These catalogues are reference material for potential customers and are used for the next 12 months or until the new fair. You can buy spaces for advertising within the catalog, to achieve a greater impact and better advertising presence. The cost per contact is low and very effective.
Contact staff and/or booth vendors
Prepare and train all contact staff so that they can answer queries: a trained salesperson is not the same as a promoter.
The promoters must also be prepared so that they can direct the queries to the sellers of the stand. They will deliver the brochures and must take the data of the visitors, using the portable scanner, which is rented for these purposes within the event.
Every visitor is a potential customer and the information obtained by the scanner must be in a database that will be used after the event to generate new business.
Contact techniques at the stand
* Asking for the business card or scanning the accreditation is essential. Any potential customer who passes through the stand and shows interest must be registered. Information is very valuable and will be the starting point of a good business, if we know how to take advantage of it.
You have to apply for the business card and I suggest writing down on the back the most relevant points of the talk held, to help the memory and start putting together a special database. Any information that is dumped on the back of the card is going to be of importance.
* Allocate short contact time for important things. It is not useful or profitable to spend several minutes with the same potential client: you just have to take contact information, ask questions and brief presentations, which allow you to take advantage of all visitors.
If all the sales staff is busy, potential customers are going to go their way and not come back. You always have to be attentive to the visitors who pass in front of the stand and there must be contact staff available to receive you and do the interview in a few minutes. Exposure is the gateway to a new business.
It has to be used to open up opportunities, which will gradually materialize over time. There is no need to close the sale in one step.
* Identify with name and position all the members of the stand, to facilitate communication with visitors. It is very common to visit an exhibition and see the contact staff without an identification and in an attitude unwilling to serve and please visitors. visitor or at the company's offices.
* I suggest that exhibitors have their ID card in a visible place so that the visitor can address their queries without fear, knowing that they are in contact with a valid reference.
Salespeople have to always be vigilant and should not converse with each other if there are potential customers in front. Nor do you have to be in the stand leaning on the desks or crossed arms.
* Tour the exhibition to detect potential customers among the other exhibitors and take advantage of the days of the event to create personal and business links.
I suggest sharing or inviting a lunch to potential customers, to move forward and create personal bonds. Within the exhibitors, there are always business opportunities to develop. Business between partner companies can create alliances and improve profitability.
* Visit the stands of the competition and introduce yourself. It is a good opportunity to know more about its advantages and disadvantages and to know the human resources that work in it. In business it is essential to know the competing company, to be able to displace it from the market and win customers.
The seasoned salesman will visit and present himself at the competition booths to know who he is struggling with day by day.
After the exhibition
Evaluate the quantity and quality of the meetings held and the business potential to be developed. Use this valuable information to plan the steps to follow and transmit to the entire commercial team, the direction to take.
The exhibition will provide a lot of information about the market and the actions of the competition. The information obtained has to be used to create concrete marketing actions and to plan future scenarios.
Thanks
Thank all the people who stopped by the booth. Send personalized acknowledgments by email or traditional mail. Leave the door open to coordinate a meeting and/or a new meeting at the visitor's offices or company offices.
Use gratitude as a differential tool against those competitors who do not. Small attitudes and small gestures of education and cordiality will make all the difference. Trust is earned with these small attitudes and business is always between people. Prioritizing the personal bond over the commercial one is another point to consider.
The visitor
Before going to an exhibition you have to be very clear about what you are looking to know or discover and you must plan the time and the steps to travel to make the most of the time.
I suggest visiting the website of the organizing company of the event to know the names of the exhibitors. Browse the web pages of the exhibitors and identify which products can be useful to generate new business.
Put together a list of the stands to visit so as not to waste time inside the premises and optimize the quality of the interviews to be specified. You can also arrange interviews in advance with exhibitors
to agree on a time for the meeting.
It is very important to plan and be very clear about the objectives of the visit to the fair. The more important the event, taking advantage of the time is critical.
Do not forget
* Business cards: have enough quantity, according to the interviews to have and the possible meetings that may occur.
* Annotator: I suggest having a small annotator to write down the relevant data and use it for new opportunities after the event.
* Appearance: wear clothes according to the occasion, which convey seriousness and professionalism. There is no second chance to give a good image.
* Comfortable footwear: the fair demands several hours of walking. Wearing comfortable shoes will ensure that you can work calmly and without discomfort.
*Augusto Diego Berard is a renowned business consultant. If you want to contact him write to the email: [email protected] or visit the website: www.pampamarketing.com
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