Hey Valued Customer, Throw This Out For Me

Do you remember the last time you were at an event or trade show.  There were hundreds of exhibitors and before you left your home you choose five companies.  You wanted to know more about these five in order to make the decision of who you want to do business with.  You travel to the event looking forward to seeing the new products and talking with the company representatives about your needs. 

When you get there the companies representative was unhelpful, did not ask the right questions (or any), and had a general air of I don’t want to be here.  You left with unanswered questions, and a flyer on the product that the contact had provided to you in order to get you to leave.

Time and time again I see this happen.  There is a better way.  Although the comic here is done for humor there is more truth in this than you know.  At any event that is not in the hometown of the attendee more than 70% of the collateral handed out does not leave the city and is filed in the hotel trash receptacles.  Don't get me wrong, collateral is a necessary and powerful tool in the sales cycle but it should be used in the proper way and supported by a trained and powerful show staff. 

Here are a few things to think about when it comes to interacting with show attendees.

Never Assume: Each conversation has the opportunity for a multi-million dollar change in your companies balance sheet.  Dependent on your business remember that these two days are most likely the largest gathering of decision makers in your industry.  

A Few Tips:

1. Understand the attendees role, and yours! 
2. Develop real engagement time
3. What challenges are they having 
4. How does your product or service fit a need
5. Identify the unique benefit of your solution 
6. Understand how does the attendee make decisions 
7. Confirm the conversation and make sure you can follow up post show

Research Opportunity: With such a large gathering of like minded people from all facets of the business (Sales, Engineering, R&D, C-Level and more) know that the conversations that occur at your trade show could lead to many things. Product development revisions, needed support changes after the sale, and much more.

A Few Tips:

1. Ask questions
2. Gather feedback
3. Document the return on knowledge
4. Share the knowledge with the right departments at HQ
5. Come to the event with a set of questions
6. Reward the two or three minutes you spend with a prospect gaining this feedback

Tech Integration: Don’t leave the collateral at home yet.  Collateral is an important part of the conversation but the integration of tech tools like tablets, QR Codes, RFID, Near Field Communication, Bluetooth Beacons (more on that <<here>>), large format touch screens, and so much more help to make your more efficient and more connected.  Many of these tools can help empower conversation and engagement.

A Few Tips:

1. One-on-one meeting time with limitless data
2. Screen sharing for larger groups
3. One touch file sharing with lead development software
4. The ability to share multiple file formats quickly
5. Ease and speed of content manipulations    

So the next time you see “collateral with no conversation”, whichever side of the fence you are on, what will you do?

To learn more reach out to <<JENOA>> to discuss your specific business challenges today. 

Take Care of Your Relationship with Your Customers

Remember the days of parties in your youth.  You came in with your friends, made a bee line for a spot in the craziness, and somehow through the mass of faces, loud music, and roar of conversations you saw someone across the room. Someone that made you stop. 

With every relationship, work or personal their are phases that we go through in order to move along a path, whether linear or non-linear.  The one thing that many business ignore is the single most powerful tool in their tool chest which is the advocacy of the current and happy customers. 

Back to the party - Assuming you two met on the dance floor in spectacular form, dated for a few years and ended up married is that the end of the story? Or, is there still work to be done? How do you turn that initial meeting into rabid advocacy. 

1. Courting - Open, Honest, Transparent.  

Very few people or customers actually fall in love at first site.  Their is a courting period where you learn about products and services.  You find out the history of the company and why it’s a good match for you and your company.  Sometimes the worst thing you can do is to make promises that can’t be kept which can lead to time, effort and investment spent in the wrong place. Cut the strings now if its not the correct fit - they will never become an advocate.

2. Dating - Begin With The Goal in Mind

If all you are looking for is a sale and your business model does not benefit from long term advocacy and repeated sales than this is not for you.  If your goal is to convert the time, energy, and investment spent in this dating period into a long term customer who can sing your praises than their are a few things to think about.  Listen more and talk less.  Give rather than take.  Partnership allowances and special access can provide the needed fodder to move to the next phase.

