Trade Show Booth Staff Training Expert, Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach

WII-fm plays everywhere all the time, but on the tradeshow floor listenership is at its peak. WII-fm, better known as “What’s In It for me,” resonates loud and clear among tradeshow attendees as they walk up and down the aisles, attend educational sessions, and networking events.

The Problem:

Most exhibitors only tune into their own WII-fm channel, which means they just think about themselves, their products/services. How do I know this? It’s blatantly obvious. Nine times out of ten, when I hear an exhibitor presentation, they can’t wait to shake hands, introduce themselves (that’s already a good exhibitor), and then launch into their verbal barrage (static) of what they have to offer, giving little, or no heed to whether or not a need exists.
The Solution:

The solution, like many things, is simple, but not easy.  Here are three steps to follow to help get rid of the static and pump up the success volume:
Step 1: Lower the volume on your WII-fm channel and tune into your prospect’s WII-fm channel. 
Step 2: Ask questions to uncover needs, and discover what’s most important to your prospect.
Step 3: Listen to the answers (this is tough), then take this valuable information, and tailor it to fit your product/service presentation or demonstration.
To make sure this three-step volume pumping process works successfully, use some tradeshow booth staff training prior to the show as and integral part of your pre-show planning, and preparation. Your team, like actors on a stage, need preparation, and practice (learning how to listen), which means knowing what to do, and how to do it, to help guarantee successful results. Don’t assume they know!

This the fourth and final part of our Trends for 2010 tips. Today, I’m focusing on five rules to help you leverage technology to add to your trade show success.

1. Online is not an add-on.

The virtual component must be integral to every step of your trade-show planning.  Select the best online communities to reach your customers. And maintain your brand voice and image in every message.

2. Accessibility is key.

Make sure your trade-show web page is optimized for all the browsers, including those on smart phones. The design that looked great on Internet Explorer may be unreadable on a Droid.

3. Make your message move and speak.

Use web video, still images, and podcasting as well as text. Multimedia approaches engage more of the user’s attention. Live feeds from your booth can extend your trade show message to customers around the world, and YouTube videos can make it accessible months or years after the event is over.

4. Update often.

Keep your customers coming back to check for more. Good content may be news and links, helpful tips, community-building, or just the sense of a warm, engaging person as the face of the company.

5. Listen as well as talk.

Twitter, Facebook, and blogs offer almost instantaneous feedback on what’s working and what’s not. If a member of your booth staff was rude to a customer, you can be sure the news will be all over Twitter in five minutes. Monitor the Internet and the Twitterverse with automatic searches, and respond instantly to any problems.

In this episode of the Tradeshow Training Minute, Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, shares the essentials every exhibitor needs to follow up their tradeshow leads to turn them into sales.

What’s ahead for trade shows and other marketing efforts in 2010?

Last week, I referred you to the StrongMail “2010 Marketing Trends” survey which polled more than 1,000 business leaders across a wide range of industries about their marketing plans for the upcoming year. This week I’ll continue reviewing the trends.

Trend: Everybody is jumping on the social media bandwagon. A whopping 59% of surveyed companies will be increasing their social-media budgets. How many will be spending less? A mere 3%.

Social media has become the new essential tool for marketing.

3 things this means to you:

1.  Choose the right social networks. Twitter covers almost every audience. Facebook and Myspace pages work best for products with consumer appeal. LinkedIn groups are most appropriate for BtoB marketing.

2. Stay on message. The speed and flexibility of social media can be a huge advantage, but it can also be a pitfall. Set clear guidelines for all communications, and review the messages and results regularly.

3. Use social media to support trade show exhibits. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can allow you to increase the effectiveness of your trade show appearances. You’ll reap great benefits when you integrate social media into your overall marketing strategy.

In the fraught atmosphere of a trade show, your booth staff may not always remember to thank service people or complaining customers. According to a recent study through the American Marketing Assn., it states that customer gratitude enhances trust in business relationships which leads to ongoing positive results. When you start a cycle of thanks, you can even transform those difficult business relationships.

Train your booth staff to offer sincere thanks – and offer them yourself – to these five kinds of people, and your trade shows will run more smoothly.

1. The trade show organizers, maintenance workers, and staff.

Even when you arrive and find half your arrangements awry, thank them for their effort and for the half that was done correctly. They will remember your courtesy and do their best for you.

2. Your returning customers.

Existing customers are your company’s most important asset. Show your gratitude with smiles, gifts of useful information, and, don’t forget to give them some VIP treatment.

3. Complaining customers.

It can be hard to thank someone who has just pointed out your company’s flaws, but the complaining customer has just given you the priceless gift of honest feedback so that you can improve in the future.

4. Booth co-workers.

In the tight space and pressure-cooker atmosphere of a trade show booth, tensions can flare. A habit of gratitude instead of growling makes work more pleasant and strengthens working relationships.

5. The sales department.

When you hand over the precious trade show leads, thank Sales for following up. Show them you appreciate their hard work, and they are more likely to care about your hard work.

At the holiday season, we tend to express gratitude more freely than at other times of year. But, why wait, at any time of the year, sincere thanks acts as a powerful  relationship marketing tool.

Thanks to all of you who read this newsletter!

Send me your physical address and I’ll send you a personal thank you card!

In the meantime, if you would like to send someone a card, here’s a complimentary way for you to do that.