Exhibition Hints, Tips and Useful Info

But have you ever noticed how so many companies fall in to this trap with their marketing? This couldn’t more true at some exhibitions I have visited in the past.

So many companies design their entire stand around advertising the new, all singing all dancing features, that they forget the basic principle of selling…you need to find out what the customer wants and give it to them. If you are making outrageous statements all over your stand before you even get to speak to the customer, you have little to no chance of ever making a sale, or even having a conversation for that matter.

The key to avoiding this is follow these simple, yet incredibly effective steps.

1. Before you even start brain storming ideas for slogans, straplines and USPs, you need to profile your ideal customer. Don’t be afraid to go into great depth about this, even down to what this person would do with their spare time, the more detail you have, the more you can tailor your approach towards them. It is also vitally important to remain realistic at this stage, for example your ideal customer could not be an astronaut billionaire that lived on his own island…as unless your business plan focuses on having one (or even no) customers this wouldn’t be the safest bet. 
    
2. The next question to ask yourself is this, would this person come to this exhibition? If the answer is no, find the exhibition they would attend! It is a waste of money going to exhibitions where your ideal potential customers do not even walk through the door. The type of people at an exhibition is key to maximising your return on investment.
    
3. Now you have your ideal customer and you know they will be at your exhibition, what are the benefits to that person of your product or service? This is so crucial that you identify the benefits to the client and NOT the all new features it has and how it is so much better than your competitions. The potential customer does not care about how much better than everyone you are, they care about what your product or service can do for them.
    
4. You now need to come up with your strapline/slogan/USP.  I am no expert in this but these blogs should help with that!

http://www.inc.com/ss/5-tips-for-writing-an-effective-slogan

http://fizzle.co/sparkline/unique-selling-proposition

http://www.marketingnerd.co.uk/how-to/writing-a-marketing-strap-line-that-means-something/

A little tip! If you are struggling to get inside the customers mind then print a pair of foot prints out, put them on the floor and physically step into “the customers shoes”. It may sound silly, but the act of physically stepping on to the footprints and into the customers mind will help you really get to grips with the concept!

I will leave you with this thought. Whatever you do, do not make outrageous unbelievable statements, people see right through them, whether they are verbal, written, or printed on an exhibition stand. Be honest clear and concise with your message and you should have no problems making your next exhibition the most successful yet!

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