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Blog posts in Exhibitions and events
Our take on networking
July 26, 2010
Networking is a great and powerful way to meet people, get your name and business cards out there and even win some new business. We've done our fair share of networking now, and quite successfully, but it's always surprising that some business people out there make a few mistakes that are a huge turn off.
Here are top tips, do's and don'ts from your team at ahp design:
- Do you have an elevator pitch prepared? Is it exciting and interesting or do people start looking around the room for their next target? I'm not saying it has to be the world's best motivational speech, but show your passion, know what you are talking about, know your business and read people's signals. If they start to wander, ask an open ended question - people love talking about themselves.
- A footnote on the elevator pitch - don't take a hard sell approach. Networking is about building relationships. The hard sell will inevitably put people off you right away (huge personal bug bear).
- Set yourself a goal or work rate. Yeah, the free nibbles and drinks are great but what's the point if you don't come away with meaningful connections?
- Make sure you have business cards to hand and also make sure that they are quality!
- Be polite. No one minds if you join their little conversation if you're polite. Read the signals: are they standing in a closed circuit excluding everyone else from joining in? If not, then a "Hello, may I join you?" will go a long way.
- Please please please refrain from garlic the night before and brush your teeth. Yes it's common sense but you'd be surprised!
- Be positive and get off your soap box. Do not take networking as an opportunity to air your gripes about the world, the economy and the government. We get enough of that all day, every day, thank you very much.
- Ready for the kicker... follow up. If you've had a great conversation with some one, follow it up with a phone call, email or whatever feels right. Add your new connections on LinkedIn and Twitter to reinforce your acquaintance.
- Above all of this, be yourself.
Now go and find yourselves some networking events to attend, go to as many as you can until you find ones that you enjoy and are worthwhile, and then stick with it. It's not a quick win but it will help your business.
Have fun...
Would you like a sample, sir?
May 18, 2010
On Saturday I went to the inaugural Bath Coffee festival. By Sunday morning I was still so wired from indulging in the free samples that I found myself thinking about writing a blog for the Marketing Donut. On a Sunday. So here we are: inspired by my experiences at the caffeine-based foodie-fest, these are my tips for getting the most out of an important aspect of exhibition marketing — samples.
- Make it clear whether your samples are free or require a nominal donation to charity.
- Make your samples a true sample — miniature versions of the product are perfect and if people like it they will look to buy the full product.
- The best stands at the coffee festival gave small shot-sized samples of their product. Some stands were offering full-sized coffees and fared less well.
- Stick out like a sore thumb — from my own buyer behaviour and looking at the tweets of attendees, I could tell that a lot of tea was bought at the coffee festival. There were just two tea exhibitors present, their alternative choice proving a winning formula.
- A free sample does not guarantee a sale; but you can seal the deal with a coupon on the packaging or accompanying marketing collateral.
- Make your product available to buy at the event and use an event only offer. One stall was selling their coffee in packs of three for £5. Standard retail price per pack is approximately £2.70.
- Ask visitors to try a sample and complete a form for a prize draw in order to capture customer data. Stick to the data protection rules!
- Think about what others might offer and whether your offering has extra appeal. Attendees are likely to walk away from an event with bags of literature, samples and, er, bags of bags. Don’t allow your sample or accompanying literature to be the uninteresting one that is first in the bin.
- Make sure people know you are there and appeal to their senses — I was sold hook, line and sinker by the gentleman casually walking around the arena with a tray of freshly-baked goods which he deliberately carried at nose level. Just you try and resist it!
If you like this sample of content about exhibitions, why not try our full range of content on exhibitions and events.
- The Donuts will be exhibiting this Thursday and Friday at ExCeL, London, as part of Business Startup 2010. Get your FREE tickets.
Small business networking: Are you making the most of it?
May 04, 2010
In less than twenty years, networking has gone from something done informally to being a prime marketing tool for small business.
The opportunities are endless. You can network at any time of the day or night – face to face and online.
The big question is “Have your social networking skills and practices kept pace?”
What are the changes?
- Small business networking is now one to many and many to many, not just one to one.
- Business networking and your website are intrinsically linked.
- Networking effectiveness is boosted by switching from sales oriented messages to content and permission-based marketing.
To make the most of these, here are five networking tips:
Online social networking profiles
Create or update your online profile for all the networking groups to which you belong. Be consistent with what you write and keep them up to date.
Join social networking sites
Choose the ones that best suit your business. The top social networking sites are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Generally, Facebook is great if you have a large following already. Linkedin is a business-oriented site. Twitter is good for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markeitng, providing your market is there, too! There are smaller ones, most of which are industry specific or geographically based. Still, choose the ones best for your business.
Create content
If you are already glazing over at the idea of creating articles and content generally, come back!
With online networking, posts are like attending an event where the emphasis is on sharing information.
There’s a bonus for this activity; you can use this content in other areas of your marketing. What’s more, you can create lead magnets from these and the comments received.
