Successful Trade Shows, Networking Events & Expos Bring Big Returns!

Welcome back! Well, it’s that time again!  Networking events, chamber functions and trade shows abound!  How do you make your company stand out?  How do you make your table or booth create buzz and thus sales for you? 

This month we are offering some advise and a couple of inexpensive products to help you build your bottom line!

*By the way, last months winner of the contest was Billy Griggs of Absolute Sales Solutions with the correct answer to the questions:  Who is the Attorney General & Lt. Governor of California (Jerry Brown – A former Governor of California AND John Garamendi – who served as our first elected Insurance Commissioner from 1991 to 1995).  Good work  Billy and happy shopping!

This month’s contest question, for a $100 American Express Gift Card, “In what city & state were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama born?”  (We’re very “themey” here at THINK and it IS a presidential election year so…)

Finally, please provide feedback about our newsletter.  If you don’t write… we don’t learn!

Banner Stands – High Quality, Low Cost Advertising!

How many times have you switched the channel on television as soon as an advertisement is being telecast?

An advertisement break provides you the chance to get a quick glance at the programs being telecast on other channels. The short attention span of the audience makes it difficult for most advertisements to grab the eyeballs of the target audience.

Businesses are therefore leaving no stone unturned to get across their communication to the target

audience. Innovative promotional mediums have swarmed the market in recent times.

Banner stands are one such promotional medium that are much preferred by companies. A banner stand fits into a business’ requirement for a cost effective medium of promotion that is also hassle free as compared to some other mediums.

Banner stands have many features and benefits that add to their popularity as an effective medium of communication. It can be effectively used to communicate with a mass audience unlike some other mediums that need a one to one interaction.

This feature makes banners popular for exhibitions, retail stalls, trade shows and other events that require a message to be communicated to a large target audience at the same time.

The important feature of being lightweight, compact and mobile further increase the attractiveness of banner stands. A banner stand can therefore be easily carried or sent to any location as and when the need arises, without the fear of damage. This proves to be very economic for companies as they can reuse a single banner stand for multiple times, provided the communication remains the same for every location.

Networking Best Practices

 

Don’t expect leads will be derived soon after joining a networking group. Getting business is about building relationships. This takes time.

Successful networkers look for ways to refer business to their fellow group members. The more you give, the more you get in return.

Work to develop relationships outside of the networking circle. An occasional lunch or social activity helps.

Don’t miss networking meetings unless necessary; and if you do, get a substitute to take your spot. Just like with advertising, repetition is a key.
 

Always be prepared to give your 10-30 second “elevator pitch” that gives fellow networkers a quick idea of your business and the value it provides. Most groups begin every meeting by having members give a concise statement about their businesses.

Remember, ultimately it not who you know… it’s who knows you!

Outfox Your Competition at Trade Shows, Expos & Networking Events

To succeed in today’s aggressive and fast-changing marketplace, companies and organizations need to continually identify their competitive advantage to either hold or increase market share. They need an in-depth understanding of the competitive dynamics of their market. Trade shows, events and expos are an excellent forum to research and collect information.

The following is a list of 38 questions to help compile a constructive competitive intelligence program:

General Questions:

1. Who are our competitors–direct and indirect (i.e. current market participants; potential market entrants and providers of substitute products/services)?

2. Which of our competitors pose a threat to us?

3. What are important differences among our competitors?

4. Where are they located, and is their location a competitive advantage?

5. How long have they been in business and what is their reputation and image in the marketplace?

6. What is their market share?

7. What is their corporate and business philosophy, and how is it implemented?

8. What important acquisitions have competitors made in the past year, and how has this given them a competitive advantage?

Product/Service-Based Questions:

9. What is the depth and breadth of their products/services?

10. What are their product/service features/specifications?

11. What are their most recent product/service introductions?

12. How well do competitors deliver orders on schedule?

13. What changes are taking place in competitors’ make/buy strategies?

14. What new materials are being used in the industry? Do they provide a cost advantage?

15. How have competitors incorporated cost savings?

16. Who are our competitors’ suppliers?

17. How easy are their products to install or maintain?

18. What are the competitors’ strengths/weakness in quality and service?

Sales/Marketing-Based Questions:

19. What is their marketing and sales strategy?

20. How is their sales force organized–by product line; geographic market or end-user?

21. Who are their largest and most important customers?

22. What group of customers does our competition sell to that we don’t, and why have they been successful in this market?

