7 Keys To Building Your Trade Show ROI For The Future

7 Keys to Building Your Trade Show ROI for the Future
How to Leverage Digital Technology Before, During & After the Show
Trade Shows: More Than Just a Sales Rep in a Booth
CATEGORY: TRADE SHOWS, B2B, PUBLIC RELATIONS, DIGITAL
130 S. Bemiston Suite 800 | St. Louis, MO 63105 | P: 314.727.5850 | www.geileon.com
WHITE PAPER | How to Leverage Digital Technology Before, During & After the Trade Show
Introduction: MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING WHY?

At Geile/Leon Marketing Communications, we have a deep respect and understanding for what it takes to achieve meaning. Its a process of discovery that is proven and revealed over time.
It starts with asking yourself, Why? What does asking this mean for you? Well, do you know why you do, what you do? Why are you in this business, why are you participating and attending trade shows, why do you want to reach people, why do you need to focus on your digital opportunities at trade shows?
Page 2 | 7 KEYS TO BUILDING YOUR TRADE SHOW ROI FOR THE FUTURE | www.geileon.com
Overview
After two recent recessions, the trade show endures. And this year promises continued growth for exhibitors across the world. By examining the evolving trade show landscape, the following white paper provides a trade show outlook for 2013 and beyond. It offers insight related to how digital can supplement the trade show experience and ultimately lead to stronger customer relationships, new business opportunities and profitable sales leads. Key takeaways include the following
7 Keys to Building Your Trade Show ROI for the Future:
Figure Out What You Need & Plan for It, Digitally
Convert Your Booth Into A Good Press Outlet
Make Your Exhibit Relevant
Dont Forget: Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction
Deliver A New Experience People Cant Get Anywhere Else
Focus On Digital Technology & Digital Content Be Alert
Stay Determined
igure Out What You Need & F Plan for It, Digitally
For vendors and marketers who are participating in trade shows, it is not enough to simply arrive at a show and man your booth. Do your researchfigure out who is attending your trade shows, and figure out which people give you the best chance to develop quality leads. Things like better pre-show strategic planning, event choice and booth selection will only help to improve your results. In addition, keep in mind that the post-show activity is just as important as taking part in the show itself. One of the more common mistakes that marketers and vendors make involves the inability to follow up on a lead after the show.
do not follow up on leads1
of trade show exhibitors
79%
People get flooded with emails, other things come up, but make sure you dont just forget about the people you talked to. You want an actual return on your investment following your trade show, dont you? Lets also not forget the wave of digital technology available today and how it can help you improve future trade show success. Jason McGraw, senior vice president of expositions at InfoComm International reflects, In our digital world, we predict more pronounced engagement between show organizers and attendees through apps, social media, mobile-friendly sites and more. There is increased recognition of the role of tablets and apps, whether it is for exhibitor engagement or keeping attendees up to date on room changes.2 This does a great job of highlighting even the little things you can do with digital technology as a marketer and/or vendor. Use whats available out there, and create a strategic digital plan ahead of time. If you invest the time to learn more about your attendees and follow up with them afterward, you will see an increase in leads and, ultimately, sales.
Trade show spending will reach
15.62
billion
by 2014, based on a CAGR of 4.2%3
onvert Your Booth Into A C Good Press Outlet
When done right, trade shows can, and should, be key components of companies marketing efforts. The reason is pretty simple: trade shows are an excellent opportunity to reach existing and potential customers, investors, industry analysts and journalists over a short period of time. Whats the key to doing it right? Pay close attention to the public relations component of your marketing effort. If your company is looking to elevate itself in the marketplace, announcing a new product, service or acquisition, then incorporating a PR element into your show marketing strategy is a must. With a PR team in place, you have the ability to contact desired media in attendance and have them assist in spreading the word about whats new. But, how do you make the media interaction at your booth even better? The rate of digital penetration in your industry will dictate how aggressive an event must be to incorporate new technology into its design and execution.4 The combination of a new-look booth and incorporating fresh video technology creates excitement for the media, as well. If they get excited, chances are they will spread a similar message to the public for you.
ake Your Exhibit M Relevant
Change is the only constant, no matter what youre talking about. If you are using the same trade show graphics and lead conversion techniques from five years agoits time to change. The faster you can react to change and the more relevant your event is to todays industry trends, the better your trade show ROI will be in the future.
Sales call lead conversion Keeping an event relevant over time also means researching and understanding the changes in technology surrounding the larger business marketplace and how these technologies are being used by exhibitors and attendees. These understandings will enable event management to make the right changes in their event at the right time and for the right reasons.5 Technologies are becoming more prominent and more affordable each day. Dont let spending money on technology prevent you from gaining exposure and gathering valuable leads. How can you be more relevant with the changes of today? Take a look at what other exhibitors are doing. The successful ones incorporate a strategic team with engaging content and videos in their booths. So should you. Make the booth pop so people that pass by actually want to interact with what you have to say. With any trade show, you are trying to put together an exceptional and unrivaled experience, and you can only hope to do that in the future if you are engaging with relevant content. Stop trying to tell attendees what your business is all about and show them.
Trade show lead conversion
38%
less
Costs
Converting a trade show lead to a sale costs 38% less than sales calls alone6
attendees
90%
ont Forget: Nothing Beats D Face-to-Face Interaction
The jury has spoken on technology replacing live events: It simply is not going to happen. Technology can be a true networking facilitator through matchmaking, blogs, LinkedIn groups and more, that all serve to make the attendeeparticularly first-timersfeel more comfortable.7
marketers
91%
Your goal should be to augment face-to-face interactions at trade shows with technology, not replace them. Remember, a firm handshake and a genuine dialogue that focuses on the customers needs cannot be replaced in some cases.
The ability to read body language, determine an interest level and figure out how engaged your attendees are all act as critical elements in ensuring success at your booth. So, how does digital fit into this process? Combining face-to-face interaction with post-event digital engagement (via social media, email or other avenues) will enhance your trade show conversationsultimately resulting in boosting your organizations presence and strengthening leads.
eliver A New Experience People D Cant Get Anywhere Else
This is what sets you apart. If you are simply providing banners and literature that can all be consumed from your website, your results will likely reflect the lack of effort and creativity that define your booth presence. Improve your results by making your booth appear as serious as you are. Offer attendees an engaging experience they cannot get anywhere else at the trade show or online. Your online materials should serve as reinforcements to your sales objectives, not replacements. Social media, specifically, should act as an introduction and as an avenue to follow up conversation by publicly displaying your brands image and your brand culture. In todays digital age, individuals are researching more and more online before ever speaking to a person in sales about purchasing. Now, word-of-mouth can be gauged both through in-person interactions and through your digital presence. Spend the time (and resources) to make your organization stand out. If you have a trade
Trade show visitors will tell
83%
of the attendees have some sort of buying power9
show booth that looks like it was put together after a 30-minute trip to Kinkos, chances are your attendees will notice how invested you truly are. Be conscious of your organizations online presence, and spend the extra money to make your booth unique. You can do this not just with graphics, but things like lighting, flooring, valuable giveaways and yes, more video content.
6+ people
about their experience10
ocus On Digital Technology & Digital F ContentBe Alert

