It's been a little slice o' too long...

Wow...It's been four months since I was able to update this blog...four months!

I know, I know, we make the time for things we need to make time for, but if you've been doing trade shows during this busy season, I'm sure you'll understand the definite lack of time that is available for anything but the bare necessities during the winter months!

Alright, excuses aside, it's time to get back on the ball o' intrepid readers...

First off, I'd like to say that if you missed some of the "big" shows this year, you've missed some amazing things. From CES, to ConExpo to MacWorld and everything in between, this years events were GROWING. New business abounds in convention halls across the country, and with the economy in the shape that it is, this is GOOD news.


Along the line of that thought, I wanted to post an article that was recently passed on to me...there's alot of good thoughts in here, and I wanted to share it with all of you...I appologize for the poor formating job I did...again, kinda' busy this time of year (wink)! :


Escaping the Trade Show Money Pit Published March 31, 2008 on Sales and Marketing Management


Stop settling for sub-par trade show leads By: SUSAN PASCAL TATUM.


More business technology marketers use trade shows to generate leads than any other marketing tactic. According to a 2007 CMP survey, over 75% of respondents use trade shows for this purpose. Yet the inability to generate enough leads for the sales force is the biggest problem these marketers face.B2B companies invest enormous sums of money on trade shows, yet are rarely satisfied with the results. Why is this? Are they using the wrong tactic or are they simply not doing it correctly? The answer could be both.Trade show participation is an expensive undertaking, but most companies spend far more on exhibits and show services than connecting with prospects and customers or nurturing prospect relationships once they return to the office. As a result, trade shows often fall flat when it comes to measurable ROI. The good news is that with proper preparation, and by adding a lead-nurturing component to the back end of trade show initiatives, marketers can turn questionable trade show expenditures into solid demand-generation investments. The single biggest reason why trade show participation fails to deliver desired results is that marketers view trade shows as stand-alone events rather than elements of an integrated marketing process. For B2B companies, a trade show is more likely one of many interactions customers and prospects will have with your company prior to making a decision to buy your product or service. As such, it must be preceded and followed by other marketing activities including a pre-show traffic-building campaign, a well-organized and executed follow-up plan and a mini Web site that speaks directly to the show's attendees.So, how do you ensure your trade show investment pays off? It starts with the following:• Set the right objectives. Achieving and maintaining visibility with prospects is one of the most important lead generation tactics for a B2B company. Trade shows are an excellent way to do this. But lead generation should never be the only reason to participate in one. Trade shows are great places for face-to-face interactions with customers and prospects. They also provide opportunities to connect with media, industry analysts, investors and suppliers. Many companies approach trade shows primarily to connect with existing customers and prospects over generating brand new leads. • Pick the right show(s). Many companies make the mistake of selecting a trade show based on the conference title, without regard to who will actually be attending. This results in an empty exhibit with no exposure to buyers. To avoid this, make sure the trade shows you consider will actually attract people central to the buying process in your target market. Ask your customers and prospects which shows they currently attend. When considering specific trade shows, ask show management about expected participants. Trade show audiences change over time. Even though a particular show worked well last year, don't assume it still will.While you're talking to show management, it's also worth asking what they are doing to encourage attendees to visit the exhibit hall. Some shows serve lunch or cocktails in the hall. Others plan the layout so that attendees must past through it to get to keynote speeches. Beware of any trade show lacking such a plan. • Invest in pre-show marketing. Just being on the show floor isn't enough to ensure a steady flow of prospects to your booth. The trade show organizers will conduct a marketing campaign to build attendance for the event, but even that won't necessarily drive the right prospects to your booth. That's your responsibility.Like any other marketing assignment, reaching trade show participants has become more challenging, and Web 2.0 has changed the way many of your prospects communicate. In the past, the most successful companies marketed their trade show participation through e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing and press releases. Today, it also makes sense to invite attendees via blogs, social networks and community forums. Messages that reach your prospects through multiple communication channels have a far better chance of being recognized and acted upon.• Choose quality over quantity. When it comes to lead generation, the quality of the leads is far more important than the number you generate. Qualified prospects are those people who hold the right jobs at the right companies who potentially need your product or service and are able to purchase them. Meeting a handful of these individuals is infinitely more important for your future sales than collecting the names of 100 people who couldn't care less about your product or service. With trade shows, as with other marketing programs, it's critical to have a company-wide definition of a sales-ready lead. This definition identifies the requirements a prospect must meet before he or she is assigned a sales rep. In B2B companies, this generally includes criteria such as the person's title, industry and the size of his company; the existence of a budgeted project; a timeline; and an executive sponsor.The trade show offers a great opportunity to pre-qualify visitors to your exhibit. Ask as many questions as you can to determine whether each visitor is really an eligible prospect and how far along he or she is in the buying process. For example, you would collect the visitor's title and company name, whether or not they are actively seeking a product like yours, and what their timeframe for a decision is. You might also ask who else is involved in the buying process.• Sorting leads. The first post-show duty of the marketing team should be to process the contacts that were gathered. Only those that are truly sales-ready should be sent to the sales team. Contacts not yet ready should be nurtured. Some prospects will want to learn more before agreeing to talk to a salesperson; they're likely to respond to offers of special reports, Webinars, tips sheets and an informative, persuasive Website.For some long-term prospects, the timing just isn't right. These prospects require a long-term strategy of staying in touch to ensure they remember you if and when the need for your type of solution pops up. Regularly distributed, permission-based e-mail newsletters and blogs with RSS feeds are a good way to do this.Since over half of the B2B companies who participate in trade shows don't bother to follow up with contacts they met there, you'll already be ahead of the competition. Your results soar even higher when you segment your prospects according to their level of interest, then follow up with customized messages.Odds are you'll be be participating in at least one trade show this year. By following the advice herein, you'll ensure the experience isn't a waste of resources, but rather, a formidable lead generation vehicle.Susan Pascal Tatum is the co-founder, president and CMO of Tatum Marketing Inc., a marketing consulting firm dedicated to helping business technology firms use marketing to grow faster. She is the author of numerous articles on marketing and blogs regularly at TechnoBuzz (www.technobuzz.tatummarketing.com).