23. Which group is least satisfied and why?

24. Why are customers switching to competitors’ products/services?

25. What new distribution channels have they developed?

26. What medium other than trade shows do they use to market their products/services?

27. Which products/services are they pushing?

28. Which features are they emphasizing?

29. What are their pricing strategies–commercial, nonprofit, government and foreign sales?

30. What special pricing policies do they offer–credit, discounts, incentives, consignments?

Customer-Based Questions:

31. What do customers consider most valuable about our competitors’ products/services?

32. Why are they satisfied with their current supplier?

33. What might induce them to switch to another vendor?

34. What are their principal complaints?

35. Which companies do they see as the market leaders in the our industry?

36. Which of their needs are going unfulfilled?

37. What do they see as the key factors in purchasing decisions?

38. How are changes in the industry affecting them?

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Trade show Coach, from Lake Placid, N. Y

Making the Most of Your Exhibit

Attention to the set-up of the booth itself is very important. Many exhibitors order plants or flowers, balloon arrangements or have other interesting and eye-catching decorations to attract the attention of attendees.

We encourage our clients to go the extra mile in making their displays eye-appealing.  Our client, EPSON, uses innovative displays and creative graphics to drive attendees to their trade show area.

As you can see above, we print and deliver a number of different types of graphics for their trade show booths.  They utilize everything from large banners hanging from the ceiling to customized table skirts along the bottom of their displays.  They also use several banner stands and free-standing graphics to introduce new products! 

Debra Miller, an exhibit design consultant, points out it takes more than a pretty exhibit to succeed at trade shows.

Miller said. “The first step in planning your trade show success is to set effective and realistic trade show objectives and measurements for them. Effectively planning your show’s objectives allows the rest of your show to fall into place. Choosing the right measurement tools enables you to draw the correct conclusions following your trade show performance.

Graphics are critical to the power of a trade show display. Effective graphics are persuasive and have the power to draw potential customers into your booth, differentiate you from the competition and quickly and clearly communicate your marketing message.

“Powerful graphics are easily seen from a distance,” said Miller. “Large photographs of people using or benefiting from your product or service sent the strongest message.

”Miller recommends that you emphasize your logo or brand by using large signage prominently positioned in your booth.

“Impactful graphics are not cluttered with information that overwhelms,” she said. “If your graphics are loaded with specifications and every detail there is to know about your company, product or service, they will not likely be effective. Rarely does anyone stand in front of a graphic to read details. Even if they do, they won’t remember everything they read and they can’t take the graphic with them. Therefore details should be reserved for brochures and flyers and spec sheets that they can take with them or that you can send to them later.

”To make a lasting, positive impression, we recommend making the company name and/or name of a recognized product highly visible, and using large colorful graphics for maximum visual impact.

Light products and graphics to significantly increase awareness.  Along with your company identification, these are the most important aspects of your exhibit – make them stand out. Invest in a display system that gives you a professional look. Curtain back walls and draped tables can look cheap and make you look less than serious. A manufactured display shows permanency and is more likely to capture attention.

Exhibitors at events such as trade shows, chamber expos and networking events can get more mileage out of their investment by setting clear goals and personal standards for their participation in the trade show.

Some companies have very specific services and products to present.  Others, such as financial institutions or medical facilities, have an enormous range of services. Each exhibitor needs to interview attendees briefly to determine why they have come to the event and what they might gain by doing business with that exhibitor. This is a good aid in establishing a working relationship that might evolve into solid benefits for both the exhibitor and attendee. 

Each person who works a trade show should have personal standards, in addition to those set by the company.

I have been impressed most by the way people dress to man their booths.  The first goal should be to present a professional image. The second should be to stand and attempt to make eye contact with as many people as possible when they pass by the booth. I know that I feel compelled to walk into a booth and introduce myself if that exhibitor has made eye contact with me. When a booth worker is sitting down, looking away or otherwise occupied, it’s much easier to walk on by.

