Global Insights Magazine Issue 9 - Edited by SPS MARKETING 2013
e3 insights The Seven Sins of Trade Show Marketing
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
What mistakes should you avoid. And which trends should you not overlook. The trade show as a continuous management process. Page 4.
2 6 8 10 Welcome to the Get Ready Brand Land to Rumble
The Brand is the Star
Around the Globe
A concept rocks the greatest trade shows
Videos and interactive tools change the face of trade show marketing
Trade shows in other cultures follow different rules
A rumble in the trade show jungle
Welcome to the Brand Land! A trade show booth, catering and hostesses are not enough. Follow these best practices on how to win the competition for attention.
"An engaging brand world is vividly experienced right under the skin." Norbert Schrangl, trade show expert and CEO SPS MARKETING Linz
An extraordinary product presentation creates attention and highlights the customer benefit.
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Involve the expert audience with interactive tools at your booth.
Trade shows offer a perfect platform to launch new products. Maximize the impact of your communication by using the right channels in the run-up to the fair.
The trade show visitors experience technology firsthand, playfully discover innovations with interactive tools or chill out in extravagant lounge areas. What is offered here goes far beyond an ordinary trade show booth: Welcome to the Brand Land!
A fascinating world BMW, Apple or Nike show how it’s done: The experience profile of their brands is communicated with a multidimensional aspect that serves as the basis for the creation of distinctive brand identities. This strategy is naturally exploited at trade shows, since today's customers want to be fascinated. "An experienced brand creates a world that anchors the brand profile intensely in the memory of the visitors to the trade show," points out Norbert Schrangl, trade show expert and CEO of SPS MARKETING Linz. However what is the secret behind a perfect Brand Land? "It is never the architecture, the lighting concept, or the messages alone. The spirit of a brand has to be felt," says Norbert Schrangl. And that's only achieved through the intelligent interaction of all process steps, from strategy and planning to the concept and idea development up to the implementation. In the opinion of the experts, Brand Lands have enormous future potential. Norbert Schrangl: "The trade shows in emerging markets such as China and India are growing rapidly. We are witnessing a new chapter in direct communication and sales."
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The Seven Sins of Trade Show Marketing The maxim "The most important thing is to take part" no longer applies to B2B trade shows. A well-prepared sales team can, in a few days over the course of a trade show, generate more leads than the field service over several months. It simply must not be left to chance. What mistakes should you avoid? And what trends should you not overlook?
After the trade show is before the trade show The trade show as a continuous management process with seven steps The trade show as a continuous management process is a holistic concept with seven steps that allow the optimisation of the strategic trade show planning as well as of the process control. The sales team is involved at an early stage and the relevant measures are optimally coordinated with the strategic and operational goals. The seven-step process is followed by the analysis of the result, which provides decisive hints for the further process optimisation with respect to the next trade show appearance.
Strategic planning ● ● Trade show selection ● ● Trade show objectives ● ● Budgeting ● ● Exhibit selection ● ● Trade show coaching
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Conceptual planning
Operational planning
Trade show execution
Trade showfollow up
Performance analysis
● ● Trade show motto ● ● Communication ● ● Design of exhibition space/booth ● ● Public relations concept ● ● Market research concept
● ● Booth construction ● ● Booth logistics ● ● Trip scheduling ● ● Deadline monitoring ● ● Cost monitoring
● ● Trade show contacts ● ● Team coaching ● ● Daily reporting ● ● Opinion surveys ● ● Competitor monitoring
● ● Registration of leads ● ● Thank-you letters ● ● Lead management ● ● Reporting
● ● Invitation ● ● Quality of contacts ● ● New customers ● ● Opinion surveys ● ● PR
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Process optimisation ● ● Process analysis to evaluate potential for improvement ● ● Improvement and standardisation of the operational process
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"We're not going to attend. We have a newsletter!" In times of virtual supplier-customer relationships, the trade fair as a real customer touchpoint is more important than ever. No social media
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channel, no direct mailing can substitute for a personal conversation at the trade show booth. And even if you are not represented: Your competition is for sure.
"Our goal at the trade show is a good trade show appearance!" Set yourself specific goals that you want to achieve. No vague targets such as the generation of new customers or image enhancement!
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Only when your goals are precisely defined, is it possible for you to accordingly adjust the strategy and communication optimally.
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"Let's wait! We still have time!" In the event that your exhibition team is only fired up shortly before the trade show, the agenda of their potential trade show visitors will have in
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this case long been filled. A successful trade show is planned well ahead of time: with foresighted timing.
"We will rewrite the invitation from the previous year." Interest for a trade show visit is awakened well beforehand – with the right trade show invitation. You should thereby always ask yourself: Are the
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messages of the invitation relevant? Do they at all reach the target groups?
"Someone should hand out flyers!" To talk about innovation and progress is one thing. To make them be felt and to argue credibly however requires a holistic communication concept with relevant content and tailored messages. The others also
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speak of "innovation", "efficiency" or "sustainability". You can not lure customers with empty word phrases.
"We take what comes." The number of decision-makers among the specialised trade show visitors is increasing. A good trade show team knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Therefore: Do not waste time with
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flukes, but already in advance focus on the relevant target groups and comply with this objective.
"We now have a year off!" Wrong! After the trade show is before the trade show. It should immediately be followed up with the assessment, potential analysis and process optimisation. Through the further development and
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standardisation of the processes you create the perfect starting point for the trade show appearance in the following year.
