ROI in Trade Shows? Fuggedaboutit.

It's time to change the conversation about trade shows.

Savvy exhibitors have ceased thinking quixotically about ROI and moved on to more urgent and practical matters.

What do they want from their trade shows spend?

It's pretty darn simple.

Leads and sales.

Exhibit marketing isn't like the other popular B2B marketing tactics.

Websites, Webinars, SEO, paid search, e-mail, PR, print advertising, direct mail and social media are all one or more steps removed from personal selling.

Executives demand fancy evidence of ROI in them, because they can readily suck up time and money without clearly driving sales.

But exhibit marketing is different.

It's so closely tied to personal selling that executives don't demand elaborate proof of ROI in it. No more than they demand that salespeople "prove" with charts and graphs the ROI in phone calls, travel, lodging, hospitality and gifts.

Any particular trade show, instead, is judged a lot like a salesperson is judged.

In assessing a show's performance, executives want to know:

• Does the show help our company communicate effectively?
• Does it help us establish industry leadership?
• Does it let us identify promising accounts?
• Does it help us educate and develop buyers?
• Does it create valuable relationships?
• And does it, when all's said and done, produce sales?

ROI in trade shows?

Fuggedaboutit.

Controlling Drayage Costs

Blogger Valerie Hurst wrote today's guest post.  She is an account executive for Skyline Exhibits.

Tradeshow exhibitors, how many times have your show services been estimated—and all costs seem to be under control—when you receive the post-show service invoice, and the drayage costs shock you and throws you over your budget?

The official definition of drayage (aka, "material handling") is "the unloading of your exhibit properties; storing up to 30 days in advance of the show at a warehouse; delivering properties to the booth; the handling of empty containers to and from storage; and removing of material from the booth for reloading onto outbound carriers" (source: Freeman).

Here are my top five recommendations for controlling drayage costs:

Consolidate shipments under 200 pounds into one shipment. There is always a minimum drayage charge for every shipment delivered to the warehouse or show site. By consolidating shipments, your charges will be based on the total shipment weight, instead of individual minimum charges. Plus, by consolidating shipments, your properties will stay together and have less chance of being misplaced!

Know the material handling rates. Sometimes it is less expensive to ship to the warehouse, while other times it is more cost effective to ship direct to the show site. Some shows now include the cost of drayage with booth space, but usually require you to ship direct to the show site. Do your homework: review the show kit, compare freight costs and the timing of the arrival of freight, and decide what makes sense for your booth space.

Know the target dates to avoid overtime charges. Every warehouse accepts freight between certain hours and for each show there is a warehouse deadline. If you miss this deadline, overtime charges are often 25 percent more than the standard rates. Consider shipping direct to show site if you can; or, if your shipment is small, ship to your hotel and hand-carry your items into the show. Again, the information you need is in the show kit.

Understand what is considered "special handling". Did you know that if carpet and padding are shipped with your crated exhibit properties, that special handling charges often apply? Did you know that, if a truck requires ground unloading, or if you ship via FedEx, UPS, Airborne or DHL, these shipments are also charged at a higher rate? Understand the general contractor's definition of special handling and work with your traffic manager to ship your items, properly labeled, in the right size truck, and not mixed with loose items.

Is your move-In or move-out target date on an overtime day? Many shows have targeted move-in and move-out dates. Perhaps your booth is scheduled to move out on a Saturday, even though the show ends at 2 pm on Friday. Review the show kit to find the person you can contact to request to have this date changed. Many times this will be allowed, but of course it depends on the size of your booth and where you are located on the show floor. It does not hurt to inquire, as it could save you money.

Photo courtesy of Tim Wilson.

Selling at Tradeshows—Part 2

Share, Don't Stare

Tradeshows are an ideal opportunity for "storytelling," as my previous post emphasized.

But most exhibitors waste that opportunity.

Rather than engaging attendees in their why, they lurk about their booths, eyeing attendees like predators... waiting for some display of vulnerability. 

The moment they detect a sign of weakness, they pounce, hoping to subdue victims with a deadly shower of product features.

Tradeshow marketing guru Steve Miller likens this behavior to "hunting."

He advises exhibitors to quit hunting and, through friendly words and gestures, create a "safe zone" where attendees won't feel threatened.

Miller also recommends that exhibitors avoid these unfriendly behaviors:

• Sitting
• Reading
• Eating and drinking
• Talking on the phone and texting
• Standing in the aisle like the "border guard"
• Clustering with other booth staffers (like some "street gang")
• Ignoring attendees
• Sizing up attendees instantly
• Handing out stuff freely

Selling at Tradeshows—Part 1

NOTE: This is the first in a series of two posts.  Without shame, I confess to pirating ideas from others. But in the words of poet T.S. Eliot, "Good writers borrow.  Great writers steal."

Tell, Don't Sell

A tradeshow can be an ideal medium for "storytelling" (in Seth Godin's sense).  

Think of the attendees as scouts gathered round your campfire, except their badges aren't for merit.

Unfortunately, most companies don't maximize the medium.  That's because they define selling not as storytelling, but as revenue generation.

Desperate to generate revenue, most companies that exhibit at tradeshows try to engage attendees by "pitching" product features.  

But this definition of selling is passe.  Worse yet, allowing this definition of selling to drive exhibiting produces nothing but the real-world equivalent of spam.  And everyone hates spam.

Tradeshow exhibiting—when handled effectively—generates relationships.

And relationships are built on stories, stories that "start with why" (in Simon Sinek's sense).  Why are you in business?  Why should anyone care?  Why do customers spend money with you?

As an exhibitor, you have two compelling reasons to quit selling and start telling:

• Most attendees have done their homework (product research) before the show.  They know what the players in your field do.  The one thing they may not know is why.

• With all your competition—all the me-too products vying for attendees' attention—you can't afford to waste the chance to engage them with your why by focusing on features.

What's the lesson here? 

Revenue generation is imperative.  But storytelling precedes it.

Scout's honor. 

Next installment: Share, Don't Stare