Trade shows and expos are a great place to launch new products. Veteran attendees have learned to watch for these new launches. These events are also extremely valuable as an image builder and public relations tool. Some exhibitors find that business networking helps put a personal face on their companies and gives the business community more confidence in them.

A friendly appearance encourages people to stop and talk. Giving several door prizes each day gets the exhibitor some good attention, because each time a winner is drawn, that company’s name is announced over the public address system.

Remember the blue-light special?  Everyone knows and remembers the companies whose names they hear the most. Each exhibit should clearly demonstrate the mission of that company. Exhibitors should keep in mind that attendees may not work for a company that needs their particular services immediately.

But that attendee might know someone else who DOES need to talk to this exhibitor. This is the beauty of networking. It’s that all-important ripple effect. People share information of all types at these events.

Since literal sales are not generally transacted on the floor, the greatest objective is generally to collect as many qualified leads as possible. Then comes the all-important follow up.

The exhibitors who are most on-the-ball will promptly mail letters out to the attendees they met. Then they will follow up further with a phone call or e-mail. It’s a huge waste of the exhibitor’s time and money to be there if the follow-up is not thorough. Likewise, the attendees should also organize the business cards and literature they collect and make contact with the companies that most impressed them. Good follow-up is definitely the key. 

Does an Inch Make a Difference?

Only in the mind of the designer does an inch make a difference.  It doesn’t happen too often, but occasionally I run across designing types so in love with their creations they can’t bear to give an inch, so to speak. 

For example, a 28″ x 36″poster.  Hmmmmmm.   It won’t fit on a 28″ x 40″ press – though the max size is 28″ deep, you still need to allow room for  bleed and color bars.  So, we put it on our 43″ x 63″. 

No problem…..except for the price difference.  That 1 inch resulted in the job costing 3 times more than what it would have costed had it been run on a 28″ x 40.”

A 28″ x 36″ poster on a wall three feet away from a 27″ x 36″ poster.  Could you tell the difference?

The design world is an infinite place where creation should always run unbridled….until press time draws near.  As with sound, where eventually pure digital has to be converted to analog waveforms, so also do the best designs eventually make their way to the finite world that is press equipment.

Print Projects Overwhelm You? Help is Available Here!

The printing process is a widely varied one that can involve many choices and options to achieve the desired product at the cheapest price. Seldom is the process straight-forward, as a typical ‘print project’ can involve several key decisions which the client may not be familiar with. Do you use UV or aqueous coating, 14pt stock or 16pt stock, 4 color process or spot colors? What binding best suits your project. If you are mailing, is standard best or should you mail first class. If you mail first class, what is the best way to save on postage? What are the postal service’s requirements?

Increasingly, companies, large and small, are turning to a print management company, such as THINK Communications, to ensure that their production is seamless, delivered on time and in the correct format. The advice of a print management company is essential to avoid embarrassing mistakes, unsuitable material and inevitably unnecessary cost.

There are several printing processes, such as digital printing, print-on-demand, offset lithographic printing and screen printing, as well as finishing techniques and applications. In addition, decisions need to be made on grade and weight of paper. New technology is helping introduce new formats and materials, and a good print management company will keep you informed of these.

One of the key benefits for you is that THINK Communications takes responsibility for the project at every phase. If something happens in bindery with the already printed piece, we take responsibility, not you. Working with corporate promotional and marketing departments, we help save a great deal of time and money by correctly advising and seeking out the best option or combination to get the job done according to the deadlines.

THINK Communications is an experienced and well- established Print Management Company with over 15 years experience managing print projects for companies like EPSON America, Los Angeles Community College District, Bulletproof Automotive, and Nutritech. We can help you achieve better results and streamline your printing needs to improve efficiency and lower cost. We apply our experience and knowledge to find better ways of meeting your printing needs, with the added guarantee that your end product will be delivered on time, on budget and will be suitable for the purpose.