3. Engaged - Don’t Make Any Assumptions

This is not the sale nor is this advocacy stage.  Brand advocates want their voice to be heard, their expertise to be valued, and their requests to be addressed.  Some of the best and simplest product innovations I have seen have come from conversations at this phase.  Whether the questions be around the product or service or even the process involved make them known to eliminate surprises and a breakdown in trust.

4. Married - Tending to The Relationship

In the end all of the time, effort, and energy spent through the process, asking the right questions and having the right answers has led to that long term relationship.

Now that the sale has been made and the product or service is delivered how can you promote that advocacy. Help them to be heard with the right tools.  Remind them to be heard through a drip program. Provide tangible perks to empower them and provide them a channel to help share.

5 THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW:

1. Content. Content is King in this social media world but creating content is sometimes assigned to one person within a company.  Allow and empower your advocates to share content on your social channels as testimonials, case studies, or even just a quick comment. 
2. Social media toolset. Shares, likes and comments related to your customers are a great way to stay connected, keep top of mind, and show that you are truly interested in their business. 
3. Referral bonus. Share in the perks and rewards of the ease of gaining a new client through one of your brand advocates. 
4. Integrated Social Media.  Yes you may have 1 in 100 comments be negative but with the proper brand advocates the village may address the comment before you can.  These self sustained social media channels are where true advocacy excel.
5. Christmas in July (or whenever).  Assign the Christmas gift or other funds to a tiered thank you in the middle of the year when a gift will stand out rather than be one of many.

To learn more reach out to JENOA to discuss your specific business challenges today.

This Place is a Zoo

“This place is a zoo,” was spoken by the alligator in his typical New York accent. As a youngster this was the start of a TV spot for the local zoo. Thinking about that today I can see its relevance in today’s trade show and events world. 

The New Lion is Here: When a zoo gets a new, high-profile animal, it draws a bigger crowd. It’s the same for trade shows – seeing new products is the #1 reason attendees go to shows. Make sure to feed your new product “animal” well, give it good placement, lighting, traffic flow, interactive content, meeting areas, and most importantly make sure that lion display looks great.

The Petting Zoo: Kids flock to get their hands on the animals in the petting zoo. Similarly, never underestimate the power of a good demo. That hands-on interactive time with attendees is not only one of the best ways to help drive traffic, but it also allows you to gain valuable input from those closest to your industry.

Don’t Feed the Animals: Make sure you are not overfeeding your booth with too many of the wrong people who are coming in just for the treats. Remember, you can tier your giveaways. A candy bowl is an inexpensive way to get the traffic in the aisle to slow down. Tchotchkes are a great way to start that face-to-face discussion. And a premium giveaway can either thank a prospect or help push them over the fence to engage in real business dialog.

Animals Pacing In Cages: Get rid of the cages and remove the barriers between you and your possible customer. The best zoos invite you in to experience the environment. Similarly, move that eight foot table out of the aisle, open up the floor space with smaller tables that double as storage, and invite people in to engage in real conversation and experiences.

Roaming Herds: With upwards of 100,000 people at some shows you may only speak to 10% of them, follow up with 2% of them, and only need to close a few to classify your show as an incredible success. Proper pre-show promotions and post-show follow-up is a mandatory in order to gain ROI and keep the business moving forward.

The Worm Exhibit: No one ever screams to see the worm exhibit but every company and every product can still be an attention-getter with a few quick tips: Create something that speaks directly to your target audience, differentiates you from others, and is ownable by your company and only your company.

Remember The Zoo Keepers: Even when you have the best exhibit, the best animals, and the best placement in the zoo, it is the zoo keeper that keeps the animals from getting sick, shovels the “!@#$%”, and gets the job done. Set a seasoned trade show staffer as the lead, hold morning huddles, set goals and keep to them. Make sure to train your booth staffers and keep everyone headed towards the same goals.

So, remember when you went to the zoo and all the animals were sleeping? That wasn’t much fun. Instead, take the right steps at your next show to keep the animals lively, and the attendees will reward you and your company.

To learn more reach out to JENOA to discuss your specific business challenges today.