trade show business strategy

MEET helps B2B growth companies develop and effectively leverage trade show strategy plans. One way we do this is by offering customizable tools to maximize ROI for every prospect facing opportunity. Among our most popular tools is the Exhibitor and Trade Show ROI Cookbook (Event Cookbook). By setting goals and utilizing metrics to better inform trade show strategy plans, MEET’s Event Cookbook allows clients to quantify how events are producing across a variety of indicators and over time, opening the door to new opportunities to improve ROI. Two functions of every trade show At MEET, we believe exhibitors should view expo and trade fair opportunities from two perspectives: in-booth and out-of-booth engagement. The purpose of the booth is to separate general attendees from prospects. Transaction professionals, individuals who are trained to efficiently qualify high volumes of prospects, operate inside the booth and should be evaluated using a set of metrics that reflect their unique responsibilities. The beauty of employing transaction professionals inside the booth is that they free up your salespeople to engage in longer one-on-one meetings and competitive intelligence outside the booth. These engagement activities boost ROI in different ways and therefore must be tracked using different metrics. (For more on how to best utilize salespeople in your trade show strategy plan, check out this post.) Setting Goals Differentiating between the unique revenue generating roles of your exhibiting team is the first step to utilizing the Event Cookbook. The next step is goal-setting, specifically: Prospects Potential Revenue Goal This is the potential value associated with prospects identified inside the booth by transaction professionals. Agreement Signed Revenue Goal This is the potential value associated with outcomes of one-on-one meetings between members of the sales team and existing prospects represented by closed agreements. Partner Goal This is the number of new strategic partners your sales team has enrolled through out-of-booth engagements. Competitor Goal This is the number of competitors your sales team has gathered intelligence on to better inform your trade show strategy plan, including booth offers, messaging, staffing, and event selection Your ability as an exhibitor to estimate these figures with greater accuracy will improve over time.  Calculations such as average annual revenue per customer, calculated by dividing your annual revenue by the number of customers that paid you, is among the simple input calculations we use to inform these goals. Other valuable calculations used as inputs to your Event Cookbook include: • # of prospects to yield an appointment • # of prospect 1st appointments to a proposal • # of proposals to close Feel free to contact us any time for more guidance on how to use our Event Cookbook to set measurable trade show goals. Calculating results of your trade show strategy plan As described earlier, results are tracked inside and outside the booth separately based on the different roles and responsibilities of your exhibiting team. Inside the booth metrics can be broad, e.g. leads generated per day, or drilled down to leads generated per hour per person. The power of a tool that allows you to drill down to this level of specificity lies in your ability to set personalized, daily goals for each member of your event team. A well-crafted booth offer and exhibit display will improve their likelihood for success by ensuring these leads are high-quality prospects. For more on how to improve your likelihood of success in identifying high-quality leads, check out this post. Outside the booth, from a sales perspective, the Event Cookbook allows you to track results such as cost per dollar of revenue, a highly valuable indicator of event success that can be used to track the ROI by event. Testing the effectiveness of your value proposition, booth offer, and staffing strategy will be reflected in this number. To the extent that certain factors remain constant, you can also use this data to inform your event selection process and how you engage with event hosts. Using the Event Cookbook to improve Trade Show ROI Collecting measurable data that paints a precise picture of how each event is performing, from leads generated, to cost per revenue, empowers exhibitors to work with event hosts to find ways to improve ROI. When research and experience tell you that your buyers are in attendance at a particular event but your data indicates a consistent lack of performance, that is the time to share these results with event hosts to explore how you can work together to improve ROI. Whether it’s strategies to boost sales or lower your costs, small changes in your trade show strategy plan will show up in your Event Cookbook and can be used to inform future investment decisions. Interested in previewing the Exhibitor and Trade Show ROI Cookbook? Email us or give us a call. And for more on how to use metrics to inform your trade show strategy plan, check out our recent webinar: Benchmarks, Goals, Metrics, and ROI: Everything You Need to Know About Measuring Trade Show Results.   About MEET (meetroi.com) helps B2B growth companies effectively leverage at trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward. Contact Bill Kenney at MEET today for a free trade show participation assessment bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821

In our recent post, The Case for Calculating Trade Show ROI, we talked about the value of measuring trade show return on investment and provided some simple measures of success to get you started. While every sales process looks slightly different, each is characterized by a number of stages or milestones from initial contact to contract. In this post, we’ll explore where and how metrics can be applied to these milestones to better inform your marketing and sales strategy. 