We offer a complete range of commercial design & printing services. This includes trade show graphics, large format printing, promotional products, stationary, direct mail, catalog and books, etc. This is why many of our clients prefer using our print management services as opposed to a single printer. We have a large network (over 30) of trusted expert professionals we regularly use, that each specializes in a specific area.

This allows us to meet the individual requirements of each specific customer project. Our experience and knowledge means we can offer better value and quality. We even offer design services in case you have no in-house design staff.

FOR MORE INFORMATION email: sales@thinkdiscountprinting.com or call 800-617-6717 option 3.

Customer Retention vs. Customer Acquisition

There can be an odd disconnect between most Web sites and the businesses they support. This is especially true in small and medium-sized businesses. Often, a business’s Web site doesn’t relate to what actually occurs on the sales floor or in face-to-face sales presentations. Satisfying your customers

Worse, e-mail and the Web are typically not used for effective customer follow-up. Most Web sites—especially e-commerce Web sites—are on a “treadmill to Hell,” constantly attempting to attract new customers instead of focusing their efforts on satisfying and selling to the business’s current customers and prospects. As a result, profitability suffers and the business does little or nothing to cultivate a loyal customer base. Instead of focusing their efforts on those who have already “voted with their wallets” by buying from the business, companies try to recruit a constant stream of new customers. As a result, many businesses spend a lot of money attracting customers to their Web sites rather retaining the customer after a purchase.

The fancy term for this form of lunacy is “churn” (or turnover—meaning customers who don’t come back), and it’s what your stomach do when this happens.

A more sensible alternative is to retain your customers. By making your customers more loyal and getting them to become repeat customers, you lessen the need to advertise and promote your business. By harnessing technology to resell to existing customers, you are rewarded by higher margins and can convert your present customers into “advocates” who will do your advertising for you through word-of-mouth advertising (called sneezing).

Traditionally, it has been said that it costs five to seven times as much to acquire a new customer as it costs to get a current customer to buy from you again. In today’s highly competitive business world, the figure is even higher.

The best study of the economic advantages of customer retention is to be found in a book called The Loyalty Effect by Frederick F. Reichheld (1996, Harvard University Press). Reichheld writes: “Raising customer retention rates by five percentage points could increase the value of an average customer by 25 to 100 percent.”

Customer Lifetime Value

Relationship Marketing, in addition to emphasizing keeping current customers rather than getting new ones, reminds us that customers are important long-term assets that must be valued (and treated likewise) not harvested. This long-term approach puts an entirely different spin on e-commerce and the relationship between a business’s Web site and its ongoing business. Profitability comes from making existing customers happy, so they become loyal repeat customers.

Profitability also comes from identifying your most profitable customers and having the courage to focus your efforts on them, rather than trying to please “everyone” (and ending up pleasing no one).

5-Stage Customer Development Cycle One size does not fit all when it comes to the Web. Web site visitors enter with different information needs, based on their relationship to your business. There are five stages to the Customer Development Cycle.

Awareness: This happens even before a person’s first visit to your site. Do they hear about your business from a friend? Do they see a link from another site? Do they read about your business on another site or in a magazine or newspaper? Do they find your site on a search engine? Do they see your Web site address on your business card, newsletter, or even invoice? People don’t just magically appear at your site. You have to work to get them there.It’s vital that you obtain your visitor’s e-mail address. People don’t usually just volunteer their e-mail address. You need to find an incentive that will motivate them to provide you with their e-mail address. One of the surest ways to get someone’s e-mail address is to give something away. That may sound expensive, but it doesn’t have to be, especially if you can give away something electronic they can download.

Comparison: Before a person can consider buying something from you, they have to compare your product or service with those from your competitors.Meaningful content and credibility are the keys to success at the comparison stage. The more information you can provide, the higher the likelihood you’ll make the sale. The comparison stage also provides you with an opportunity to learn more about your Web site visitor’s needs and, in doing so, be better able to fine-tune your offering to their needs.