G/L had the chance to talk with Michael Flavin, Skyline Exhibits & Graphics Mid-America and President of The Business Marketing Association St. Louis, about the future of trade shows and how technology can be used within an exhibit to set you apart. At Skyline, they are always cutting-edge and alert of current trends around the world for trade shows, and they do an excellent job of incorporating their latest digital capabilities with whats available to marketers today. For example, they developed lead capture software that can be used for marketing before, during and after the show to eliminate people throwing away what you pass out to them and, therefore, wasting your print materials and money.
Michael Flavin says, The ability to use new technology like integrating an iPad, an Android tablet or touch screen monitor where you can create games for people to participate in, use as a qualifying mode for branching survey questions, or simply eliminate the amount of literature that you pass out improves the overall experience. You can use the touch screen to scan their badge and get the right contact information, and provide them with valuable follow up content and links.11
Keeping up-to-date with digital technology is just half the battle. You must USE it, too. Its not enough to focus on delivering content a few times a year; you need to position yourself as an industry leader. You should be delivering meaningful content year round. How do you do it?
According to Brian Page at ExpoWeb.com, Consider hosting a blog, staging a periodic webinar, hosting a reception in a key market, remaining active in social media, and establishing strategic relationships with industry magazines and websites to keep your brand top of mind.12 If you are able to position your brand correctly, more and more attendees will come looking for you at trade shows. Staying alert and active digitally with content for your industry community increases your brands awareness and reach.
Stay Determined
Trade shows are the #1 business-to-business marketing spend to support sales, beating out specialty publications, internet, promotions and PR, respectively.13 But, measuring results following your trade shows is not always easyyou have to stay determined. Like most marketing techniques, its an ongoing process that takes time to perfect. When you are discouraged about how much money goes into creating your trade shows presence, consider this:
85% of decision makers say attending trade