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Get Ready to Rumble There is no free ride at specialist international trade shows. In the trade show hall, you do not have virtual competitors, but instead real competitors, positioned immediately in front of you or behind you or else next to you. This is the sharpest competition that one can imagine. The trade show is more challenging than ever before. And more alive than ever before.
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Mega Trend: Employer Branding How a good trade show appearance strengthens the employer brand
The competition for the best employees is also shifting to to the trade show site. "Image communication as an employer brand towards potential employees is increasingly becoming more relevant," says Gerhard Preslmayer, employer branding expert and CEO of SPS MARKETING. In order to score with the coveted target groups of engineers and technicians, more and more companies in the high-tech sector are investing in an attractive brand appearance. This is, according to experts, a mega trend that will shape communications in the coming years.
The specialist trade show is an extreme concentration of suppliers and buyers at a given location, bringing together a highly primed and concentrated available target group as well as an easy to analyse competition. And that all takes place face to face. The trade show expert Elke Clausen reveals how companies correctly arm themselves for the ultimate experience in sales – the trade show acquisition.
Ms. Clausen, you have for over 20 years managed international B2B brands at specialist trade shows. What do you advise your customers? Elke Clausen: The prevalent perception of the trade show as an event, definitely falls short of Elke Clausen Business consulter and trade show coach
the mark. The trade show is an ongoing management process that requires strategic planning and continuous optimisation.
How does one control the trade show process? Elke Clausen: The trade show process consists of several phases and begins well beforehand. In the event that a company foregoes the acquisition prior to the trade show, it will disproportionately invest a lot of time and money in the identification and qualification of potential customers at the trade show – the trade show success in this case primarily depends on chance hits at the trade show.
And how does one proceed with the correct strategy? Elke Clausen: A savvy salesperson sees the show as a unique opportunity and incorporates in his planning already at the start of the year. Knowing that he is able to generate more new leads within a few days than in the course of a month of field work, he is already fired up weeks before the trade show. After all, he will only be able to take advantage of the trade show if he leaves little to chance.
Many customers seem insecure at first contact. What do you advice? Elke Clausen: A professionally active team does everything possible to workaround the inhibition threshold of customers. In a multi-stage acquisition action, potential customers are "warmed up". This builds confidence, facilitates the first acquaintance and shortens the trade show interlocution.
Ms. Clausen, thanks for sharing your expertise!
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The Brand is the Star! See, discover, marvel: The mega trend at the B2B trade shows are concepts that allow touch, convey a feeling of physical proximity and create tension: moving images and interactive tools have evolved into an integral part of specialised trade shows.
A video wall becomes a visual highlight with the right branding.
Mobile applications support the sales team in direct communication.
"Today's applications offer exceptional possibilities for motion design." Denis Topolic, motion designer at SPS MARKETING Linz
Trade show visitors gaze intently at the monitor and dive into a fascinating world. In the competition for attention, moving image takes a dominant role. Relevant messages moulded into self explanatory animations or in authentic short video clips quickly penetrate into the relevant set of target groups – provided the content is right, the appearance matches the company branding, and the aesthetics have differentiation potential. "Today's applications offer exceptional possibilities for motion design. If you in also have a creative team that can fully exploit this potential, the ideas are endless," says Denis Topolic, motion designer at SPS MARKETING Linz.
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Content shared on your Facebook page provides fascinating insights to your customers.
Teaser clips launched on your YouTube channel can raise attention before the trade show starts.
Trade fair architecture is an integral part of the communication.
The message of the electronic fair invitation must be perfectly tailored to the target groups.
A branded USB card is a very effective press release.
Cross Media Communication A video can tell a whole story in a few minutes. An interactive tool can take the visitors on an exciting journey. To multiply the effect, brands deploy these formats in a cross-media manner. A teaser clip, launched in relevant social media channels, portals and media stirs up the expectations of the target groups long before the trade show opens. And even long after the trade show ends, the videos can be used interactively and effectively – on road shows, over the internet, on mobile applications, or in the company's own reception area. It's an investment that pays off over the long term.
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Around the Globe Trade shows in emerging markets are growing rapidly. Companies who want to be successful in China or India, can not afford to stay away, or to violate any local rules of conduct.
Companies who want to successfully present themselves on the international market must know how to take large and small differences among the cultures into consideration. Everyday behaviours, such as eating or drinking, can in the emerging markets of China and India, be very different from what any one who is accustomed the European and American trade shows, would expect. Cultural differences naturally also affect the sales and marketing activities. "In order to present yourself successfully, you must develop a cultural understanding of the host country. Targeted training prepares the sales team – so there are no surprises," says Gerhard Preslmayer, trade show expert and CEO of SPS MARKETING Linz.
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Strong competition on the booming Chinese market
Close to the customer at the India Auto Expo Delhi
SPS MARKETING for Magna at the Auto China Beijing
SPS MARKETING for Magna at the India Auto Expo Delhi
Expert hints In order to be successful in foreign business markets, it's a good idea to get local support in the process. Having a local market expert who knows the local customs, how the flow of visitors works, and Gerhard Preslmayer Trade show expert and CEO of SPS MARKETING
typical visitor behavior will help ensure your trade show investment is well-spent. In additional, local market analysis can serve as the basis for important decisions such as choosing your site within the hall or planning the entire trade show construction. "We understand the entire trade show process and can support our customers locally. We permanently update our know-how in the E3 network," says Gerhard Preslmayer, on why it pays to have an experienced partner at your side.
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The Seven Sins of Trade Show Marketing
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