Archive for August, 2006

Prepping for a trade show and following up after can lead to lucrative results. But you have to implement effective strategies to get there. Email is one avenue to do that, as outlined in the article below.

Maximize Your Trade Show Investment With E-Mail

By Karen Gedney

“Build it and they will come” doesn’t necessarily apply to your trade show booth. In her book “Trade Show and Event Marketing,” Ruth P. Stevens writes, “Trade show marketers often get so preoccupied with designing and building their booths, they can forget to concentrate on driving qualified traffic.” (more…)

You can’t get customers without exposure and you must invest some money to get that exposure. But you don’t have to go broke doing it.

Following the old, basic marketing model – putting a sign with your company’s name on the door; sprinkling your advertising budget across print, radio and television campaigns; and paying a graphic designer for a slick brochure or pamphlet – minimizes your impact in the marketplace. An important step in expanding your customer base is gaining exposure to generate interest in your brand. And if you were thinking that you couldn’t get a lot of exposure because of a limited budget, keep in mind that there are always effective, low-cost marketing options to attract potential customers.

Here’s a look at a couple of ideas to stretch your advertising dollars.

Website

Just under a decade ago, only the large companies were using their websites as effective marketing tools. Today, almost every business needs one. Your website serves as an essential piece of your overall marketing plan that fuels a sense of legitimacy for your business. If you don’t have a website, potential customers may be turned off because these days, the perception is this: if you are a legitimate professional, you have a website. It’s as important as having a phone number for your business. (more…)

New facility offers location to browse company’s trade show products.

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) August 9, 2006 — ExhibitDEAL, the original exhibit wholesaler, recently announced the opening of a retail showroom featuring the company’s products for trade show exhibits. Located at 1119 Colorado Avenue, the facility is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST. For more information, visit http://www.exhibitdeal.com/showroom.html.

At 2,500 square feet, the showroom is located near 3rd Street and Promenade in Santa Monica. Before building a physical location, the company already had a successful online store where customers could purchase materials for trade show events. While the site is often an efficient option for many, Mat Kelly, owner of ExhibitDEAL, says some customers are not comfortable purchasing such high-end marketing materials on the Internet. (more…)

Some good advice I came across on the bad habits and lack of prep that can lead to a wasted trade show experience.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Tradeshows

Do you know the Seven Deadly Sins? I’m not talking about pride, envy, lust, and all the rest that you may be familiar with. While those are important, chances are they won’t crop up at the average tradeshow. Instead, there’s another set of sins – seven deadly sins – associated with exhibiting. If you commit one or more of these, you can count on a dreaded result: exhibiting that is ineffective, counter-productive, and a monumental waste of time and money!

Are you guilty? Is your exhibiting in mortal peril? Check the list and see:

Sin #1: Neglect

Failing to set exhibiting goals is one of the most deadly tradeshow sins. Having goals delineates your purpose for exhibiting. This is the essence of the whole exhibit. Knowing what you want to accomplish at a show will help plan every other aspect – your theme, the booth layout and display, graphics, and more. Exhibiting goals should complement your corporate marketing objectives and help in accomplishing them. (more…)

Trade shows have traditionally served as an opportunity for industry leaders to showcase their latest products and innovations. Competing companies have always clamored for the attention of potential customers by sticking to the benefits sales model, showcasing how their product can solve a common problem.

But current trends are creating a different climate at trade shows these days. With competition for the customer’s attention stronger than ever, exhibitors are no longer fixated on separating themselves from their competitors by focusing on a particular product and simply talking about solutions and benefits. Which leads us to the first, and probably most profound, trend in trade show exhibiting. (more…)