Comment of what’s being said
Monitor what others are saying and add your thoughts – just as you would in face-to-face networking. Remember, nothing is deleted on the Internet, so keep your comments in line with your business aims and values.
People buy from people they trust and the easiest way to build this is through consistency.
Have one-to-ones
It doesn’t matter whether you network face to face or online, you want ways to explore potential. A one-to-one over the phone is a quick and easy way to decide how to move forward, even if that is to arrange an appointment.
These are five networking tips you can do today and over time they increase the effectiveness of your marketing. Tell me which of these are you doing now?
This blog post by Karen Purves originally appeared at KarenPurves.com
Big Green building blocks
May 11, 2009
The planet is dying. As much as we might want to disagree, too much scientific evidence points in that direction. If we carry on as we are, we'll have sucked planet earth up and spat it out; not a nice legacy for the grandchildren. So how do you reconcile saving the planet with participating in what has historically been one of the most wasteful marketing activities, exhibitions? Now it's easier than ever.
When it comes to planning your participation at an event, don't just consider how much it's going to cost in terms of time and money today, in every way think about the long term. Plan over the next 3 years and appoint your contractors accordingly. Think about the materials that go into building your stand. Modular stands have generally been seen as uninspiring; reserved for shell scheme or pop ups. But modular is the key to sustainability. Your chosen contractor will have the system in stock, most are made from aluminium which is recyclable and with good design and innovative thinking, they can be dressed to provide a unique platform from which to sell. You can even choose a hybrid.
If you ask a contractor to store a product made from wood, they'll generally say that it's cheaper to build from new once you've factored in the refurbishment and storage costs. Ask them to store a modular stand and the reply will be totally different. It's stock, it breaks down into small pieces and easily fits back on the shelf. And the second biggest advantage to using modular, after the benefits to the environment? It can be far more cost effective, especially if you plan your exhibition activity over a longer term basis. Your stand size and requirements might change but because it's modular, new pieces can be added to fit the new brief.
So, save the world and some money, commission a modular stand!!
When it really is good to talk...
April 29, 2009
The next 12-18 months will be one of the toughest periods that many will have experienced in their working history. A few of us remain who came through the last recession, but for the majority, this will be new. And not new in a good way. When you need to save costs, one immediate reaction is to look to your suppliers; going out to tender is a common occurrence when budgets need to be cut.
But is this the right thing to do? Your existing suppliers and service partners may be able to save you the required cash, as long as you work with them. Extended contracts, profit related bonuses, introducing new services into the offer are all initiatives that can improve bottom lines without losing invaluable experience. The same is true when it comes to solving what seem to be insurmountable issues.
When you speak to your suppliers, be open with them and clearly outline your objectives. Often there is a solution to your problem which you just don't know about yet. Now is the time that shared experiences can really reap benefits. Most problems aren't new, just new to you. If nothing else, a problem shared...
Pulling Your Exhibition Budget? You may just be pulling your best chance of attaining cost effective ROI!
April 17, 2009
OK, so we are in the midst of a recession, times are hard and it certainly isn’t pleasant out there. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! We are finding that some of our clients are bucking the trend and experiencing some of the most successful shows than ever before.
Although some companies have pulled out of exhibitions as they believe them to be an unnecessary expense or not a profitable exercise, (says to me that they have the wrong stand, the wrong staff or the wrong strategy), companies who are exhibiting are finding that the competition on the show floor is far less fierce and the fact that (generally) footfall at exhibitions has remained constant, this means that they have a far greater lions share when it comes to the all important visitors and target audience.
Another interesting piece of research we have conducted amongst our client base is that the quality of show visitor has increased during these hard times. This can be explained by the fact that staff numbers amongst some companies have dwindled leaving the figure heads to pick up the workload. Therefore, long gone are the days of PAs and researchers being sent to the exhibition to gather information and rack up a rather impressive bar tab, instead it’s the decision maker’s turn to hit the key shows and events, make a qualified decision and attract as little expense as possible during the process.
At Thinking Clear we live, sleep and breathe exhibitions and it’s such a shame that sometimes the first budget to fall is the exhibition spend. These decisions to slash the budgets are made, typically, without any real understanding as to how to get the best results form a show campaign. We see exhibitors on mobile phones, eating snacks or discussing where to head for the evening on stand… or worse… the dreaded salesman who simply will not let the visitor leave until they know every ounce of product information and has given the names of their first pet, first music record and first kiss! Get the key information required to follow up, don’t bombard them, and get them off the stand so you can bring a new prospect on… is what we say!
Just remember, you can have the most eye catching, awe inspiring stand at the show, but if your staff aren’t properly trained and your objectives not clear then how can you expect to attain a return on investment?! I’ll take a wild guess that some of you may be thinking… ‘How have we managed to get any leads in the past?! And if we have, then blimey, imagine how many we could get if we knew what we were doing!!’
Over the coming months I will be blogging many ways to ensure your future show is a huge success and if you’ve got a budget meeting coming up then please feel free to drop me a line, I’ll give you a few statistics you can draw all over the boardroom walls!
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