Transaction: The transaction stage is where money (or credit card information) changes hands. Unless you are giving products away for little or no profit, the transaction stage will only take place if you have played your cards right during the awareness and comparison stages. The transaction stage should be viewed as the beginning, not the end, of the relationship. The transaction stage sets the stage for the highly profitable stages that follow.Reinforcement: The reinforcement stage is where you add value to your customers’ purchases by showing them how to maximize the value and pleasure their purchases can provide. The reinforcement stage presents you with an opportunity to position yourself apart from your competition by thanking your customers for their purchase and paving the way for future purchases. It’s where you begin the process of creating word-of-mouth ambassadors for your business out of satisfied customers.

Advocacy: Advocacy is the final stage of the Customer Development Cycle. Advocacy takes place when you provide your customers with the tools, or feeling of community, they need to become your promoters, motivating past customers to drive new visitors to your Web site and pre-selling your business with word-of-mouth recommendations, the most effective form of advertising ever devised.Later in this series, we’ll take a more detailed look at identifying your Web site visitor’s information needs at each level of the Customer Development Cycle and providing the information that will “drive” the Web site visitor to the next level.

The role of technology Web-based Relationship Marketing is based on two types of content: Open Content and Premium Content.Open content refers to pages of your Web site that all visitors can access. Open content pages are linked to your home page through your site’s navigation bar and the text navigation links at the bottom of each page. No registration is needed to access your Web site’s open content.Premium content refers to pages with richer information content, content that visitors must be qualified to access. Access to premium content is limited to those who have registered their e-mail address or who have purchased from you. Current technology makes it easy to provide limited access premium content. Premium content can consist of unlinked pages, password-protected pages, or downloadable files.

E-mail is the “engine” that provides access to premium content and propels visitors from level to level of the Customer Development Cycle. When visitors to your Web site register by filling out a form and sending you their e-mail address, you can respond by providing the “key” that allows them access to your site’s premium content. You can send them the URLs of unlinked pages, passwords to unlock password-protected pages, or access to pages containing files they can download in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format.

Keeping it open? Some sites, such as eFuse.com, prefer to leave all of their content open. Why? Because you can lose a large percentage of viewers by demanding they “sign up,” even if it’s free. Instead, what eFuse.com does is make its useful e-mail newsletter, the FuseLetter, subscription-only (also called “opt-in” because people “opt” into it). That way, if people want the latest information, tips, and tricks, all they have to do is sign up. By doing this, eFuse.com builds value because e-mail is an important way to inform and remind customers, and you leave the site open as a kind of “web” that can attract (and trap—in a good way, of course) new visitors. Challenges

When marketing through the Web, there are many challenges to overcome. The biggest are credibility and relevance—and both are crucial to the success of a Web initiative based on the five-stage Customer Development Cycle. To succeed, you will have to devote more time and resources to informing your customers, both through your site and via e-mail. Another challenge is the need to develop meaningful incentives to motivate visitors to share their e-mail address with you and, at each level of the Customer Development Cycle, provide more information about their needs. The most cost-effective way is to offer incentives you can deliver on-line.

A final challenge is the proliferation of e-mail. Already, everyone’s incoming e-mail box is filled with too many messages. The challenge is: “How can you make your e-mail stand out and be welcomed when it arrives, rather than left unopened or (even) deleted?” Since Relationship Marketing is really about building a relationship and a more personal contact, sending e-mail that’s written person-to-person, rather than “business to person” is a way to start

Conclusion

Yes, it may be fun to read about the “overnight millionaires” of Silicon Valley. But it will be even more challenging, rewarding, and fun to see how you can use the tools of Relationship Marketing to build your existing business without taking unnecessary risks or investing the huge amounts of capital it takes to drive visitors to the Web sites of your businesses. Relationship Marketing is the key. Learn from what others are doing, but maintain your focus on how you can use the Web to build closer bonds with your existing customers and prospects. The Web may be a “new technology,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it as a “classic” marketing tool to build close, loyal relationships with your existing customers.

Leave a Lasting Impression

Send Out Cards makes it easy to leave a lasting impression that is not soon forgotten!

What is Send Out Cards?Send Out Cards can help you build strong relationships with your customers. This system is perfect for big, medium and small businesses. Whether you have multiple sales reps or are a one person office, you can save time and money while building strong relationships with your current customers and prospects.

