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Know your event
Technology is developing at
an astounding rate that can assist the marketer,
pre-show, during show and post-show, to capture,
analyse and segment customers in a bid to identify
the customers needs and wants and satisfy them
successfully and cost effectively. It is more
a case of knowing how you want to segment them.
With a steady flow of visitors
to exhibitions, around 9 million per annum,
and an ever increasing demand from the consumer
on ‘info-tainment’, knowing which
shows will work for you in delivering brand
awareness to the right target audience is essential.
Exhibitions - where unbridled supply meets
naked demand!
Ask marketers what they need
from their marketing spend most will suggest
some or all of the following:
* Brand awareness
* Delivery of product knowledge to potential
purchasers
* A method of overcoming objections to purchase
* Market research for product development
* Sales or identification of sales leads
* Promotion of loyalty to the brand/product
* A method to launch a new product
* A means of generating positive media coverage
Where can you demonstrate
products, answer questions, overcome objections
and - most importantly in these post 9/11 days
– build face-to-face relationships with
your customers and prospects?
Your customers are your lifeblood
and the closer you can get to them, the better
opportunity you have in building a relationship;
an advocacy that lasts.
An exhibition can help you
do exactly that. They are unique in the marketing
mix in being able to engage all five senses.
Only exhibitions allow you to touch, taste,
see, feel and hear the products and services
on offer. Whether as an exhibitor you are looking
to find new customers, develop existing customer
relationships, demonstrate products or build
awareness of your brand, it's crucial to remember
that the visitors will be receptive because
they have chosen to come to the event.
Working the exhibition
Gone are the days when exhibitions
and events talk simply about the numbers through
the door.
Although this may appear to
make an exhibition successful, with exhibitors
claiming “the event was really busy”
and “we didn’t have time to stop”,
post event measurement may prove that the sales
do not materialise because it wasn’t the
right audience.
Segmenting your market means
you can also correctly identify your exhibition
or event. Getting spending power on your stand
is far more beneficial than numbers for developing
sales and having the identified market segment
attending can help generate word of mouth advertising
to peer groups.
Identifying the correct event
Like with any other media,
the ability to justify to the marketer his spend
has been worthwhile is paramount. Many traditional
printed media use ABC audited figures with great
effect, explaining the audience and reach. It
gives sound knowledge and confidence that the
advert is reaching the right segment.
The exhibitions industry is
no different in this respect. Encouraging exhibitors
to part with marketing budgets can only be justified
if the exhibition delivers who it says it will
and the right type of visitor turns up.
The biggest difference is
in the medium itself.
It is not flat like an advert
or as restrictive as direct mail, but is able
to be interactive, 3-D, fun, educational, tactile,
informative and communicable – all at once.
The future for exhibitions
and events looks bright. With more exhibitions
and events being launched annually and greater
emphasis on visitor attractions, the industry
is ramping itself up to be a must attend experience,
not just a day out.
When an event can truly justify
to the exhibitor the reach and demographics
of its audience – its segmentation, it
is then able to demonstrate the real power of
exhibitions as a multi-faceted, interactive,
educational, information gathering, hard-hitting,
face-to-face, sales lead generating, objection
handling, relationship building marketing tool.
For more information about
the aeo or the exhibitions and events industry
visit www.aeo.org.uk.
Further Information: Neil
Walker at the aeo on 01442 873331
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