Recent presentation

I was invited to make a presntation to the folks who will soon be exhibiting at the Cleveland Boat and Waterlife Expo in January...a little piece about the importance of having your booth designed by a pro, especially in this day and age....happy consuming fearless readers!



Over the weekend, as I spent countless hours trying to put together the perfect presentation...a combination of the perfect quotes, perfect statistics, and perfect wit, the absurdity hit me...right about the time that the last of the caffeine from my morning coffee was abandoning me, that I was wracking my brain for the perfect logic, while addressing you about a tropical tinged tradeshow, in the heart of December...here at an African Savannah slash water park...in Sandusky Ohio.

But really, that's what it's all about, isn't it? What is a tradeshow if not a tiny sliver of a bigger universe, cut away from itself and placed in a surreal environment of glass and metal, displayed for the world to see. And what is a trade show EXHIBIT, if not a way for you to transport people from the day in/day out of their world, into the colorful and exciting atmosphere of YOUR world?

20 years ago , a trade show looked and felt a heck of allot different than it does today. Nearly extinct are the miniature models, monotone backwalls, and autographs hawking former child stars. In their place, gracefully sloaping translucent arcs, interactive "creat your own" stations, and structures straight out a science fiction utopia dot the landscapes of convention centers, and ballrooms across the country.

Perhaps no other industry faces as many trade show design challenges as yours does.

While Acme Sparkplugs is in Michigan, showing off their newest spark plug in the heart of car country USA, you face the challenge of transporting a winter weary Ohio audience to the sun soaked high seas , mere momments after they just tredged through subzero temperatures on the way to the door from their salt coated SUV's.

The good news is though, that the trade show world has never been so custom tailored to the nautical world as it is now.

From new, fresh, and exciting designs, to more durable, and cost effective materials, exhibits of note are no longer available to just the biggest spenders.

Combinations of light weight aluminum and fantastic fabrics are brought together to make shapes, looks and feels once thought impossible for a portable structure not only possible, but even more impressive in design and scope than anyone could have imagined even five short years ago.

This is no longer a world accessible to just the elite minority...and in the end, isn't that a theme that resonates with the nautical industry as well? That even those who might not realize just how open the world really is to them, can find that door opened wider than they would have ever dreamed?

