MARKETINGADVICE
Getting to the show with an innovative stand design, appropriate merchandise and plenty of enthusiasm is a great start, but there are a few more tricks to maximising your exposure.
Meet your targets
Ideally have at least two people working your stand. However, the number of staff necessary to operate your stand successfully depends on its size; finding the balance is key so make sure it’s not over-crowded or empty. Brief your stand team on what you
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Multi-media An exhibition provides an excellent opportunity for you to showcase any videos, testimonials, events, discovery days, case studies and product demos on a screen. Visitors naturally stop and watch and this gives your team a chance to approach them.
On-stand speaking
Some of our most successful clients adopt a system for attracting visitors onto the stand in a non-threatening way. A great way to do this is through the use of speaking slots. By scheduling a few speaking slots on your stand, you attract potential customers to you. Prospects like to speak to people who
Bigger businesses understand the power a perfect pitch provides in terms of consistency of approach and engaging their target audience
have already been in their position, so have a franchisee or customer on your stand. You can also use this in your pre-show marketing activity to invite hot prospects along to the show to meet you and your franchisee.
Don’t forget the press
want them to do and how you want them to record the number and details of visitors to the stand. Note that, at this point, it is important to remember to cover any data protection issues when gathering visitor info. To make sure you meet your targets and
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get a return on investment, it is advisable to provide your stand team with individual goals. For example, if you want 100 leads over a two-day show and you have five people working on the stand, that is 50 leads a day, 10 leads per person. Five before lunch and five after lunch each, per day. Breaking it down like this makes it less daunting and more motivational for your team. Once you have spoken to a prospect and they are interested in receiving further information, you hand them your form and that’s it – job done, right? Not quite! If you think about the above goal of 20 leads per person over two days, realistically, are you really going to remember who the good leads were? Therefore, we propose that you grade your leads. By having a system of 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C you can prioritise calling the 1s or As first once the team is back in the office during the week after the show. Those that are genuinely interested will appreciate the fast response and it will also give you the opportunity to sift the chaff from the wheat.
Another important target audience at exhibitions is the press. Leave your media pack in the press room for any interested journalists to pick up to find out more about your franchise. Always ensure that you include your perfect pitch in your press pack too.
End of the show, but not the end of the work! Interested prospects that have actively opted in to receive further details about your business should be followed up fast! An eye- catching branded email and personal phone call works best. To move your 1s or As further through the
process quickly, it is a great idea to mention upcoming open or discovery days. This can really help pull them through the recruitment process and allow you to get to know them better, whilst also allowing you to make a measured decision as to whether they are really right for your network. Once you have returned to your office and your first calls are made, work out a rough- return-on investment snapshot. This will allow you to evaluate your stand’s effectiveness and what you might do differently, or the same, the next time around. n
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you would like to find out more about how you can set a marketing strategy for your franchise recruitment, contact Coconut Creatives on 01725 511 673.
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