Targeted Promotion That Hits the Mark
The driving force behind at-show promotions and booth giveaways is to attract more of the people and companies that you need to connect with to make your show a success. The ideal giveaway imparts gratitude for the time the guest spends in your space and gets your branding a small boost after the show. If you're lucky, your contact information goes back to the prospect's office. How can you do better? Here are two promotional ideas that challenge the conventional wisdom of promotions.
Target your booth guest with direct mail. Always buy the organization's pre-attendee list. Sort the list to choose several hundred Top Picks from your sales prospect data base. Use a simple postcard campaign to the general pre-attendee list (less the Top Picks). Send the Top Picks a nice 3D package via USPS Priority or FedEx UPS, etc.
In the 3D package, use a custom direct mail piece that is personalized to your Top Picks and includes a suitable small giveaway linked to your message, recipient, etc. Tie the direct mail piece giveaway to another nicer giveaway they can pick up at the booth just for showing up. Follow-up with a phone call and email, if possible, to remind them they've already won something.
When the Top Pick is scanned, run through your usual qualification routine and hand off to sales. We've averaged 30% return on these campaigns. Offering a giveaway to the general attendee audience just wastes your time and money and crowds your front desk with souvenir hunters.
- Bill Funderburk - Director of Marketing - Emageon
What can you do to improve your impact and relevance? Providing a thoughtful match between the interests and informational needs of your client/prospect target individuals proves to be a powerful start. The following tip looks at how you can focus on the right answers at the right time for your program.
When you are looking for a show giveaway, spend the time to find something truly relevant to your business and your customers; perhaps a book by an expert in the field. Skip the trinkets and offer information - educational materials such as white papers and access to webinars. Just be sure they are really educational, and not just a sales pitch in disguise.
Establish credibility by giving something of value that is relevant to the relationship you're trying to build. Make it useful. A lot of people argue this point. People like FUN stuff, they say. Well, sure. But toys are picked up by people like me, to bring home to our kids, so we don't have to shop at the airport …and then buried in the toy box. Instead, choose something your prospects will want to keep at their workplace, and keep for a long time.
>br/> n even better idea is to find something that truly helps them do their job. One of our best promotions for a scientific client base was a slide-rule type calculator that helped engineers develop system specifications. They used them. They called to ask me for more, for their new hires. (The still do, even with all the on-line calculators that abound these days.) Our company looked smart and helpful - the people to go to for good, useful stuff.
- Lisa Schaertl, President, Tech Savvy Marketing