Corporate Branding and Trade Shows - 8 Tips for Marketing Managers
Trade shows are part of the marketing mix and the
appearance by your firm should be a continuum of your
entire marketing including advertising, public relations and
events. While you may introduce a new product or showcase a
service, many firms make mistakes by not connecting the
overall corporate branding with the show. How can an
exhibit staff person be up to speed on what the company is
doing? BEFORE THE SHOW ???? 1. Make sure you have information about the exhibit ? what
is in it, why it is there ? before the show. Not the day before
but as soon as you get your assignment. The exhibit
manager has the responsibility to make sure the exhibit is
on time and looks great - among many other duties. The
marketing team decides the theme, products highlighted
and rationale. 2. Read your company and division web sites. Sure, there
are lots of pages but there are hidden nuggets in there that
you may have forgotten or may be new to you. Here's what
you may not know ? attendees who are serious about
meeting with you ? well, they will check your web site. Best
to be as informed as your prospective clients are. 3. Read all the promotional materials that you will hand out.
If an attendee has a question while at the booth, your
answer will not be ? DUH? 4. Know what is in all the demonstrations. Are there cues to
expand on the demo? Clues as to how to lead a
conversation? Listen carefully and make your life easier. 5. Read advertising in your trade publications. What does
your firm promote versus your competitors? Can you explain
the differences? 6. While reading the trades, look for articles and releases
about your company. Check your online press release
section or ask the PR department about releases sent
before the show. 7. Understand the role of your firm if a sponsor of an event. 8. Ask. Ask. Ask until you get answers that satisfy you. Your
goal is to make you the best representative for the company
you can be. Having an understanding of the broad marketing aspects
before the show makes your firm well branded at event. Julia O'Connor
Speaker, Author, Consultant
Trade Show
Training, inc.
PO Box 17155, Richmond, VA 23226
http://www.TradeShowTraining.com
804-355-7800
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I am afraid that there is not much that can be done about character-we are who we are. But, there definitely are some things that you can do to improve your "likeability" ranking.
A good, positive attitude attracts clients. Clients do not want to work with professionals; they want to work with professionals that project a positive attitude. Just as we avoid colleagues that are unpleasant to be around, so do clients avoid contracting professionals that do not project the right attitude.
Show appreciation for having the opportunity to work with a client. Send a card, nothing fancy or expensive, with a personal and original thank you message. You should try it-it works wonders.
Have a genuine interest in your client's best interest. Share you insider knowledge of the industry with your client. When you can not take on a job (maybe you have enough work, or are not qualified for that particular subject matter), reach out to your network and forward the job to a colleague. You can also point clients to web sites that can handle their translation project. Clients appreciate these small acts of kindness, and they certainly do not forget about them!
After completing under graduate school in Japan, I returned to Zambia briefly to help in the family business. We made it a policy to recommend customers to establishments-even if they were competitors-that most likely carried the product that we could not provide. Did customers ever appreciate it! They ended up coming around more regularly and making more purchases. Not only that, but even our competitors started referring their customers to us during stock outs. Of course, we made sure not to run out of stock too often-clients also have businesses to run?
The customary caution is not to introduce the client to a nightmare. A good rule of thumb to follow is to never introduce the client to a product (service) that you yourself would not layout money for.
When clients like you, you are the line up.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the success of your translation style can only be measured by the number of your clients, and the number of projects that those client entrust you with. That is very much a function of how successful you are in making your clients feel comfortable with your deal-as defined by reputation, professionalism and visibility-and by climbing in the "likeability" rankings.
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