Say the word “tradeshow,” and what comes to mind? Let me guess: row upon row of 10×10 or 10×20-foot cubicles punctuated by the occasional 40-foot island display. Each a separate venue, and each one trying desperately (or not so desperately) to gain attention and engage passersby in conversation.
If you’ve ever been responsible for exhibiting at a tradeshow, you know that the overriding goal typically is to “drive traffic to the booth.” To do this, you’ve probably tried the pre-show mailer or email asking prospective attendees to “come to our booth and get something for free,” followed up by the obligatory fishbowl for business cards. Then you stand there and wait. So how has this worked out for you? Not so much? Let me suggest another approach.
A tradeshow is a show. It’s a performance, and your company is on stage. Why do you remember and talk with your friends about movies that you’ve seen? Because a good movie stimulates your senses and engages you emotionally. So much so that you can replay entire scenes weeks or years later, complete with the emotions you felt at the time. When was the last time you had that experience with a tradeshow performance or sales presentation?
Every show has a theme. What’s yours? The theme for your show can take many forms, but most of all it must be on strategy-consistent with your brand and your marketing objectives-and it must resonate with your audience. We call it meaningful differentiation. Your company and your products are not themes. However, you can promote your company by demonstrating to your audience that you do have a personality. Don’t be afraid to use energy and humor to show that personality. Remember, people buy from people, not from organizations. And they remember emotional engagement, not “facts.”
Every show has a venue. Your venue is the entire convention center and even (careful here) your audience’s hotel rooms. Your booth is only part of that venue.
Every show requires promotion. Take advantage of every opportunity from the moment that attendees arrive to grab their attention, promote your theme, and build meaningful and memorable differentiation. Consider:
- Introduce yourself with a series of hotel room drops
- Offer useful and engaging content as a conference speaker or panel member
- Sponsor a show event
- Plan some real showstoppers to grab attention and “drive traffic”
Every show has a stage. Yours may be your booth, or if you have an end location or an island exhibit, your stage might include the 20-foot perimeter around your booth. Figure out your space and use every square inch. You need to be sensitive to the folks around you, but the reality is that if you’re attracting a crowd, your neighbors might benefit from the overflow. And if not, then shame on them. In any case, a deadly quiet and boring tradeshow is an awful place to spend an afternoon, so for your timid neighbors a little activity might provide some welcome relief.
Every show has an audience. Every attendee is a potential member of your audience, and you need to treat them as such from the time they approach your space. But only those who make it to your stage and find a reason to stick around can be called your audience. Ironically, it seems that most attendees walk the show floor trying to avoid being a part of anyone’s audience. The only reasons they’ll change their minds for you is that: a) they sense you have something they want, and b) getting it will not be a painful experience. It is the job of your performers to meet those two needs: find out what these tentative audience members want and if you can get it for them, and do it in manner that engages them as people. Many exhibitors fail on both accounts.
You’ve booked the rooms; you’ve paid for the space. Now go out there and put together a show that your audience-and performers-won’t soon forget.