The Trade Show
Introduction.
A trade show is essential for an industry to communicate and market its products and services (Lin, 2016, Page 2640). By organizing a trade show, the pharm company will be able:
- To showcase to its customers its newest pharmaceutical products and services.
- To be connected to partners of the company.
- To determine the strategies used by rival companies.
- To know the latest trends and opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.
The setting of exhibition booths during a trade show will enable the pharm company to interact directly with many attendees who may make potential customers.
Research shows that about 83% of attendees in an exhibition booth are likely to purchase the product (Tafesse and Skallerud, 2017, Page 24). The Centre for Exhibition Industry Research states that attendees in a trade show provide new leads and an opportunity to display the exhibitor’s floor sales (Lin, 2016, Page 2644).
Moreover, trade shows provide cheaper means of generating leads as compared to field-generated points that are more expensive. The Centre for Exhibition Industry Research shows that thousands of trade shows are held annually across the US. The pharm company will thus be able to gain more from trade shows.
Executive summary.
Trade shows are the effective communication and marketing tools a company would wish to use. Furthermore, the use of booths in a trade show is of significance when they are properly advertised and marketed as they have the potential of attracting a more significant population with diverse needs and ideas when compared to “walking” in a show to collect information.
The use of booths in a trade show is ideal as it also a primary means of attracting potential customers to a pharm company. Based on the analysis, the CEO of the Pharm industry should consider various recommendations based on necessary actions with regards to future involvement in a trade show. In the future, the organization should consider the use of a booth instead of a direct collection of data. Besides, the company should consider proper and adequate preparations before the show. It should also develop effective advertisement and marketing methods. Finally, the company that both the booth and the floor space are used effectively for successful development.
Table of Contents.
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
Table of contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
- When to have a booth or just “walk” the Show floor………………………………………………………..4
- How to prepare for and ensure the Show is a success……………………………………………………5
- Who should work at or visit the Show…………………………………………………………………………….6
- How to Effectively Market and Advertise a Company’s Booth………………………………………..6
- How to Effectively use the Booth and Floor Space………………………………………………………….7
- Required Follow-Up and Actions Following the Completion of the Show……………………….8
References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….10
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
1. When to have a booth or just “walk” the Show floor.
The pharm company can participate in the trade affair by either installing an exhibition booth or walking through the show space (Reinhold et al., 2017). The first method is instrumental in showcasing new drugs and services to the customers, while the second strategy is crucial in studying the techniques used by competitors. Therefore, the former is essential in attracting potential customers, whereas the latter is significant in gaining a competitive advantage in the industry. The pharm company should consider using both methods since by walking through the show floor, they are not only able to discover trends of competitors, but they will also be able to interact with the authorities that regulate the industry, given its sensitive nature. This way, the company will learn the latest laws and regulations that define; efficacy, patenting, selling, and overall safety of drugs (Tafesse and Skallerud, 2017).
The company should consider booking its space on the show floor as early as possible since this will allow it to erect its exhibition stall at a point that has the most substantial human traffic (Velarde, 2017). Exhibiting at say entrances to halls and in corners would prompt the pharm company to use premium costs since such areas do serve as junctions to various aisles, thus are frequented by many people. The company should, however, not acquire space in places with obstructions, poles, banners, and pillars since it may be very challenging to install an exhibition around the obstacles (Bloch et al., 2017). Even though entrances to dinning points and loos may appear to be having a high number of attendees, the company should not establish its trade exhibitions at such points since the people in those areas have a predetermined plan. In case the company fails to get its preferred location on the show floor, then mechanisms such as at-show advertisements and pre-show advertisements. The average cost of establishing a square foot of exhibition space is $100-$150 (Reinhold et al., 2017). Walking the show floor may be cheaper compared to the physical installation of an exhibition booth. The company can consider paying tickets for a couple of employees to walk through the show and determine the news laws and regulations on pharmaceuticals and to learn the new techniques used by competitors.
2. How to prepare for and ensure the Show is a success.
Planning for a successful trade affair demands; resilience, organization, and creativity (Gilliam, 2015). Proper planning will determine the level of success of a trade exhibition measured through; the lead numbers, returns on investment, and opportunities get. The level of success determined by the number of efforts and resources that a company uses towards it (Gilliam, 2015). The more energy, the more success. Therefore, a successful trade show will be a good investment for the pharm company. To ensure success, the company can consider following these steps: planning for the show as early as possible is the first step. Planning includes informing the staff about the scheduled trade affair so that they can arrange for their travels and accommodation on time (Bloch et al., 2017). This way, they will not be affected by a sudden increase in air tickets of inconveniences when hotels sell out. Emails ought to be generated at least six weeks before the show date to inform the audience of the company’s presence (Connors, 2019). Teasers and news will be announced before using the emails, thus guaranteeing success.