5 Milestones to Achieving a Sale Contact: This is your initial awareness of the individual you suspect may qualify as a prospect. Prospect: You’ve qualified your suspect as a prospect by establishing an apparent need, the resources to fulfill that need, and urgency for a solution, i.e. NEED, MONEY, NOW. 1st Meeting: You have held a first meeting with the decision-maker to qualify interest and lay the groundwork for the relationship. Second or third meetings may be necessary during this stage. Proposal: In the B2B context, a proposal is delivered to clarify the statement of work, goods or services. Contract: The point at which revenue begins to flow or a purchase order is secured. Again, while each sale will require a slightly different allocation of time and resources, applying a standard matrix to the process is a valuable first step to measuring for success. The Marketing Funnel At MEET, we like to think of the process of achieving Milestones 1 and 2 and 3 as a marketing funnel to the extent that initial contacts are moved through a lead nurturing process that over time builds increasing amounts of trust. For a visual of MEET’s marketing funnel, check out this post. At the top of the funnel, when engaging with contacts or suspects, are marketing awareness activities such as social media, advertisements and event presence. Once the contact has established interest in the product or service, there is movement down the funnel toward Milestone 2. Prospect nurturing activities start to build intimacy. They include webinars, white papers and other materials that demonstrate to the individual precisely how their unique solution can be solved through your product or service. The bottom of the funnel (Milestone 3) occurs once the prospect has established initial trust in you and your solution and is ready to begin the sales process by setting a first meeting with the sales team. The Transition from Marketing to Sales The distinguishing factor in B2B sales, particularly those initiated through trade show marketing, is the transition in responsibility from marketing to sales. Again, the goal of the marketing funnel is to employ an array of awareness and trust-building tools that nurture prospects to the point where they are ready to engage with the sales team, transitioning from a passive prospect to an active one. From a metrics perspective, milestones are an extremely useful way to measure the success of different marketing strategies based on their ability to move contacts down the funnel and into the hands of your sales team. Measuring the time and resources associated with this transition from marketing to sales, and within sales between first meeting and contract, are critical inputs to resource maximization. For example, knowing that each proposal requires an average of five meetings indicates the time and resources that will be needed at the point of transition to close a sale. While every sales process will be unique, setting a standard or benchmark will improve your capacity to accurately measure your marketing strategy’s ROI. Using the transition point between marketing and sales in your sales pipeline is a great place to start. For more on how to use metrics to inform your trade show marketing plan, check out our recent webinar: Benchmarks, Goals, Metrics, and ROI: Everything You Need to Know About Measuring Trade Show Results. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps B2B growth companies effectively leverage at trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward. Contact Bill Kenney at MEET today for a free trade show participation assessment bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

For anyone who’s tried to calculate trade show ROI, the following refrain may sound familiar: We know that 50% of marketing dollars are wasted, we just don’t know which 50%. While it shouldn’t be a mystery how marketing investments magically deliver (or don’t deliver) new customers, without a system for measuring return on investment, it’s very difficult to know what is wasted and what is not. Why trade shows deliver marketing ROI In B2B sales, most marketing dollars are spent with the hope of someday getting face-to-face with the target prospect. Trade shows deliver the most efficient way to this objective. Trade shows are the only form of B2B marketing that put you in direct contact with prospects. The challenge is that prospects are not labeled, therefore you need a highly effective mechanism for identifying them in the sea of trade show participants. Good marketing materials speak directly to your target prospects—those who have a need, the resources to fulfill that need, and urgency for a solution. How to know if you’re spending efficiently The answer is simple: measurement. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, which is to say the only way to manage your marketing budget efficiently is to know precisely how well each mode performs and how to improve it. There are two types of measurements in trade show marketing: absolute and comparative. Absolute measurements are firm or known inputs to your strategy plan. Comparative measurements allow you to measure results across events and over time. Both should inform your decisions about how much to spend to maximize trade show ROI. How to calculate Trade Show ROI Return on investment measures what we get for what it costs, over what it costs. In other words: ROI = (Gains – Costs)/Costs The easy input in this calculation are the costs: direct and indirect costs such as  event fees, display costs and staffing. For more on cost considerations, check out our post: Factoring in Display Costs to your Trade Show Strategy Plan. Gains are a bit more complicated to calculate but when done well, point directly to your greatest marketing inefficiencies. Defining gains Defining gains or metrics for success will look different for every company. Whether it’s cards collected, number of quality prospects, or media traffic generated, there are hundreds of measures that one can use to define a successful event. The key with metrics for success is to determine which is the best indicator of future sales and to set up a simple process for measuring against it. 5 metrics for success Cards Collected We notice that 10%-30% of exhibitors today offer giveaways that have nothing to do with their product or service. The iPad is a perfect example—unless you’re in iPad sales.  