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| Message in a Capsule |
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It happens to exhibitors and visitors alike — Trade Show Sensory Overload Syndrome (TSSOS). Let's concentrate on being the visitor for a moment.
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 You enter into a crowded hall that is pulsing with excited voices, booth music, voice-overs, and the ringing of a thousand mobile phones. A bombardment of images from slide shows and video screens mixes with glaring lighting to wire-out your eyes. Every third booth has a live demo of the exhibitor's device, such as a scantily clad model undergoing nine straight hours of ultrasound. Your freebie trade show bag is crammed full with brochures, press releases, and business cards. Not forgetting the premiums and candies. Every booth you pass is calling for that most precious commodity — your attention.
You are truly overloaded. How do exhibitors get a clear message across that their product could be The One?
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So Are You The One? |
Dear Exhibitor, please reduce your visitor's confusion. You want focused attention; you need a focused message. The visitors you want to attract are the visitors with an agenda and an interest in your field. But how will they know that you could be The One if you don't let them? Read on for some enlightenment on potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.
If your assigned space is two square meters of promotion for four products, it will be very hard for visitors to identify any one of them. Chances are that they will glance at the booth, fail to pick up a clear message as to who you are and what you do, and move on.
Picture this: A visitor stops and expresses interest. You might even have managed to cut through the sensory overload and have a conversation. You hand out brochures and collect business cards. This is progress — what could go wrong?
The same visitor finds some quiet haven for a quick coffee and leafs through your brochure. But it was obviously hastily produced, and it is unclear and filled with poor English, not to mention some downright awful spelling errors. "How serious is this company if they cannot be bothered to put together decent publicity?" wonders the visitor. The brochure gets left on the table along with the empty coffee cup.
And now for some proactive trade show planning.
| | Who Is the One? |
"Companies should set themselves very clear objectives in order to identify their trade show strategy," according to Judy Golan, Trendlines' senior director of project development. "Identifying target audiences is essential, as is some careful pre-show effort," Judy emphasizes.
 Under the auspices of an Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute program, Trendlines provided consultancy services to first-time exhibitors at a recent MEDICA show in D?sseldorf, Germany. Judy and colleagues worked with the companies to research and prepare lists of potential distributors and strategic partners, crafted marketing communications copy, and provided feedback on the presentation materials.
Judy notes: "Companies who had done their homework arrived at the conference forearmed with the knowledge of how their products would fit into the product mix of targeted companies."
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| My One and Only |
If you are exhibiting in a small booth, you have to decide beforehand on which product to focus. The single biggest mistake is to cram all the information about all the applications of your technology into a tiny space. Multiple images that try to grab all visitors as opposed to homing in on your target audience will confuse and just add to that sensory overload. Getting your target visitor to stop at your space is the first step. Once you have full attention, you can interest the visitor in your other products and services.
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| Make Your Message Clear (and Packaged To Sell) |
At MEDICA, the booths with tangible or interactive exhibits were the showstoppers, observes Judy. People like to feel and touch. Samples are good for visuals — they don't have to be giveaways — and a positive, helpful attitude on the part of your team works wonders with hard-pressed visitors.
As well, don't forget that your brochures and other publicity materials should be professional and attractive, with your unique value proposition highlighted boldly and clearly. It is extremely unprofessional to produce brochures with mistakes and typos. This is a big turn off and is simply unnecessary when you consider how many resources are out there to help you.
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| It's All in the Follow-Up |
The phone isn't ringing off the hook? It would be a real shame to lose out because you did not take good notes about visitors you met, and because you did not follow up after the show with very directed comments. "Remember, follow-up should be prompt and relevant. Remind them what your product is and who you are — never assume that they will remember details," says Judy.
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| The Long and Short of It |
 "Trade shows can be overwhelming for both visitors and exhibitors," concludes Judy. "Try to ease the experience and make the most of what can be a great opportunity by being as helpful as possible to the visitor: have good, clear information, a focused message, a sample product, and a good attitude." And don't forget to maximize the trade show experience with preparatory groundwork and personal follow-up (and maybe some cool drinks and soothing balms for those overloaded visitors).
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The Trendletter team welcomes your comments.
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