Some of life’s best lessons draw from unexpected and chance encounters. This weekend I enjoyed the annual Kettle Moraine Jazz Fest in West Bend, Wisconsin (kudos to the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation and their sponsors on the causes they support and the unique festival they put together). The closing performance of the festival was a well-known group, albeit not as appreciated by purist smooth jazz aficionados, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy who put on a fantastic show. In addition to inspiring my wife and I to dance a little in the aisles, they also managed to teach me a few things which seem fitting to note for anyone striving to be their best:

1. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION. If you don’t love what you do, it’s hard to imagine you could be as successful or as happy in your career otherwise. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD) tours with their original seven members (along with two more) and have been sharing their talent with the world and one another for over 18 years. They continue to enjoy themselves on stage and it shows. Do you bring that same level of enthusiasm to your job each day?

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Kettle Moraine Jazz Fest, West Bend, WI

2. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ZIG WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD ZAGS.

Glen "The Kid" Marhevka playing his Bach trumpet, courtesy of Conn-Selmer, Inc.

Big band music was not well popularized in the early 1990s. Forging a swing-revival group was a brave thing to do back in 1993. Despite only isolated instances of hit songs by others, Scotty Morris and his band pushed forward and developed a following. To date they’ve toured globally, performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, recorded from the legendary Capitol Studios and have become the mainstream poster-children of well-dressed swing revivalists. Pushing your craft forward in life mandates a certain degree of risk. If you want to become a leader, don’t be afraid to take it from time to time.

3. BE YOURSELF INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE. Not everyone appreciates the music that Big Bad Voodoo Daddy plays, and that’s okay with them. They’ve performed some recent works to more of a dixieland jazz style at times (which makes for a great listen), but they’ve never tried to sell out and shape their music for the latest trend. I don’t expect to hear them playing acoustic guitar on  Sirius XM The Coffee House anytime soon. That’s okay by me. I listen to them for who they are, not who I want them to be. The same holds true in the business world. Be genuine. Don’t try to shape your own or someone else’s image into someone they aren’t. It won’t result in memorable success for either party.

4. KEEP IT PERSONAL. BE ACCESSIBLE.

The BBVD guys take time to greet their fans

After the show, all of the members of BBVD took the time to personally shake hands, sign autographs, and pose for photos with their fans. I’ve always known them to do this, even at this venue which marked the close of an 11 day tour and they had an early flight home the next day. That speaks volumes for their generosity to their fans. I’m disenfranchised with another band I have seen in concert repeatedly. Witnessing them in a small venue, this unnamed trio eagerly pimped merchandise and charged a premium for signed copies of CDs, only to disappear to their green room after the show. In contrast, I’m guaranteed to buy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s next work as soon as it’s released. (The sneak previews they played at Kettle Moraine Jazz Fest sound great!) In modern business, it is abundantly clear that we are social creatures and need to connect off-stage to build relationships with the world. The public we encounter just might prove to be our most valued source of input.

[One final anecdote and a stunning example of a consummate professional making himself accessible: While posing for the photo with the band, my wife expressed our personal appreciation for their work. She mentioned we had used one of their songs as the first dance at our wedding, and upon inquiry we revealed which song specifically. After the crowd had passed and the photos and autograph session was complete, we were blown away when Scotty Morris approached us away from the group and relayed some truly personal details about where and how the song was inspired. What a way to establish a connection and win some fans for life! I can only dream to make my professional encounters as endearing as this.]

Scotty Morris (3rd from left) next to my wife while posing for photos

Well played, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! I tip my fedora hat to you for a great show and the unexpected inspiration. And of course the sound is that much sweeter knowing that many of you play on Conn-Selmer, Inc. instruments!

If you haven’t heard of ISPO – The International Sports Business Network, it is one of the largest sports industry shows in the world.  Held in Munich it takes up 14 show halls in the new Munich Trade Fair Centre.  ISPO draws exhibitors and attendees from all corners of the sports and fitness industry; from action and traditional sport to home fitness and everything between.

