Why Don"t You Visit Us at Our Booth?
I just got back from presenting at three conferences, spanning three very different industries.
As is the case, some of these events featured trade shows where suppliers and vendors purchase booth space to try and pick up new business from the primary attendees.
Some of these booths are the standard 10' x 10' size; while others are mini-cities unto themselves, taking up large and highly visible portions of the show floor.
Despite these variations in size, staff, and expense, one thing remains constant: the absolutely abysmal quality of the preconference post cards.
Come See Us at Booth 107...
There are three main time frames involved with exhibiting at a trade show: before the show, during the show, and after the show.
We could spend an entire issue talking about all three-and the implications they have in your own marketing.
But since we have so much more to cover this month, we'll limit our focus to the first one: pre-event marketing.
Most trade shows make the list of registered attendees available to exhibitors-either as a part of their fee or for an additional charge.
This is a valuable asset, since it lets you communicate with the very people you're trying to reach before they even head out to the event so you can entice them to visit your booth at the show.
Unfortunately, I use the word "entice" loosely here since almost without exception, the preconference materials they send out wouldn't entice a starving person to visit a gourmet restaurant.
As I'm frequently listed on the attendee list, even though I'm really there to present, I often get these "come see us" post cards-sometimes over 100 of them for any given event.
And because of this, I'm able to draw some broad observations from them for you.
So What? If you've ever been in one of my live programs, you almost certainly have experienced the "So What" game, where I display an ad with an obvious flaw, and the audience all shouts in unison: "So what!" Even though there has been a reduction in the amount of marketing materials being produced, particularly with today's dismal economy, there still is a lot of competition for people's time and attention.
Which is precisely why anything you send to your audience-pre-conference mailings included- must stand out from the pack and command immediate attention.
And bearing in mind that a post card is a marketing piece, subject to the 12 components on our Kick-Butt Copy Checklist, the cards I receive generally include two or three of the 12-maybe four if it's one of the better ones.
So what are the most common mistakes? No Headline If there is something that could even pass for a headline, it's either the name of the company and its logo or the tantalizing, "Come See Us at Booth #100.
" The purpose of the killer headline is to get you to read the next line.
And when these post cards are arriving five at a time, you need something truly effective to cut through the clutter and prevent the card from being tossed in the "I'll read it later" pile-or even worse, the trash.
No Incentive or Call to Action If you can get past the lack of a meaningful headline, well there simply has to be a better incentive than "stop by and see us.
" If you've ever been to a large trade show, you know that it can be nearly impossible to even see all of the booths, much less stop by and visit each one.
A good post card gives a strong incentive to stop by the booth when passing-a great one makes the booth a destination all by itself.
Prizes, time-sensitive offers, and special "mini courses" that require registration are all effective options.
No Booth Number! This should seem so obvious, I'm almost embarrassed to mention it, but it is kind of important to actually include the booth number on the post card.
On more occasions than I care to mention, I've received pre-event post cards in the mail inviting me to visit a company's booth at the conference...
only to omit the booth number! Call me old-fashioned, but when I want someone to do something that's going to bring me money, I try to make it as easy as possible for them to do it.
Forcing prospects to write down my company name, dig through their "event bag" for the exhibitor listings, and search for my entry so they can find the booth number, well that just seems like too much work.
And all of this really leads us to the core problem: people are too lazy in their marketing.
In this case, they go to the effort to identify a suitable show, secure space, develop a post card, and commit resources to staff the booth...
only to drop the ball when it comes to actually getting people to visit.
Unfortunately, this "Field of Dreams" attitude-"If we build it, they will come"-rears its ugly head far too often: the retail store whose owners think a "Grand Opening" sign in the window constitutes marketing.
The association that sends a letter announcing its new logo...
without an offer.
The salesperson who successfully books the appointment...
and then fails to actually ask for the order.
Common problems, all easily fixed.
Make sure you don't make mistakes like these in your business.
As is the case, some of these events featured trade shows where suppliers and vendors purchase booth space to try and pick up new business from the primary attendees.
Some of these booths are the standard 10' x 10' size; while others are mini-cities unto themselves, taking up large and highly visible portions of the show floor.
Despite these variations in size, staff, and expense, one thing remains constant: the absolutely abysmal quality of the preconference post cards.
Come See Us at Booth 107...
There are three main time frames involved with exhibiting at a trade show: before the show, during the show, and after the show.
We could spend an entire issue talking about all three-and the implications they have in your own marketing.
But since we have so much more to cover this month, we'll limit our focus to the first one: pre-event marketing.
Most trade shows make the list of registered attendees available to exhibitors-either as a part of their fee or for an additional charge.
This is a valuable asset, since it lets you communicate with the very people you're trying to reach before they even head out to the event so you can entice them to visit your booth at the show.
Unfortunately, I use the word "entice" loosely here since almost without exception, the preconference materials they send out wouldn't entice a starving person to visit a gourmet restaurant.
As I'm frequently listed on the attendee list, even though I'm really there to present, I often get these "come see us" post cards-sometimes over 100 of them for any given event.
And because of this, I'm able to draw some broad observations from them for you.
So What? If you've ever been in one of my live programs, you almost certainly have experienced the "So What" game, where I display an ad with an obvious flaw, and the audience all shouts in unison: "So what!" Even though there has been a reduction in the amount of marketing materials being produced, particularly with today's dismal economy, there still is a lot of competition for people's time and attention.
Which is precisely why anything you send to your audience-pre-conference mailings included- must stand out from the pack and command immediate attention.
And bearing in mind that a post card is a marketing piece, subject to the 12 components on our Kick-Butt Copy Checklist, the cards I receive generally include two or three of the 12-maybe four if it's one of the better ones.
So what are the most common mistakes? No Headline If there is something that could even pass for a headline, it's either the name of the company and its logo or the tantalizing, "Come See Us at Booth #100.
" The purpose of the killer headline is to get you to read the next line.
And when these post cards are arriving five at a time, you need something truly effective to cut through the clutter and prevent the card from being tossed in the "I'll read it later" pile-or even worse, the trash.
No Incentive or Call to Action If you can get past the lack of a meaningful headline, well there simply has to be a better incentive than "stop by and see us.
" If you've ever been to a large trade show, you know that it can be nearly impossible to even see all of the booths, much less stop by and visit each one.
A good post card gives a strong incentive to stop by the booth when passing-a great one makes the booth a destination all by itself.
Prizes, time-sensitive offers, and special "mini courses" that require registration are all effective options.
No Booth Number! This should seem so obvious, I'm almost embarrassed to mention it, but it is kind of important to actually include the booth number on the post card.
On more occasions than I care to mention, I've received pre-event post cards in the mail inviting me to visit a company's booth at the conference...
only to omit the booth number! Call me old-fashioned, but when I want someone to do something that's going to bring me money, I try to make it as easy as possible for them to do it.
Forcing prospects to write down my company name, dig through their "event bag" for the exhibitor listings, and search for my entry so they can find the booth number, well that just seems like too much work.
And all of this really leads us to the core problem: people are too lazy in their marketing.
In this case, they go to the effort to identify a suitable show, secure space, develop a post card, and commit resources to staff the booth...
only to drop the ball when it comes to actually getting people to visit.
Unfortunately, this "Field of Dreams" attitude-"If we build it, they will come"-rears its ugly head far too often: the retail store whose owners think a "Grand Opening" sign in the window constitutes marketing.
The association that sends a letter announcing its new logo...
without an offer.
The salesperson who successfully books the appointment...
and then fails to actually ask for the order.
Common problems, all easily fixed.
Make sure you don't make mistakes like these in your business.
Source...