All in all, the world of the modern tradeshow is really open to everyone...but SUCCESSFULL trade show exhibiting is much less universal. At the end of the day, there are two things that will make you or break you in terms of your trade show experience- Message, and design.

Your message is up to you. At the end of the day, nobody knows your message better than you, and really, nobody else can really take full responsibility for the success or failure of that message.

Design is such a different creature though...the old adage has it that the man who acts as his own lawyer , has a fool for a client. That is a lesson that translates to the trade show exhibit design process perfectly- sure you know what you want people to take away from their time at your exhibit, but chances are that you probably don't really know what all has to happen during the exhibit design process to get people to that point.

Why should you know everything that goes into a successful exhibit anyways? The industry has changed so much in recent years that if would take a full time position to even try to keep up with it...just to try.

If you were up on even half of the design tricks, tips, and pitfalls, chance are you haven't been sending enough time on your expertise- providing the best products and services that the nautical industry has to offer.

Now, for years, ever since I first boarded the neighbor's powerboat at their summer house at Lake Mowhawk, I've wanted a boat. It's not just the feel of freedom that comes along with charting your course without the claustrophobic confines of asphalt and concrete...though let's face it, that doesn't exactly hurt. What really got me was the sense of detachment from your worries that you leave at the dock.

That's what a successfully designed booth is all about- making the rest of the world disappear as easily as they step from one color of show carpet to the next.

For the same reason that I would never design my own boat, I would never suggest someone design their own exhibit. I assure you if I designed my own boat...it might look pretty cool...in my head it's actually allot like the old Adam West BatBoat...but, I know it wouldn't float...and it sure wouldn't win any races. Something’s are just better left to other folks to worry about.

And how do those new materials I mentioned before factor into things? Well, if you were to hitch a ride on ol' Doc Brown's time traveling DeLorian and head back, just to a more recent mid 1990's, I'd ask you to run a couple of terms past that 1990's trade show coordinator.

Tension fabric...plasma screens....interchangable truss system, and composite exhibit.

These are the tools of the modern exhibit designer. Aluminum truss providing solid structure at a fraction of the weight of it's wooden fore bearers. Fabrics, both opaque and translucent stretched in any number of shapes and colors replacing heavy, costly, and more easily damaged masonnite materials of yesteryear. Light boxes with static images of one product- done away with in favor of flat screen monitor's showing multiple benefits of many products...and showing them in use.

And the kicker of it all? In shipping and handling savings alone, modern design, using these durable and light weight materials will pay for itself, often on it's first trip to the trade show floor.

Modern professional design isn't just about making your exhibit look good- which is definitely very important- but it's also about making sure that every dollar spent, is strategically designed to save you more money in use, and then to MAKE money.

Good tradeshow exhibit design pays for itself, and that's what separates it from "do it yourself" efforts.

So let me, in closing just let me reiterate... There has NEVER been a better time for an industry like yours in the Trade Show world…The technology and philosophy of good design are so easily accessible to everyone. You need not spend blindly on bigger and bigger to trump the competition…just smarter and smarter. Make every last dollar count, and before you invest your time and money on gadgets, give aways, and fads, spend sometime getting to know a good designer. In the end, it will make all the difference between investing in a successful exhibit, and just bailing out water without plugging a leak.

It's GOOD to be an attention hog!

This week, your humble, traveling blog-host found himself in Atlanta, GA for the NACS Show. NACS is the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing (Don't try to turn the letters of NACS into that...you won't get too far) for those of you keeping track. I have to say, it was definitely an eye opening experience that really drove home the need for out of the box thinking with exhibit design. If you were shopping for a new Gas Pump provider, which booth are you going to stop into first: the tablecloth adorned rental-table with a stack of pamphlets, or the exhibit that recreates an almost-too-perfect-for-reality gas station, complete with touch screen pumps, and exhibitors dressed like old time pump-jockeys?

If you're the average American, chances are you probably didn't even notice the small table and their offerings. If you are like most Americans, it doesn't even matter that the simple table display is selling the same product...and that they are selling it for less cost. If you are like most American's, when you're at a trade show, you put more emphasis on the "show" than the "trade", and this is where so many exhibitors fail to realize their full potential.

