Tradeshow Promotion - 7 Factors for Enhancing Your Portable Store
   

Thirty Seconds! ...Thirty seconds to make an impression!

Thirty seconds may be extremely generous compared to the three seconds a visitor typically allows a website to capture their attention. Comparatively, thirty seconds may be bordering on insanity in light of the time, money and energy that went into creating, developing and assembling your concept for your portable store.

It can take hours to create a visual format that causes the website visitor to linger. It can take even more hours to create the elements that support a profitable portable store -- a tremendous investment to earn but thirty seconds of someone’s time. However, having the opportunity to meet with the public face-to-face to test audience reaction to a new promotion or product can be most exciting. The following factors are based on this author’s experiences at tradeshows -- from both sides of the table. Attention to each factor helps bring clarity to your presentation.

The Before Factor - Working from a list can be a grounding feature when preparing to take your portable store out in public to a tradeshow. Deadlines for task completion help ensure that the preparatory bits will get done in a timely fashion. Taking stock early in the process to ensure that there is sufficient inventory on hand can be critical to success. Last minute orders to top up supplies can add stress and rush orders - product or print - may also add to your cost, unnecessarily.

Print support should be designed to match the needs of your customers. What do you want the visitor to take with them at the close of the visit? A business card? A full-color catalogue? A one-page professional brochure?

Pack a dust cover. Dust churned up from concrete floors can challenge your intention to appear squeaky clean. Bottled water may save your voice too. Create an inventory list that allows before-and-after stock taking.

The Portability Factor - So just how compact is your portable store? Does it fit into a single suitcase…on wheels? While some venues provide staff to transport your traveling store containers to and from the loading area, they should be manageable by you, no matter how many trips it takes.

The Lure Factor - Walk a while in the visitor’s shoes. Feature a trip to the neighborhood mall. Would you stop at every store or just some stores? Do you use a list, or are you open to being lured by other possibilities? What lures you? What invites you in? Color? Sound? Free draw? Special Offers? Key words?

Is it true that a business without a sign is a sign of no business? What does your sign say about your business? Are you serious about doing business? It pays to work with a commercial sign maker to help create just the right combination of professionalism, message, color and ease of transport.

Practice setting up the display at home, in advance of the event. Time the set up. Take a photograph. Critique the display. Gather feedback from a coach you trust. Apply polish. Take another picture with you in it. Capitalize on the opportunity to evaluate the visual effect at arm’s length and see what your buyers are seeing. This is your 3-D marketing work of art, after all, and you want it to capture attention, don’t you?

The Operator Factor - You are the most important feature of your portable store. You are the critical ingredient. You are there to help bridge a clear and concise connection between your visitor and what you represent and the event may take you completely out of your comfort zone, both literally and figuratively. Most tradeshows take place in venues that have concrete floors, dry air and harsh lighting. It may be too cool or too warm for you and the washrooms may be far away.

Some tradeshows, believe it or not, actually provide “free” delivery service of hot and cold beverages to the booth operators, along with snacks, like muffins and doughnuts. Sometimes it is possible to order a booth-delivered bag lunch in advance. If possible, arrange for someone to work your booth and give you a break.

Imagine yourself in comfortable shoes, on a cushioned surface, dressed in professional layers chosen to augment your product or service. To complete the picture, you are open to possibilities and wearing your smile.

The Shopping Factor - “Drive-by” shopping or “drive-buy” shopping? Okay, your tradeshow visitor is at your table. Now what? What is your objective? Sales? Leads? Pleasant conversation? How does what you do benefit your visitor? Knowing why you are there dictates how you engage the drive-byer to become your drive-buyer or your word-of mouth advertiser. Develop your thirty-second sound-byte and rehearse it until it works for you. How do you know if it is working? The visitor lingers and lets you know that you have made a connection. There are numerous opportunities available in the networking marketplace to access training and feedback on this topic alone. Do not underestimate the power of the thirty-second opener.

The Follow-up Factor - Evaluate the profit, the sales, the leads and the traffic. Did this venue offer up your target audience? Make notes for next time. Is there anyone you promised to call?

Just as in the electronic marketplace, such as the Internet, it takes time to build a presence. Bottom lines are always going to be there, but the valuable networking features of tradeshows will definitely expand your experience and, hopefully, your business. Vendors and attendees alike may have an interest in your product or service. Go for it!

Donna Dahl has been an independent distributor of products for twenty years. She has participated in tradeshows for over a decade. Reach her at mrsddahl@telus.net