As a result, the contacts generated through these giveaways more likely than not have very little interest in your product or service. Depending on the extent to which you have selected an offer that speaks directly to the unique needs and desires of your buyer personas, cards collected will be a useful measure of prospects engaged versus contacts who may or may not be prospects. Number of Quality Prospects Identified Assuming you’ve come to a trade show with pre-identified buyer personas, this is a measurement of how many of these target prospects enter your booth. Cost per Lead This is a calculation of your display costs over how many leads are generated in the booth. Media Traffic A measurement of your exposure, this is especially useful for younger companies that are scaling and investing in marketing to build brand identity as well as generate sales. Younger companies may see a more direct line between marketing and revenue generated, making this a more valuable measurement. Revenue Generated One of the challenges to using revenue generated as a metric for marketing success is the amount of time it can take, particularly for big ticket items, to complete the sales process. With delays of anywhere from 3 months to 6 years, it can be difficult to link unique sales to specific trade show investments and use that information to inform your marketing strategy. A Case for Measurement The case for measurement is not simply to calculate trade show ROI. Measurements allow you to see how various techniques or hypotheses are working, and answer vital questions such as: Have we identified the right buyer persona? Is our messaging attracting these buyer personas into the booth? Are they opting in based on our offer? Is our value proposition relevant? Does our offer actually get them to give us their contact information? Answers to these questions will not only improve your trade show ROI, they will create greater efficiency and consistency in your sales pipeline, which translates to steady growth. In other words, marketing dollars well spent. For more on how to use metrics to inform your trade show marketing plan, check out our recent webinar: Benchmarks, Goals, Metrics, and ROI: Everything You Need to Know About Measuring Trade Show Results. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps B2B growth companies effectively leverage at trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward. Contact Bill Kenney at MEET today for a free trade show participation assessment bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Determining whether a foreign market is right for your product or service requires due diligence. Demographic diversity, cultural norms, regional and local language differences all play a critical role in discovering whether and how your brand will be received in a new market. Time and time again we see companies try to shortcut this process by simply translating their sales and marketing materials into a new language. In reality, translation is one piece of a much larger strategy we refer to as localized communication. For more on our approach to supporting companies looking to expand to the U.S. market, check out this post. What is localized communication? To answer this question, we spoke with Fernanda Ave, Partner and Intercultural Communications Specialist at Mirrai International. Mirrai International supports companies looking to expand into the Canadian or Latin American market by helping them navigate across cultures through localized communications strategies. According to Fernanda, the first thing to know about localized communication is that it’s not about translation. “Localized communications means understanding the market that you want to enter into and making sure that your brand is being accurately relayed. It means translating your company’s message to a new culture.” Of course, there is a translation element to localizing communication, even when those languages are the same. In Brazil, where Fernanda is from, she explained that words change in Portuguese depending on the city you are in. Regional nuances exist in the U.S. as well, which may impact the way a brand is received. In essence, translation plays an important role in localized communication, but the first step is to understand your market on a cultural level. Common pitfalls to communicating in a new market As an Intercultural Communications Specialist, Fernanda specializes in helping companies overcome common challenges to communicating effectively in foreign markets. We asked her to expand on those challenges and what strategies she recommends. “Most people assume that their marketing strategy will work everywhere and that’s definitely not true. Particularly in the U.S. or Canada, people assume that because these are big countries with strong economies their marketing strategies are going to work elsewhere.” Additionally, with the growth of digital communication and social media, the number of words that companies use to express themselves and their brand has shrunk significantly. While it’s become easier to access new markets, how and where one expresses themselves digitally is critically important. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Whatsapp, selecting the right social media platform based on regional preferences is critical. How to improve your understanding of a foreign market Step 1: Market Research Prior to expanding into a new market, companies should have a good handle of who their buyer personas are within their existing market. This includes their demographics, habits, needs, and desires as potential customers. The goal of new market research is to uncover who your buyer persona will be in this foreign context. This requires understanding the market a macro level in terms of culture, customs, purchasing practices, and expectations. Step 2: Adapt Buyer Personas Now that you understand the culture and expectations of the market, it’s time to adapt your existing buyer personas to the new context. Your goal is to identify those most urgent individuals or organizations for a solution to the problem you are solving. You will also need to discover the behaviors, habits, and preferences that indicate that someone is a qualified prospect. Step 3: Calibrate your Marketing Strategy With market research and buyer personas in hand, it’s time to revisit your marketing strategy to introduce and build your brand to find your target customers. This requires adapting your full range of marketing tools—from website, to collateral and signage—to meet cultural expectations in design and language. Good marketing research will uncover which marketing modes are most important to your target persona. For example, are they very focused on digital or do they still listen to the radio? All of that research goes into your marketing strategy. Localized communication ensures that your brand and message are received the way you intend. Among the list of investments one has to make when entering a new market, localized communication is sure to improve ROI. Check out our full conversation with Fernanda Ave on Localizing Communications here. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps B2B growth companies effectively leverage at trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward. Contact Bill Kenney at MEET today for a free trade show participation assessment bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.