Echelon Design had the opportunity to work with Bowflex in their efforts to launch a new international marketing plan.  Traditionally, Bowflex has been very successful in selling their machines through the use of infomercials here in the US.  Evidently, we (Americans) are the only people in the world to buy products that are sold on TV, Europeans would require the products to be placed in traditional “big box” retail stores and ISPO was the perfect platform for such an initiative.  Echelon was asked to design an environment that showcased the TreadClimber and Select Tech product lines that could be leveraged to generate key international partnerships with select “big box” retail stores.

ISPO was held February 6-9 and I would say that the results speak for themselves.  During those three days, Bowflex wrote immediate orders that put them at nearly 500% ROI (they did not expect to write orders at the show).  Needless to say, Bowflex has a great product line and a well known name; Echelon was thrilled to be a part of a fresh marketing and looks forward to helping extend that brand as they continue to break into the European market.

Below is an overall view of the design concept and a quick photo that was taken during setup.

Something has be weighing on me the past few weeks. Like a knot in the stomach. I’ve been afraid to either admit it, or say it out loud, but a recent post by Dave Lutz at TSNN has given me the strength to come out with it.

Tradeshows kinda Suck.

Yesterday, I was re-reading HubSpot’s Social Media & Business Marketing eBook, and I came across something that startled me.

Ouch. Sandwiched between Telemarketing and Direct Mail in the pit of Interruption based marketing. Is this truly how marketers view tradeshows?

I’m realizing, it’s a broken system we’re in. I’ve been afraid to say it, but if the industry is to survive, this image needs to change. I have increasing conversations with exhibitors that reflect these flaws. I’ve heard this one over and over, “We’re only exhibiting at this show because our competitors are.” Really? Have we watered down and stripped the value of tradeshows so much to the point that the vision of tradeshows, being exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of qualified customers and prospects, has become a mirage to exhibitors? What happens when someone takes a stand and refuses to exhibit? Take the competitor out of the equation, and chances are you’ve lost this exhibitor as well. Let the dominos fall.

The value is fading.

Though I try, I can’t get past the idea that tradeshows are viewed as Interruption based marketing. We’re in the middle of a major shift in which Permission based marketing and advertising is dominating our culture.

Most of us have viewed the famous “Did you Know” video series, which supports this shift away from traditional marketing:

• In 2009, traditional advertising saw a steep decline:
  • Newspaper: -18.7%
  • TV: -10.1%
  • Radio: -11.7%
  • Magazine: -14.8%

While none of these numbers may be directly reflecting of tradeshow industry, the fact is traditional marketing is dying. Stack that up against statistics that show a 2.9% decrease in March, 1.4% decrease in April and 4.0% decrease in May for meeting and convention totals, it makes me believe the proverbial elephant has just entered to room…with friends.

We have a problem.

Regardless, I firmly believe there is an unending value in face to face meetings. A value that can’t be replaced by technology but instead is rooted in our humanistic need for that handshake or look in the eye that helps establish the trust we need to develop and sustain business. I don’t believe the current trends and views on tradeshows are because of a flawed vision for the industry, I believe it’s simply failed execution and lacking adaptation.

The good news is that I believe tradeshow CAN be permission based. Tools like Social Media, videos, blogging and community building are PERFECT for tradeshows. Relationships can now be formed before an event and sustained infinitely beyond it. Instead of being that guy, who looks like a lost puppy dog, waiting for attendees to clammer over his newest product brochure, we can develop networks and communities that support a field of business and use tradeshows and face to face environments simply to extend beyond it. To deepen and solidify those relationships.

Whatever the strategy, another thing needs to change: Universal value. If organizers are the only ones benefitting from tradeshows, why bother? How much long can we leave exhibitors, attendees and sponsors in the dark and expect them to put up with it? A four-sided partnership needs to be developed between these parties and structured to ensure benefit to all. Without one of these “gears” in the machine, the entire thing ceases to work.

