Monday, October 4, 2010

Get more out of your EXPO experience!

The Chamber's annual EXPO is fast approaching--November 11, 2010 6-8 pm at Clarkston High School.

Are you in?


How do I prepare for the EXPO?
First- Get in the game! I know this sounds basic--but REGISTER. You'll save money with an early bird discount. And you may not know this, but when placing EXPO booths, we do the corporate sponsors first, the hospitality second, the premium sponsors third--and then we work through the registrations in the order they were received. So early registration may increase your chances of a preferred EXPO position.

You'll also have a chance to order a logo self-inking stamp so you can participate in the EXPO Bingo game. Visitors will be asked to get their card fully stamped in order to enter the door prize drawing. If you want to be part of the Bingo game--be an early bird and get a logo stamp.

Second--Create a Game Plan! Take a few minutes to strategize what your booth will look like, what colors, what message, who will be staffing it?
With over 1,000 people coming through the EXPO how will your booth draw the public in? You don't want everyone just walking on by--or hurrying to the booth that's 2 spots down from you because that display has something more interesting, attractive or dynamic.

What message can you use that intrigues a potential customer or client? How will your booth's display help you pre-qualify a lead?

Here's an Example:
I was intrigued at the recent Taste of Clarkston by the way the restaurants creatively drew people in--not only to taste their food--but to think about them for future business.
What was the best example of this creative, eye catching marketing? Scott Lake Banquet Center. If you were at the Taste, you may have seen the 2 couples dressed in formal wear. They were helping to promote Scott Lake as the place to have your wedding reception. Eye catching--no one else was wearing an evening gown or tuxedo--and an instantly recognizable message--"Oh! Weddings!" If you were thinking about getting married--you would definitely want to go check out the food and information at their booth.

Third--Seed the EXPO audience with testimonials! Send an invitation (email or postcard) to your existing customer list and invite them to visit you at the EXPO. Perhaps offer them a special incentive for stopping by your booth. Consider this "seeding the crowd with your personal advocates." Your current customers love the work you do--make sure they're at the EXPO and can share with their friends and other visitors their opinion (and endorsement) for your business. It's the "Reading Rainbow" effect. Remember Levar Burton's famous "But you don't have to take my word for it," catch phrase at the end of the PBS show as he introduced the segment where every day readers gave a quick promo for their favorite book?

It's very effective. User ratings, opinions and referrals are HUGE! (So get your satisfied customers to come to the EXPO--they'll help you market your message!)


Fourth--Be Memorable! Think about what you may give away or hand out. Not all booths have give aways any more, and that's okay. The EXPO shouldn't be about Trick or Treating--but you DO want to be in people's memory when they suddenly need your services.

Make your give away something of quality. You want your future customer or client to view your give away as an indication of the kind of service and value they'll get from you when they purchase your services.

Don't feel you have to give your item to everyone. Hold your items, or keep them behind the table--and share them only with the potential customers or clients you pre-qualify.

Need new and fresh ideas? Contact one of the promotional and marketing companies that belong to the Chamber. Let them know your budget and goals--and they'll do the leg work to find options that may fit your needs.

DO THIS NOW so you don't have to pay express shipping or production prices!

Fifth--Clean up your Data base and create a plan to follow up with your pre-qualified leads IMMEDIATELY.
The goal at EXPO is NOT to do your entire sales presentation to the visitors to your booth. Your goal is to identify who might be a customer or client. Get their contact information (fish bowl drawings are a great tool for this) and then follow up within the next week.

How do you follow up? While a phone call may seem like the easiest and quickest way to follow up, it may not be the most effective.

Consider sending a thank you card. Be sure the thank you card includes a "call to action." A discount or free offer if they respond within a short time period.

If you asked for email addresses to sign up for your company eblasts--make sure you DO an eblast or enewsletter right away. Keep it short, fun and intriguing. Include a "call to action," inspiring them to click to your website, stop by your business or call you for more information.

Sixth--train your staff. Make sure that the representatives at your booth know how to spot a pre-qualified lead. Develop 2 or 3 quick questions that they can use to intrigue and discern who might be a potential lead. (eg: If you're a Veterinarian--finding out if the people coming by are pet owners is essential. You could ask if they have a pet--or your staff could ask if they have a picture of their pet with them. Perhaps you have a special gift item for visitors that can show a picture of their pet. That's a fun way to find out who's a pet owner, what kind of a pet do they own and clearly--they LOVE their pet if they have a picture of them in their purse or wallet.)


And finally--Plan to visit the other booths. Learning about the other Chamber member businesses, striking up relationships and reinforcing existing relationships is the foundation of a really strong local economy.

Don't forget that at the end of the evening, after you've broken down your booth and packed up the car--head over to Fountains for the EXPO afterglow. It's a cash bar and some appetizer nibbles to close out a very fun and effective evening of networking.

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