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By Mike Kelly, CFE
“Many convention and
exhibition venues use trade and road shows as a basic element in their
marketing programs. Why do they do this; why is it important; and what’s
the best approach to add value to trade and road show involvement?
Most of us in the conventions and exhibitions industry host a number of
trade and road shows in our venues each year. However, from my
observations, it isn’t always clear that we’re taking advantage of this
proximity of classroom opportunity to learn from them the key factors in
attendance success.
I hope in the following two-part article to build a compelling case for
trade and road show attendance. We’ll start with some context from a
marketing perspective and work our way through some checklist
considerations to allow you to maximize return on investment. The
investment falls in three areas: financial, time management and
marketing resource allocation and commitment.
A Marketing Context
Before we even dwell on trade shows, let’s revisit some core tenets of
marketing, and put trade and road shows into a marketing context. I
think it’s fair to say that for most of us, trade and road shows are an
integral part of our marketing mix.
Most schools of business and management course content still include
references to the 4 P’s of Marketing: Place, Product, Price and
Promotion. Marketing strategies and buyer decisions are made on the
basis of these four fundamental factors. For marketing and strategic
purposes, product promotion must include references to these factors.
However, they have to be integrated into a package and presented in a
way to best represent that product in a holistic way to potential
buyers. Being in the best location with poor product and high prices
isn’t going to close any deals, and we have to find a balance between
these fundamental event site selection criteria.
If a buyer is indeed objective — and that isn’t always a guarantee — the
best course of action is to make sure any strategic marketing package
isn’t significantly deficient in any one of these four elements. That’s
where the sales packaging creativity comes into play. From this process
we move to defining a marketing course of action that best presents and
promotes our product.
Unique Selling Proposition
What’s a unique selling proposition, or USP (we do love our acronyms)? A
USP is meant to address all the criteria taken into account by a buyer
when selecting a venue.
The USP and packaging of the component parts are sometimes equally
important. Packaging isn’t simply filling a basket with the requisite
facts and presenting it to a buyer; it means getting the ingredients
right, in the correct sequence and in the right proportions. Every
packaging situation differs because in no two events are circumstances
the same.
The sales challenge is to package the facts in a way that creates a
selling proposition so compelling it causes the buyer to buy. What are
the key components in a convention or exhibition center USP?
• Appeal of the destination
• Access to the destination,
firstly, and then to the venue
• Accommodation — Hotels and venues
suitable and available to the qualitative and quantitative capacity
needs of the client
• Aptitude — A demonstrated
understanding through past performance for the general and specific
requirements for the client
• Attitude — A sincere and
well-expressed desire to host the event
It can be argued that the first three factors in a USP are situational
or environmental. The venue seller may have little control over the
appeal of his destination, where his venue is located in that city, the
type and frequency of airline service, or the number and quality of
hotel rooms in his city.
 The
latter two components are more subjective but this is where the
integrity of the package is at stake. The efficacy of any USP is largely
determined by its avoidance of overselling the destination or its
capacities.
Armed with this information, let’s go forward and explore a bit more
about venue product before we put it on the trade show floor.
Product Components
What basic product is a convention or exhibition center selling? In
short, when you strip away the broader destination and environmental
factors the venue product is simply three things: rates, dates and
space.
If the pricing is too high, the required dates not available, or the
space not adequate to the needs of the client, it’s very unlikely that a
deal is possible. There are lots of other factors but if these factors
aren’t achievable, no amount of spin is going to work.
I think we have to add a fourth component and look at delivery on the
service performance promise. Clients are becoming increasingly
sophisticated in their evaluation of venue capacities, beyond what’s
more immediately measurable. They’re beginning to use relatively
accurate measures to test claims of service performance. While
previously they depended upon the veracity of the venue owner’s claim or
references from previous users, now they’re delving into venue operator
records and asking for verifications of service capacities.
Our industry isn’t so large that our service performance reputation
doesn’t precede us. The challenge for any venue is to consistently
deliver on the service promise. While service may be an after-market
product, your reputation for service can enhance or condemn your message
on the trade show floor. Regardless how good or how well communicated
your USP may be, if the integrity of your service performance claims
leaves question marks, your USP falls.
For that reason, it’s always helpful at trade shows to bring along some
testimonials from previous clients and incorporate them into your print
and electronic collateral on the stand. Part Two: Defining trade show
success
Mike Kelly, CFE, is senior
vice president for NCC Management and Development Co Ltd and IAAM
Ambassador for Asia. |
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