How to use Push Marketing at your trade show booth, to increase sales and profits

Push notifications are commonly used by mobile apps in every industry to engage users with real-time messaging. Mobile devices are a crowded space, however, and understanding the best way to leverage push alerts is vital to ensure attendees continue to accept communication from trade show hosts and enjoy real value in return. The following concepts go beyond the basics such as event promotion and last-minute updates to focus on creative options best suited to maximize benefits for hosts and attendees alike.

Utilize Deep Links

Standard push notifications are effective for quick alerts regarding a booth number change or reminders about a networking event. Yet many attendees consider turning off notifications unless they consistently provide tangible value and more relevant details; inserting a deep link into the majority of notifications gives attendees the ability to quickly access relevant mobile app content from a link provided in the alert.

Examples of helpful deep links include directing attendees to the exhibitor profile of a sponsor’s message or a session detail page when sharing room or time change information. Compare a short message without the ability to extend the interaction with attendees to providing insightful context available one tap away. The latter provides better value and simultaneously increases page views in any mobile app.

Schedule Alerts

Push notifications without a consideration for timing are seldom as useful to attendees. Do mobile app users really want an alert generically promoting the event or urging people to mingle on the trade show floor? Consider scheduled push alerts to coincide with important sessions and meaningful demonstrations throughout the event to provide helpful and real-time information. Attendees are increasingly expecting personalization with their event technology and sending timely messages only serves to improve the experience for everyone involved.

Scheduled push notifications also serve to remove a significant workload from event planners. The “set it and forget it” model of queueing push notifications days or even weeks in advance enables planners to focus on other responsibilities and once again improves the attendee experience and overall effectiveness of the event. 

Generate Additional Revenue

Traditional methods of selling sponsorships in a mobile event app include banner ads and splash screens. Push notifications enable trade show planners to offer a more personalized method of reaching attendees as companies may request a notification timed around a specific presentation or to promote a brochure. Real-world examples include charging an exhibitor to include marketing material in their exhibitor listing with the ability to deep link the content to a series of timely push alerts.

Sending sponsored push notifications also helps attendees. Ensure each sponsor is relevant and valuable to the trade show’s audience to create a better event experience; new product launches or updates on industry trends is often of great benefit to attendees and might even surpass the ROI associated with increased sponsorship dollars.

Consider the Overall Attendee Experience

Many event hosts are rightfully consumed with sending updates and promotional content via push alerts without ever stopping to consider the attendee experience. Send a push alert notifying attendees of free snacks when lunch is pushed back for a longer midday session or provide tips on the best spots for free wifi around the event facility.

Ask what attendees might appreciate most and utilize push notifications to communicate in ways traditional communication before mobile technology could never accomplish. Let a sponsor provide the snacks or partner with a company to provide the free wifi hotspot if it makes sense. The goal is to make sure attendees receive great service at the event with thoughtful alerts when needed most.

So to increase sales and profits through promotions, consider push marketing at your next trade show event.

Trade Show Mindset

Is it as easy as setting up a booth, smiling as visitors come by, and asking a few questions?

Sure, that’s some of it. But creating a mindset in your team for tradeshow marketing involves more.

So let’s capture a few items that are critical in creating a tradeshow marketing mindset:

• Realize that all of your visitors are rushing around and want to visit as many booths as possible. Which really means, don’t waste their time.
• Some thing: you have hundreds of people you’d like to see. Don’t let unqualified visitors waste your time.
• Prepare for a marathon. Three or four days of standing, meeting, greeting, collecting information, giving demos and answering questions can take it out of anyone. Make sure you’re in good physical shape prior to the big event.
• • With the fast proliferation of mobile devices, your customers are connected to their world through the smartphone they carry. They do research, make connections, pay bills, find a nearby restaurant and more while on the move. Realize how this affects your marketing message and methods and learn how to reach them on this platform while they’re on the move at a tradeshow.
  • Prepare, prepare, prepare. I can’t stress this enough. Too many exhibitors think about things a few weeks ahead and try to make major (or even minor) changes without putting thought into it or knowing how much time things change. From graphic changes to booth makeovers to staff training to pre-show marketing and post-show followup, know how much time all the items take and work backwards from the show date.
  • While a tradeshow is a single, specific event, the online discussion around it will start weeks prior to the show and will continue for weeks afterwards. When you are targeting a show, be sure to listen to the chatter by monitoring the show hashtag, and prepare what you’ll do with sharing information, photos and videos for weeks after the show as the energy dies down.
  • You’re one of hundreds, or thousands of other exhibitors. There are only a few ways to stand out: have a freakin’ awesome booth that stops people in their tracks, have something going on in your booth space that compels them to stop such as a professional demo or interactive activity, create a pre-show marketing message and campaign so powerful that people make a stop at your booth one of their priorities or have a product that everyone needs or wants to see NOW.
  • Once the show is over, your work is not done. To make the show worthwhile, all of those leads and related information must be delivered to the right sales folks to follow up in a timely manner. Again, the race is still underway and you’ll have competitors who are following up within 24-48 hours. What’s your follow up plan?
  • What is your preshow plan, do you plan on doing a preshow mailer to targeted buyers, or are you going to wait and react to who just shows up.
  • Who are you sending to the booth to represent your company, are they people who interact with others well, like to network etc? Don't have your wallflowers going there, you need your best people there representing you, and your brand to new prospects.
  
  

  I hope this helps, you spend a lot of money on trade show exhibits, make it worth your money.
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Catch more flies with honey than Vinegar!

Do you want your sales team and or customer service team to reach down for that little extra something? Is there a new product or service that you want them to focus on? Is increasing sales to existing clients a key focus, or are you in the market for new clients?

If you add that little extra incentive to your compensation program the job will get done. By doing such you are indirectly telling them which behavior you want them to proceed with, which aligns with your corporate goals and objectives.

You won't need to tell them we need to focus on new accounts, if the reward is a bonus on new accounts, the actions that your company puts forth speaks louder than words.

If you want your customer service team to up-sell, same thing applies. A small incentive can help you and your team reach your goals and objectives, and the program pays for itself, because you are only paying out when the activity is accomplished.

Tell us your experience with incentives

Jack wants you to ask us about your marketing

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Promotions and Contests

Well it is almost that time again #marchmadness, #bracketology etc. Sharpen your pencils and start preparing now to win your company's bracket program.  You fill one out right? You watch the games at work too correct?

WELL SO DO YOUR CUSTOMERS!!

So why not put together your own company promotion to help engage YOUR customers, your distributors etc, to join in with a chance to win some big coin.

Don't worry gang if somebody hits the jackpot, you are covered by prize insurance, so you don't have to sweat it out with your boss how you have to pay some guy 50K.

By running a promotion like this you engage your clients, get data capture, if they are prospects and another reason to promote with an email about standings etc.

You can do other prizes too, for 1st place etc.

Manufacturers, would you help your distributors run these by giving them co-op dollars? Most say yes.

Just ask how a promotion like this can be exciting for you and your business.

Just give us a call 609 807 8856