Ah, summer! Longer, warmer nights, beach vacations and—if you’re lucky—a hiatus from “trade show season” for several weeks. However, it’s not time to take off that trade show hat just yet. This lull is a perfect time to give your trade show strategy a summertime makeover.
Think about it: You’ve likely done several shows between September and June. Your message—and your presentation of that message—likely needs some fine tuning, or perhaps a complete overhaul. Let’s take a look at a few areas that should be examined before the season kicks back into high gear:
1) Rethink your demo: If you’re giving a 10-minute demonstration that involves a screen-by-screen overview of your product or solution, you definitely need to rethink your strategy for the coming season. Your demo should start with buyers needs and personas and be based on the following questions:
- What problems do they face?
- How does your company solve those problems?
- How do your existing customers describe the solutions they need?
Asking questions first helps engage the customer in a conversation about their needs; and you can then tailor a demo based on their response. Make sure your team is giving the big picture on how you respond to customer needs, not just jumping into a product demo. Any good demo should always include the question “Would you like to learn more?” or “Can I show you more about how that works?” before diving deeper.
2) Watch your language: Make sure everybody – from your hired booth staff to your CEO – can give a 30-second description of the top problems your company solves. That guy with a Hawaiian shirt and sandals that approaches your booth—or an employee in the lunch line–and asks your hired booth help “what does your company do?” may be your next big customer. Work on refining that language now, allowing time for revisions as your next event approaches.
3) Update your lead strategy: Take a look at your lead form. Does it provide the level of detail your sales team needs to qualify and follow up on the leads you’ve gathered? Whether there were 60 lead forms captured or 6,000, your sales team needs critical information to be able to know if a lead was hot, warm or cold. Make sure your questions are up to date with the latest solutions your company is providing—chances are they need a quick update.
4) Give your handouts a once-over: If you distribute anything to attendees—collateral, tchotchkes, etc.—make sure they are still representing your company’s latest thinking. Anything that doesn’t look like it’s brand new should be tossed.
Getting an early jump on your planning means you can have a little time to relax before the season rolls around again.