The second step is preparing the executive and sales teams. Ensure that everyone is well prepared and has all the necessary information for the event. It should involve aspects such as scheduled meetings and booth hours for every member (Edwards, 2018). The third step is to conduct pre-show booth gatherings to customers, prospects, and customers. This way, the customers will know who will be at the booth and at what time, and it is also possible to tell if a staff member may not make it to the cabin. Being active on social media is another step to make the show a success. Posting demos and other videos before, during, and after the show can come in handy in increasing the number of people visiting the booth (Edwards, 2018). Provision of giveaways such as free medicine and free medical check-ups and treatments can also increase the probability of success for the pharm company. Scanning every badge that passes by the booth is also very instrumental in expanding the company’s lead during the showcase (Chien et al., 2019). Post-show events such as debriefing can also help in determining what worked well and what did not. This way, the company can work on its misdoings to ensure success in the next showcase.
3. Who should work at or visit the Show?
The pharm company should clearly state the roles and responsibilities of the staff members it sends to the trade affair (Chien et al., 2019). The company can consider assigning duties according to job titles. Various booth staffers should attend the trade show since they will both have different roles to play. The staff members can work as; hosts, presenters, crowd gatherers, and lead gathering and sales staff. Hosts serve to welcome and register visitors. They also serve as ushers in the booth. Hosts can also double up as distributors of promotional media and distributors of food and drinks. Presenters work in the theatre and stage area where they use their public speaking skills to demonstrate the product (Hlee, 2015). Crowd gatherers serve as the hosts away from the booth. They can engage people in aisles and direct them to the booth, thus providing the box with better human traffic. Lead gatherers mainly collect lead data while sales staff tasked with the selling of the pharmaceutical products to the attendees (Hlee, 2015). The overall success of an exhibition booth linked to the team managing the box; thus, if the pharm company staff is well-organized and disciplined, the success of the exhibition will be ensured.
4. How to Effectively Market and Advertise a Company’s Booth.
Every business success will base on customers’ knowledge. That is, if a business is well known to customers, there are higher chances it has to be successful. Unfortunately, customers do not seek enterprises to; they usually gravitate towards a company that is readily available, visible, and familiar to them. Trade shows, in this case, offer many businesses exhibiting opportunities to promote their brands, products, and services. Furthermore, many business holders usually get opportunities in trade shows as they interact with customers face-to-face. Besides, customers who attend trade shows have genuine interests based on the displayed services or products in a booth (Bloch et al., 2017). It is, therefore, the role of a pharm company to ensure that its products, drugs, in this case, are made familiar to the potential customers. The enhancement of this action is the marketing and advertising of a company’s booth before and in a trade show.
The marketing and advertisement of the company’s booth are done effectively through various means. That is, it can be promoted and sold through the use of attention-seeking elements such as banners, through publicity and contests. To attract a significant number of attendees in a trade show, a company should involve the use of flags, prize drawings, giveaways, and interactive elements such as touch screens. Interactive features, in this case, should be included when distributing information to the attendees or when demonstration a product or a service. Apart from the interactive elements. A company’s booth can also choose a name that is unique and interesting or engaging to attract attendees. Finally, the message a company uses should be an essential marketing message as it should be informative, appealing, and eye-catching (Katona and Sarvary, 2018).
In terms of publicity. A company’s booth can be marketed or advertised to the trade show attendees through making the company’s attendance known via direct mail to several confirmed attendees or targeted lists of attendees. The booth can also be made familiar and public through its announcement on the company’s website, newsletter, blog, or email campaigns, among other social media platforms (Glucksman, 2017). Finally, the company can use prize drawings in contests to attract people in the booth. When advertising the company’s attendance to the tradeshow, the audience visits the booth for completion of the prize drawings or further contests. It is, therefore, necessary for a company to choose prize drawings that relate to a product or service. In this case, a pharm industry should choose prize drawings related to drugs as a selected product. For example, in the case of medicines as the leading products, the company can decide and give simple detection kits to the attendees.
5. How to Effectively Use the Booth and Floor Space.
The development of a booth that attracts customers is not the only move a company should consider. In this case, a company should also find a stall that also converts the attracted attention into connections, conversations, and results (Gilliam, 2015). the booth and the floor space should effectively put to use, and the basis of this is on flooring materials, seating, and signage, among others. Moreover, the items a company chooses to display, and it is the level of configuration matter a lot when it comes to a trade show (Kulchawik, 2015). To effectively use the booth space and floor space, there are various elements that I considered, and that is, development of a comfortable floor, use of maximum light, accessibility in the booth, and the development of sitting positions in a booth (Søilen, 2013). That is, to effectively use the booth space, the floor itself should be made comfortable. Even though this suggestion sounds silly, but a spacious floor has a more significant impact on the busy environment and how attendees feel. For instance, when your organization is planning to hold long conversations with the trade show attendees, then a soft carpet or fluffy rug should be considered.
In terms of light, a booth needs light for maximum impact.
