International Marketing Practices

Select and train your staff. Having well-trained personnel staffing the booth is as important for successful trade show participation as the booth design and location. Booth staff should be inviting, friendly, and knowledgeable on company and product information. A dress code should be established, and cell phones, computers, and food should be avoided at the booth [89]. Sales people with little or no trade show experience may have a difficult time with a trade show environment owing to its fast-paced nature, so firms should consider hiring a training professional for optimum success [87]. Staff training, no matter how minimal, reflects directly on leads and sales generated at trade shows. Training sessions may also provide a good opportunity to emphasize the overall trade goals and company values. Depending on the location of the show, it may prove beneficial to bring a interpreter in case communication becomes difficult or impossible. Lastly, it is important to bring a member of authority from the firm in case there are potential customers at the show who want to finalize a business venture. Give attendees a reason to stop at your booth. This is not an easy task. To be interesting, a booth needs to stand out as well as provide an accurate depiction of the company brand, values, and products. The display design and construction process can be rather complex and expensive, often requiring number of skilled professionals, such as graphic designers and 3D designers [87]. Booth signage should be legible and include a bold statement, company name and/or logo, and supporting statement (Figure 6) [87]. The average person takes three to seven seconds to look at a display, leaving little time to read lengthy captions and descriptions [87]. It is important to plan what messages, samples, or trials will be offered to attendees that will entice them to stop at your booth. Giveaways can be an effective way of attracting attendees to a booth; however, they should not be given to everyone. Instead, they should work to entice potential prospects with items that display company contact information and logos, as well as appeal to all five senses [89]. Clearly, visual and audible senses will be covered through the booth and presentation, but taste, feel, and smell can be covered through food items such as popcorn, roasting nuts, coffee, and even beer [89]. Make sure that attendees stopping at your booth have a positive experience. Once you attract attendees to your booth, make sure they have a positive experience. This can be accomplished by entertaining the audience, showing something new and interesting, giving away gifts, collecting business cards for a prize, offering free samples to registered buyers, and handing out brochures. If there is a sufficient budget, entertainers can be hired to attract traffic to a booth. It is important to remember that attendees are at a trade show for a reason; thus, interactions with potential customers should focus on highlighting the benefits to the customer more than product features [89].

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