Lara McCulloch recently illustrated how the events industry, as a whole, is shifting. She states, “The events industry is changing and our silos are breaking down.” Conference planners, meeting speakers, tradeshow vendors, are slowly being woven together in a world that is shrinking with tools like Social Media. This gives us the power to collectively adapt and make the changes necessary to better our industry. The question is – Are we ready for the task?

Stand together, or die alone.

As an Apple fanboy, I’m immersed in the culture of the brand and pay special attention to not only HOW they effectively market, but its effect on their customers and the feelings that are evoked. Much of their success comes from being able to market an element of mystery. Was the iPhone 4 leak truly a “leak”? Either way, it undoubtedly increased the buzz and viral effect around a product that was nothing more than speculation at the time. Every since the launch, Apple hasn’t been able to keep the new  iPhone 4 on the shelf.

However, there’s a balance in which your message needs to be clear and established. The above image was something I captured while driving by a local fast food chain. Is this message clouded in mystery? Yes. It is clear and established? Absolutely not. It could be anything from a hoagie to that nasty peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwich that my dad ate. The product has been lost in a vague message, and frankly, I’m just not that curious to find out.

Take a look at your exhibit marketing strategy. Are you selling sandwiches? Has your brand been lost in the marketing purgatory of “check out our exhibit” and “our service is superior” messaging? It’s important to spend time effectively transferring your marketing message to an exhibit environment and ensure that a few things are clearly strategized:

Why are you there?

An elementary question, it may seem, but truly ask yourself and your staff WHY you have elected to exhibit at a specific event. Is it to connect with existing customers or to make new ones? Is it to simply maintain a presence in your industry? Is it to develop partnerships and relationships with other exhibitors and attendees? Identifying the WHY is necessary to addressing the WHAT and HOW for your messaging.

Identify your TRUE audience

Had that sandwich been revealed to me more clearly, there’s still a good chance that I wouldn’t have stopped to explore it. It very well may have been that nasty peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwich. But there’s also a chance, had it  been conveyed to me properly, that it sounded so good that I risked a barrel role out of my car to try it.

We often mistaken EVERYONE as our audience. It’s important to understand that 30,000 attendees are not all potential customers. When you attempt to mass market, you begin to generalize your message to appeal to a larger amount, when in fact you’ve simply watered it down to those who may be your true audience. Understand that your product or service has a narrow, more specific target, and don’t compromise.

Focus on the Attraction

Creativity is a key component to developing an attractive message for your product or service. But don’t get too cute and sacrifice clarity for an attempt at creating an interest. Focus on what makes it great. Maybe “Try our New Spicy Chicken Sandwich” is a bit more specific, but something like “Free Glass of Milk with our New Spicy Chicken Sandwich” raises the attraction without sacrificing the message.

What examples have you seen, in or outside the exhibit world, that have stood out to you as strong, creative and clear messaging?

Great read from the Institute for Study of Business Markets (ISBM) on the life cycle of a sales lead after it’s generated by a marketing department.  According to their findings, nearly 70% of leads fall into the “black hole” where they’re simply not pursued by the sales force at all.  The reason for this is generally associated with several varying factors competing with sales reps time, ability to cultivate new relationships, etc.

The question you have to ask yourself as a marketer is are your trade show leads getting sucked into a black hole, and if so, why?

Courtesy of AMA’s Marketing Power News.

I hate cars. As much as I rely on them to get me around, I despise the care that’s needed to keep them running. I’m automotive illiterate. My dad showed me how to change a tire, change the oil and other basics for car maintenance, but I quickly learned as an adult that opening my wallet keeps my hands clean from dirt and grime. Even still, I tend to avoid an auto mechanic like a pack of rabid raccoons.

Recently, I had been in need of brakes from my car, but as my quest was to avoid the automotive dentist, I put it off and put it off….until I noticed a nasty grinding and squeaking sound from my car. It was unavoidable now. My presence was known for miles with the hideous sound and making the issue an afterthought had now become the first thing attributed with me on the road.

