- Take a holistic approach to attendance promotion — the direct mail piece is only 10% of the total effort needed.
- A successful show brings the right number of qualified attendees to the show floor. Work on all three elements and you will have a very profitable event.
- If you manage the expectations of your exhibitors, you will not need to produce huge numbers of warm bodies. Under promise and over perform.
- Rule of Thumb: budget $50 per verified attendee for all marketing expenses. This is for direct costs only and does not include staff salaries.
- Focus on power buyers as attendees vs. users. Power buyers buy (for example) 1000 units whereas users buy only one unit.
- Be sure the community of interest is large enough to support your show. On average, 1% of the community (or universe) will come to the show.
- Rule of Thumb: plan to generate 10 verified attendees per stand. To illustrate, if your show has 300 stands, you should have 3000 verified attendees.
- Take it as your responsibility to be sure your exhibitors get a ton of quality leads.
- Focus your public relations on those magazines (and associations) who actually influence your industry.
- Open the show to all associations and publications serving your community of interest –not just the sponsor.
- Direct mail is a preferred medium – but use it effectively by concentrating on the 20% of the universe that generates 80% of your attendance.
- E-marketing is a preferred medium – but be sure your understand “permission marketing,” specifically what true “opt-in” means.
- Telemarketing can work, but make “warm” (rather than cold) calls to past attendees and inquirers.
- No shows (those who pre register but don’t show up) are very costly. Have a separate promotion plan to convince them to come.
- Finally, measure the results of each promotion effort so you know what improvements tomake next year.
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