Sales & Marketing Effectiveness

Trade Shows Remain a Marketing Priority

According to BtoB Magazine’s “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans” survey of 213 B2B marketers, trade show marketing is slated for a 49.5% budget increase this year. 

In addition, CMO Council’s 2008 Marketing Outlook indicates that Event and Trade Show budgeting expenditures are among the top 5 areas of marketing allocations for 2008. 

Yes, trade shows are here to stay despite tough economic times. How can you successfully promote your trade show in a down economy? 

Francis J. Friedman in "Surviving A Down Economy - Take steps now to ready your show for what lies ahead" published in EXPO Magazine, provides some useful tips to consider.

TIPS FOR PROMOTING YOUR SHOW IN A DOWN ECONOMY

1. Write for the CFO
Many attendees need permission to attend a trade show. Your pre-show brochures need to be the sales tool that enables an attendee to visit your show. Pre-show promotions need to be written as if you are speaking directly to the CFO asking for travel money. Be specific and benefit oriented. Answer the question: What will I take home and put to work if I attend your show?

2. Showcase new as problem solving
People attend trade shows to see what’s new. In a down economy, new has to be re-cast as problem solving in pre-show brochure copy. By presenting new in the context of helping to solve problems, a trade show becomes more relevant to its industry and better able to justify CFO travel approval.

3. Engage exhibitors to promote the show
Most shows already encourage pre-show exhibitor promotion. In a down economy, however, this activity needs increased attention by show management. Exhibitor customer service reps should tout free pre-show promotion tools. Continuing exhibitor pre-show follow-up will be necessary to ensure these tools are actually implemented.

4. Engage the facility and the city
A fall-off in economic impact from a show hurts a city and a facility. Many facilities and cities can provide in-kind services to help organizers promote their show. These services can include attendee telemarketing, e-mail blasts, blogs, links from their Web sites to your show and CVB newsletters. Ask what they can do to help market your show

If trade shows are part of your marketing plans, this article is a priority read.      

Was this article valuable? 

When Your ‘Nice’ Customer Fires You By Spending Elsewhere

• A customer who has had 1-2 bad experiences will tell up to 20 people
• A satisfied customer may tell 5 other people
• It costs 5 times more to attain a new customer than to keep one you already have
• Just 4% of your customers will bring a complaint to your attention, so for every complaint you hear about, there are probably dozens you haven’t heard about. 

My marketing support manager has been reading over older sales and marketing materials. I have to say, though she keeps abreast, she is not always agreeable with advancing sales and marketing technology.  She insists that, even with all the available current tools, nothing has truly changed in how sales, marketing, customer service, indeed, the entire company attains and keeps customers. 

Yes, she agrees, the tools can help, but without the major understanding of what constitutes a customer and their needs, why bother with the technology?  To her, understanding the customer is what sales, marketing, customer service; in fact, the whole company should be about. 

In her opinion, without customers and their loyalty, there would be no companies, no products, no CEOs, CFOs, COOs, VP Marketing, VP Sales, no newsletters, no blogs, no new products, no podcasts, no social networking, no webinars, no whatever they come up next with.  Without customers, there is nothing – companies simply don’t exist. 

In keeping with that, I’d like to introduce a short article, actually something she took from another source, and printed years ago in a company newsletter. 

The ‘Nice’ Customer Who Never Complains — and Never Comes Back!

You know me.  I’m a nice person.  When I get lousy service, I never complain.  I never kick.  I never criticize and I wouldn’t dream of making a scene. 

I’m one of those nice customers.  And I’ll tell you what else I am.  I’m the customer who doesn’t come back.

I take whatever you hand out, because I know I’m not coming back.  I could tell you off and feel better, but, in the long run, it’s better just to leave quietly. 
 
You see, a nice customer like me, multiplied by others like me, can bring a business to its knees.

There are plenty of us.  When we get pushed far enough, we go to one of your competitors.
Source-(Celin-o-gram, Celina Group, 1 Insurance Square, Celina, OH 45822 )      

How many “nice” customers do you have? 

Was this article valuable?