Tradeshow exhibitors often fall vicim to this routine. From exhibit planning, service orders, shipping, graphics and more, there’s a number of items, intentional or not, that are often overlooked. Some exhibitors accept this as part of the process. They sacrifice here to ensure their resources are spent over there. This stigma is simply bogus and the battle for tradeshow sanity can be won if you commit to the battlefront with a proper strategy. Avoid your small oversights and negligence to grow into a nasty representation of your exhibit brand.

Have a Service Team – If you’re a event marketer for your company, nothing would be better of your time than to do that. The saddest thing to see is a marketing strategy that has been killed because of the hours a company has spent simply getting to an event. Enlist members from your company to handle the logistics and services, while you can focus on making your event a success.

Exhaust your Resources - Are you working with an exhibit company? If so, let them take some of the pressure from you and your team. Many exhibit companies will coordinate service logistics and many have ties to best management practices. Is your event in New York but you live in Phoenix? Ask your exhibit company to assist with recommendations for carriers and local labor if you’re in unfamiliar territory. Often times their knowledge and relationships with these service providers means cost savings for you.

Detail your Shipments – There’s one undebatable waste of dollars – Time. Your time, employee’s time, laborer’s time is not meant to be utilized tracking down your newly printed set of brochures on a floor of crates a boxes. Take the time to itemize every box as to its content, and develop a system to easily identify items for quick and easy access. If you’re missing a critical component for your exhibit success, that success may take a vacation.

Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Quantity - Be wise with your budget. Having a large 50×50 island is nice, but does little good if you’ve sacrificed accurate brand representation to get in that space. Instead, construct a vision for your brand and identify it through all levels of representation; exhibit structure, graphics, colors, lighting, etc. Let your brand dictate the space and not the other way around.

Chances are, you’ve been successful in building an image, a brand around your company. People associate your company’s name with an identity, be it quality, service, professionalism, etc. Afterthoughts are little gremlins who  attack those attributes and even the littlest one can overshadow the most firm strategy. Destroy those gremlins with proper planning and systematic execution.

Trade show value and ROI comes after the event in the follow up – that’s where sales will come from.  But, most vendors fail in this area, 80% of trade show leads never receive a post show follow up, those followed-up on typically fall off the map after being sent the first and only email.  Think about it…..  We’ve invested significant time exhibiting at the event so that we can gain leads and prospects invested their time in visiting with us.  We owe it to every one involved to follow-up immediately.

Immediate follow-up is a must, “get it while its hot” as they say.  Plan ahead for follow-up, maybe it would have been appropriate to put a section for this in the pre-show planning.  I think that it is important to set actions for each type of lead, such as a customized email followed by a timely phone call for qualified leads, an email from the president for session attendees, an email blast from the marketing team for any unqualified attendee, etc.  Show generated leads are not cheap, $1,400 if you use the example given in part 1, so work all levels of communication while pushing for the sale, in person meeting and or demo.

Follow-up boils down to this……  Just do it!  We can come up with many reasons not to follow through with this step, “they dont want to be bothered”, “so much work piled up on my desk while I was gone”, “I dont even know where to start”.  Fact is that they are waiting for your out reach so set all of these fabricated reasons aside and do it!

At some point you will be able to call the trade show process complete and measure your results against your initial objectives.  This is when you have exhausted all leads and closed all the business that has resulted directly from the trade show itself.  If you kept good records of this activity, you should now be able to evaluate the success of this particular show.  After all, if you are going to put this much work and money into anything, don’t you want to make sure that it’s worth it?

Although ROI is one of the ways to measure your success, you should always consider the other benefits as well.  These benefits can include establishing your brand, community awareness, educating the public and building new relationships and alliances with other companies.  You will have to do your own analysis on these non-monetary benefits.

Best of luck with your upcoming shows!