Send Out Cards is a web based service that lets you send a printed greeting card or postcard with your custom message, in less than 60 Seconds for less than $1.

You simply choose your card, type a message, select a font (even your own handwriting!) then click send.

Send Out Cards prints it, stuffs it and mails it, all for less than the cost of a greeting card at the store.
These are NOT electronic greeting cards! They are high quality, physical cards, that are sent through the postal system!

What is the benefit? When using the postal service, there is no spam filter, no firewall and because these cards come addressed directly to the person you sent it to, there is a 90% chance they will open and read the card!

You can place your logo or an image of your business card within the body of the card. Whether it is a Thank You card, Birthday card or a “Thanks for the Referral, you can send it from your computer!

Choose from over 10,000 unique greeting cards and postcards for every occasion. With the click of a mouse you can send personalized card campaigns, every month like clock work without lifting a finger, to all of your customers, clients, and prospects.

With Send Out Cards you can send out a follow up card to your prospects or customers with a click of the mouse, for a fraction of the cost including postage!

You can even upload your own Pictures and images to build your own personalized Cards with the Picture Plus feature.

We want you to give it a try for free! Go to www.thinksendcards.com and click on the banner on our Send Out Cards site and send a free card to a customer, friend, prospect or even yourself. Take some time to look at all the different cards. If you have any questions, or want more information, please call us at 800-610-6717 ext. 3 or email your question to questions@thinksendcards.com.

Why Build Your Email Database?

Gaining your customers’ email addresses will:Provide an additional channel for reaching your customersIncrease the ROI of your marketing investments

Significantly reduce your customer acquisition and marketing costs

Allow you to easily measure the impact of your marketing campaigns

Increase your customer participation and retention rates

With ongoing postal and telemarketing pressures impacting marketing budgets for many organizations this year, email marketing could become the “silver lining” for many businesses. But how do you create a successful email marketing campaign if you do not have a substantial email database? That question may be one of the largest Internet related challenges facing companies this year.

Research shows that the majority of organizations have email addresses for less than 10% of their customers. So how do you level the playing field and start to add quality permission – based email addresses to your database?

Here are some tips that you can use to cost effectively build your email address database and increase your customer participation and retention rates:
START TO ASK FOR IT!

Every communication or touch point with a customer should start or end with a request for an email address. By utilizing the four points below, you should be able to add email addresses for 10% to 20% of your customer over the course of one year.

1. Direct Mail Collection

Think about how much time and money you spent for copy and design on your last new direct mail piece. Most companies have started to ask their customers for their email address information within these mailings. This is a great step forward. However, companies need to look at one major improvement if they want to increase their email address collection rates. To date, most requests for email address information have been pushed, shoved or jammed into whatever white space remains. It should be no surprise that the success rate has been less than stellar.

To improve on these efforts, you need to provide your members with a reason to release their email addresses to you. E-newsletters, purchase confirmations, petitions, and special discounts and offers are but a few of the benefits that will encourage your members to come on board.

2. Web Page Collection

Many companies have an email address collection function in place via the web. To improve your sign-up rates, add text below the email request box that informs your visitors of the special email benefits that they will receive (i.e. e-newsletters, purchase confirmations, delivery updates, etc.) upon registering. You can also utilize a pop-up link to inform users of these special benefits.

Finally, your email address request function should be available on your home page. Don’t make your users go and look for it. Every click away from your home page reduces the chances of your users taking an action and providing you with their email address information.

3. Existing Email Database Collection

Don’t forget to ask the members of your existing customer base for email addresses of their friends, family and associates. Viral marketing is a powerful tool to use and is extremely cost effective! You could ask them either to provide you with additional addresses or simply to pass on your newsletter, email specific offers, or other information to others they feel have similar interests. 4. Telemarketing Collection

Don’t assume that your telemarketing agents are asking for email addresses from potential customers. Ensure that your agents have an updated script, which outlines the previously described benefits to potential customers of providing their email addresses.The suggestions above are a great start!