At Ohio Displays Inc, we have a tag line...it's a simple tag line, but oh so true: "If it's not setting you apart, it's blending you in". It's rare that I see so many good examples of this in one place as I did at the NACS show.

Think about it though- this show brings together fuel companies, candy companies, technology companies and more. People selling anything from the newest caffiene laced gum, to the inerworkings of a gas pump-designed to stop gas from evaporating out of the nozel in between fill ups. These are companies that distribute their products across the entire globe, all brought together, toe to toe with their competitors, for a week of jockeying for possition in the hearts, minds, and budgets of thousands of convenience stores and gas stations across the world.

For all the catagories of products and services being offered at this show, there were really only two kinds of exhibitors- those who "get it" and those who had better "get it" before it's too late. Those who "got it" didn't have to spend amazing amounts of money to stand out (though, admitedly, many of them did)- they just had to understand the importance of putting on a show for the attendees. The "majors" of the show (the Hershey's, the Pepsi's, the Genreal Mill's, the BP's...), all seasoned veterans of the circuit , came out big. Their booths were more than a simple pop-up and a posters. Their Marketing Directors and Sales teams all understood that at the end of the day, people would only remember so many names and products.

That's an important lesson for the small-to-midsize exhibitors to learn...even more important when they aren't household names already. Your exhibit has to be more than functional and informative- it has to be fun, and it has to be welcoming.

Now, I'm not suggestion that a serious company have balloon animals and waterslides going in their exhibits. I've seen all too many exhibits that rely solely on the fun factor and go down in flames miserably. I'm suggestion that your display has to combine fun and function. The fact that both words start of with the same three letters is no mere coincidence in this industry.

I erge everyone, before you go to your next tradeshow, invest some time and energy into researching what your top competitor is doing for their trade show efforts. Whatever they are doing, you HAVE TO make sure that your exhibit is more noticeable. In the end, your product can be better...your product can be cheaper...but if your potential client doesn't notice you because he/she is too busy checking out your competitors booth, the sale is lost either way.

It's amazing what a difference your floor will make!

Quite the topic for my first post, eh?

There is nothing as under appreciated as the floor beneath us. Think about it- when was the last time you really gave ANY consideration to what's under you? You probably haven't thought about it at all unless there was something really wrong going on down below.

The poor floor! It supports us all day, and it asks us so little- maybe a little once-over with a broom, mop, or vac once in a while. Yet, day after day we pay so little attention to it when it's doing it's job.

What is that job? Well, besides the obvious, it also provides cushion and support, helps mark the boundaries between two (or more) rooms/areas, hides messes, and keeps us from tripping over cords.

I did a set up on a recent show that didn't do much with the floor. I won't mention where and when, but I will say that it will ALWAYS stick out in my mind.

Now, I personally am used to my clients using either soft and padded carpet, or -even better- interlocking carpet tiles (or squares as they are often called) in their booth spaces. Besides providing all the functions I listed below, most exhibitors who own their own flooring find that it gives them a suttle branding tool that really helps them stand out from the booths using "show carpet" around them. I know, this seems like such an after thought to the exhibit itself that most people never even realize the subtle difference underfoot, but they sure do notice it when it's not there!

Back to the show I previously mentioned- this particular show disallowed the use of any exhibitor owned carpet and required all exhibitors to use the carpet the show was offering. Needless to say, all the exhibitors complied- albeit somewhat reluctantly- seeing how there really was no other option.

The end result was very thin carpet, little-to-no padding, booths that flowed into each other with no descernable boundaries, and more than a couple of unhappy exhibitors.

Attendee's found themselves suffering from sore feet and sore backs, and any exhibitor will tell you that tired and sore attendees are not much different than NO attendee's.

All for the want of quality flooring.

So again, let me reiterate the importance of your exhibit's flooring. You don't have to go out and buy your own- you can, and many who do see the value- but you don't have to. Make sure though, that you take the spend the time and money to at least rent a thick carpet with a quality pad. Between how much better you as an exhibitor will look, and how much better they- as attendee's will feel (and buy)- your flooring will more than pay for itself, time and time again.