Ok, you are prepared for the show and have addressed everything discussed in Trade Show Success Strategies ~ Pre-Show.  Opening day is just a few hours away and the question to ask is how do you make the most of your time on the floor?  How can we help insure that a desired ROI is obtainable?

It starts with YOU!

•80% of what a prospect remembers about a company is based on staff behavior and attitude
•YOU are one of the primary reasons why people will visit the booth
•64% of prospect’s impression is formed within 4 seconds
•YOU only get one shot at a first impression

Trade shows are unique sales environments in which everyone must be on top of their game.

•They are very expensive
•There are many distractions, anything from the neighbors circus act to the other neighbors “booth babes” can take your mind off the task at hand
•There is intense competition, you are surrounded by exhibitors trying to pull attendees away and into their booth..  Some of those are even your competitiors
•80% lookers vs. 20% real buyers
•You have limited time with prospects; 5-7 minutes
•They also provide a unique opportunity to beat the competition

How do you succeed in this unique environment?  Follow a 6 step process:

Step #1:  Attract & Approach

•Most attendees will not stop unless you approach them
•Use body language, appear approachable
•Attendees will not wait for you

Here are some interesting numbers for you.  6% of attendees will leave in 10 seconds, 11% leave in 30 seconds, 41% leave within the first minute if not approached.

Step #2: Qualify

•Know your audience
•Get the prospect to talk
•Respectfully dismiss unqualified prospects

Step #3 Present

•Rehears your presentation prior to the show
•Bond with the prospect and peak his or her interest in your companywill typically tune out
•Get to the point quickly, if you dont connect within the first 90 seconds the prospect

Step #4 Agree & Release

•Summarize your conversation
•Reconfirm prospects information
•Agree on specific next steps (followup call or meeting)
•Release and engage next prospect

Step #5 Document

•Capture good data (quality rather than quantity is the rule)
•Record key information, capture something personal about the prospect
•This may sound elementary but write clearly, accuracy is key

Step #6 Follow-up

I will dedicate the third part of this three part series to the “Follow-up” as I feel that this is all too often the weakest link in the process.

This is a process that will, without a doubt, put you on track for success in a trade show environment.  Remember that to begin new relationships, you must first engage and create a positive impression.   Being mindful of the fact that people need to trust you before they do business with you, be approachable, and listening more than you talk will help you do exactly that.

It is pretty easy to walk the show floor and spot the exhibitors that “just show up” and it is more common than you may think.  I was in Orlando for the HDI show last month and had a chance to catch lunch just before my departing flight.  The guy sitting next to me was obviously a sales guy, you know the look, that had been a staffer for an exhibitor at another show that was in town.  Mistakenly, I struck a conversation with him, I asked “how was the show for you guys”, “I hate trade shows” he responded, “really, why?”, “I think they are pointless and I dont like begging people to buy my product” he says.  Luckily it was time to catch my flight right after that comment.  Do you think this guy should have been representing his company at the show?

Exhibiting at a trade show can be an invaluable experience.  However, if you and your team are not prepared, your ROI will reflect that.  To get the most from exhibiting, you should have a realistic budget, goals, prepared staff, collateral in place, and set appointments.

Review and Implement a Realistic Budget
Setting a realistic budget is vital to the success of your show.  Common things to take into consideration are exhibit space, exhibit materials, show services, pre-show promotion and staff expense/time.  It’s almost impossible to realize positive ROI when you don’t know how much you’re spending – and what you’re spending it on!  I will be using a $70,000 overall budget for illustrative purposes below.