shows saves their company time and money by bringing vendors together under one roof.14 Opportunities for success in trade shows still exist, big time. And now, there is more upside than ever before. By staying focused and determined, you will fully utilize the ever-expanding digital technologies available to further engage with attendees and improve their overall experience. When it comes to trade shows: Dont give up, dont ever give up.
85%
Conclusion
As a trade show participant, vendor, and/or marketer, your digital expertise, investment, and effort will pay off with stronger customer relationships, new business opportunities and profitable sales leads. Once you have implemented a meaningful and strategic digital approach to enhancing your trade show engagement, you will improve your future trade show success. In summary, here are our provided tips:
Figure Out What You Need & Plan for It, Digitally Convert Your Booth Into A Good Press Outlet Make Your Exhibit Relevant Dont Forget: Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction Deliver A New Experience People Cant Get Anywhere Else Focus On Digital Technology & Digital Content Be Alert Stay Determined
About Geile/Leon
WHY do we do it?
G/L believes that every company has a deeper purpose and its the agencys role to help those companies discover their why. By identifying, defining and revealing that deeper sense of purpose, companies can strengthen their brand and attract buyers that believe what they believe. Once the companys purpose has been identified, G/L creates work that means something. Work that changes behaviors and builds relationships with the people to whom we are targeting our messagebuilding meaningful relationships between the company and buyer and causing buyers to make decisions that will benefit them and, ultimately, our clients. Whatever we do, whatever we say, whatever media vehicle we choose, we make it mean something.
HOW do we do it?
We dig deep to understand the customer and their relationship with the brand. We implement proven processes that allow us to gain valuable customer insight and discover the brands differentiating value proposition. We are listeners and strategic problem solvers who help brands develop strong, emotional connections with their employees, distribution channel and the end-user.
WHAT do we do?
We discover and refresh brands and create integrated marketing communications to activate the brands into the marketplace. We specialize in B2B industries, and we have a knack for taking complex marketing challenges and distilling them down into concise, simple, compelling campaigns that resonate and compel buyers to act.
Sources
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012 Outlook 2013: What the Industry Sees, ExpoWeb.com Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Communications Industry Forecast, 2010-2014 Scenarios for the Future: Convention Exhibits & Tradeshows of 2015, PCMA.org Scenarios for the Future: Convention Exhibits & Tradeshows of 2015, PCMA.org The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012 Outlook 203: What the Industry Sees, ExpoWeb.com The Value of Trade Shows, Skyline Exhibits & Graphics Mid-America The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012 The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012 Michael Flavin, Account Executive: Skyline Exhibits & Graphics Mid-America; President: BMA St. Louis More Than Just a Trade Show: Brian Page, ExpoWeb.com 10 Impressive Statistics to Back Your Trade Show Marketing Program, GraphiColor The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012

7 Keys To Building Your Trade Show ROI For The Future

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7 Keys To Building Your Trade Show ROI For The Future

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7 Keys to Building Your Trade Show ROI for the Future

Trade Shows: More Than Just a Sales Rep in a Booth

CATEGORY: TRADE SHOWS, B2B, PUBLIC RELATIONS, DIGITAL

130 S. Bemiston Suite 800 | St. Louis, MO 63105 | P: 314.727.5850 | www.geileon.com

Introduction: MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING WHY?