Furthermore, proper lighting in a booth has a more significant effect on a cramped space (Witt and Rao, 2015). To effectively use a trade show booth, the maximum lighting of the booth considered as it has a visual impact. The use of downlighting, in this case, will significantly highlight the products under the display for a more substantial visual impact. Apart from maximum light, the booth should be made as open as possible to enable access by prospective customers. In most trade shows, when customers notice a booth, they are usually willing to enter and check the products or interact with the representatives. It is, therefore, essential to make the booth open and accessible to the trade show attendees. Finally, the booth and floor space are adequately arranged and seats offered at strategic places. To attract potential customers in a trade show, comfortable, and a good number of seats should be used to attract customers (Weinrauch and Langley, 2015).
6. Required Follow-Up and Actions Following the Completion of the Show.
The end of a trade show does not mean that an organization has done with its work. In fact, after completion of a show, significant work begins, and this is known as the follow-up process. During the trade show events, a company collects typically valuable leads. However, at the end of the show, the collected points should be adequately addressed in the follow-up process. The following actions require consideration during follow-up; sorting of the leads based on potential, monitoring, focus on other points, and tracking of results (Kim and Mazumdar, 2016). Based on the potential leads, not all leads acquired from a show are equal and valid. It is at this point that prioritization of the leads is essential.
Furthermore, leads will be prioritized based on predicted and potential buyers. The buyers, in this case, will be called on the phone, texted, or emailed within the first three days of the show to build a two-way relationship.
Immediately, after considering the potential buyers of the product displayed in a trade show, the second lead should not be ignored. The second lead, in this case, is the individuals that never showed interest in the products or services. This group considered and a two-way communication built to enable their greater understanding of the business and the products. Finally, the results from the trade show tracked and evaluated correctly to offer a plan of events. According to Duan and Chan (2016), trade shows are experiential marketing. It is, therefore, essential to find out what went right and what went wrong in a trade show.
References.
Bloch, P.H., Gopalakrishna, S., Crecelius, A.T., and Scatolin Murarolli, M., 2017. Exploring booth design as a determinant of trade show success—Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 24(4), pp.237-256.
Duan, B. and Chan, L., SAP SE, 2016. System and method of enterprise action item planning, executing, tracking, and analytics. U.S. Patent 9,262,732.
Gilliam, D.A., 2015. Trade show boothscapes. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(17-18), pp.1878-1898.
Glucksman, M., 2017. The rise of social media influencer marketing on lifestyle branding: A case study of Lucie Fink. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 8(2), pp.77-87.
Katona, Z., and Sarvary, M., 2018. Eyeo’s Adblock Plus: Consumer Movement or Advertising Toll Booth?. The Berkeley-Haas Case Series. University of California, Berkeley. Haas School of Business.
Kim, T., and Mazumdar, T., 2016. Product concept demonstrations in trade shows and firm value. Journal of Marketing, 80(4), pp.90-108.
Kulchawik, L., 2015. Trade Shows From One Country To The Next. Page Publishing Inc.
Søilen, K.S., 2013. Booth design and marketing materials. In Exhibit Marketing and Trade Show Intelligence (pp. 81-107). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Weinrauch, J.D., and Langley, T., 2015. Marketing Management’s Utilization of Trade Shows: Confronting the Opportunities, Mistakes, and Challenges. In Proceedings of the 1984 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 338-342). Springer, Cham.
Witt, J., and Rao, C.P., 2015. Trade shows as an industrial promotion tool: A review and a research agenda. In Proceedings of the 1989 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 392-396). Springer, Cham.
Lin, Y., 2016. An examination of determinants of trade show exhibitors’ behavioral intention: a stakeholder perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(12), pp.2630-2653.
Velarde, G., 2017. Designing exhibitions: museums, heritage, trade, and world fairs. Routledge.
Tafesse, W., and Skallerud, K., 2017. A systematic review of the trade show marketing literature: 1980–2014. Industrial Marketing Management, 63, pp.18-30.
Reinhold, M., Reinhold, S. and Schmitz, C., 2017. Understanding exhibitor satisfaction in trade shows and consumer fairs. In Handbuch Messemanagement (pp. 857-872). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Gilliam, D.A., 2015. Trade show boothscapes. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(17-18), pp.1878-1898.
Bloch, P.H., Gopalakrishna, S., Crecelius, A.T., and Scatolin Murarolli, M., 2017. Exploring booth design as a determinant of trade show success—Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 24(4), pp.237-256.
Connors, P., Glenmore Industries LLC, 2019. Modular wall system for exhibition booths. U.S. Patent Application 10/221,580.
Edwards, C., 2018. SMALL BUSINESS: TRADE SHOW FACTORS OF SUCCESS. International Journal of Business, Marketing, & Decision Science, 11(1).
Chien, K.M., Wu, T.C., and Luor, T., 2019. Face Recognition and Smart People-Counting System: Cases of Asian Trade Shows. Journal of Internet Technology, 20(2), pp.435-446.
Hlee, S., Chung, N., and Koo, C., 2015, August. Connected IT Usage and Trade Show Effectiveness: Developing to Smart Trade Show. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Electronic Commerce 2015 (p. 37). ACM.
Appendix.
The snippet of the Trade Shows Calendar Worldwide