Set Goals

One of the best place to begin planning for the show is by identifying your trade show goals and strategies. Simply put, this is the way that you will position your company, products, and or services at the actual tradeshow. What are you trying to accomplish? What specific outcomes are you trying to achieve? What resources are you willing to commit to the actual event?  Your goals might look like this:

Goals:
- 500 Qualification Conversations
- 25 Commercial Leads
- 25 Enterprise Leads
- Cost Per Lead= $1,400 ($70,000 ÷ 50)

Staff Preparation

First step ~ be sure you are sending the correct staff members, dont send “that guy” I met in the airport.  Preparing your staff for the show can involve creating scripts for them, role-playing, and answering any questions they might have. Your trade show checklist should establish certain expectations regarding their collection of sales or leads. It should also remind you to assign specific responsibilities to your employees as early as 4 months before the event. Then, schedule weekly or biweekly training sessions to help them develop skills to engage visitors and qualify leads at the show.  Put together a presentation to bring the staffers up to speed with your goals and strategies, a good exercise is to show them exactly what it will cost for your company to simply have a presence at the show.  That might look something like this:

Overall budget= $70K
12 hours of show time
$5,833 per hour
$97.22 per minute
$1.62 per second

Collateral

This includes brochures, fact sheets, stands and posters for your booth. For trade shows, it’s a good idea to have these on a CD or USB drive and also include images or videos so you can give them to travel sellers to take away. You will need enough collateral for the show as well as for follow-up meetings and mailings.
Appointments

Be well prepared by taking the time to pre-schedule appointments, this will truly help you maximize your efforts.  Take it a step further and try to set these appointments with decision makers!

With these objectives in mind, you should feel good about what is to come from the show.  “But you dont have to take my word for it” – Burton ~ Reading Rainbow

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, what would you add?

Echelon Design, in conjunction with Exhibitor Media Group, had sponsored a survey in October of 2009 to learn how companies are using social media tools for marketing purposes, including event and tradeshow marketing campaigns. On January 15, 2010, the survey results were tabulated and released. Selected data points from this study will be published in the January 2010 issue of Exhibitor magazine and the Spring 2010 issue of Corporate EVENT magazine.

383 completed surveys were tabulated by corporate exhibit and event professionals responsible for their organization’s tradeshow and event marketing programs. Below are some highlights from the results. You can access the full report here.

The Facts

respondents who have incorporated social media into their exhibit marketing efforts, along with 24 percent of respondents who have used social media as part of their company’s B2B and/or B2C corporate events.

have used social media for more general marketing and branding purposes, excluding exhibits and events.

respondents who have used social media as an exhibit-marketing tool set measurable objectives prior to implementing their social-media campaigns.

of those indicated their social-media efforts met or exceeded those preshow objectives.

respondents who believe social media has “limitless” potential in the context of exhibit and event marketing.

An additionalbelieve it has “moderate” potential.

companies that have not used social media as part of their marketing efforts cite “lack of time to dedicate to social media” as the primary reason.

respondents who expect the value and importance of social media as a marketing tool to increase “strongly” or “somewhat” in the coming year.

The Data

Social networking sites represent the most common tool used by companies to promote their corporate events

Currently, nearly half of all exhibiting companies (46%) report using social media for marketing as part of their exhibit promotion efforts

The Response

By using Twitter at a recent trade show, my company was able to drive brand awareness among attendees. We were also able to increase the amount of traffic to our booth.

Using social media, we increased attendance at our regional meetings by 50 percent over prior years, and did so at about 50 percent of the cost.

Every day I broadcast daily e-mail promotions on our Twitter account. We track clickthroughs and sales, and we can actually see incremental sales from our tweets.Twitter also allows us to extend our marketing reach to niche markets that aren’t available to us otherwise.

The use of a mix of social-media platforms has increased our booth attendance as well as increased participation in online events (Webinars, etc.) that translate directly into sales.

Social media has increased our search engine optimization scores/rankings. We plan to continue using it as part of our marketing efforts.

The Takeaway

These results are supportive of a tradeshow industry, and marketing in general, that is embracing social media on an increasing scale. As a sponsor of this survey, we are proud to provide you access to the full report. You can read the results in their entirety here.

Are you planning to use social media in your tradeshow marketing campaign? Are you already using it? We’d love to hear your success stories and comments regarding this survey. For a recent example, check out “How to be Social at a Tradeshow.”