3 Steps to Mastering the Tricks of the Trade(show)

An exhibitors guide to maximizing your ROI at your next tradeshow

Tradeshows can be a quite a shock to the uninitiated, the steep learning curve that comes along with attending any show is also paired by large expenses to your time and money. Yes it goes without saying that tradeshows can be risky business. But if you do manage to go in with a plan and see it through to the very end, you're looking at huge returns to your investment in the form of new business. Here are HD's 3 steps to ensuring that you understand the tricks of the trade...show.   

Step 1: Pre-show planning

They say planning is everything, well this is twice as relevant when it comes to tradeshows. Anyone with tradeshow experience will tell you that you need to know which where you're going to go during the event. To take that a step further you need to prioritize your time at the show, which will ensure that you make the most of your experience. Check the maps and make a route of where you're going to be and when. In a sea of different people coming from all over the globe, everybody is after the same thing, business.

Know what you want to achieve when you're visiting the show. Is there a certain business attending the tradeshow that you want to get in touch with? Know your top hot spots and plan accordingly. If your company is sending you, understand what your boss wants you to achieve by attending the show. To make this easier, make a grid to track and help narrow down potential partners you'd like to have a more in depth discussion with and why.

After you've scoped which booths you'll be making your rounds to, know what information you need to have from each one. Research the different vendors to find out what sets them apart and what is most important to you and your business. Then plan intelligent questions to ask them. 

Step 2: During - Network

The opportunity to network is exactly why you've spent so much money to get here in the first place, so make the most of it. There's absolutely no chance that you're to get to speak with every single exhibitor at the tradeshow. In order to cover more ground, split sessions with your colleagues to maximize data gathering and networking.

If you're planning attending some of the different workshops, introduce yourself to people around you - hand out and collect business cards like there's no tomorrow. When mealtime comes around, hook up with these new contacts for more information on their products and services. It's also important to track your progress through the day(s), so write a trip report as you go along and summarize your notes every evening. 

Step 3: Post-show evaluation

When it's all said and done, how did the tradeshow end up for your business? Identify if the objectives you set out to meet were met and if the cost of attending the trade show has had a positive long-term effect for you and for your business. Evaluate if you had not attended the trade show, what would have been the cost and time to achieve the same amount of business? If you planned your attack, you will be confident in knowing the time you have spent at the show was worthwhile.

Once you've sat down and had a good look how the tradeshow went, plan how you are going to implement information gathered. Be sure to expect a lot calls from all of the people you managed to connect with, and be prepared to follow-up after the show for literature and sample requests.

Now that you understand how to operate at a tradeshow, the only thing left to do is attend one yourself. Exhibiting or even attending a tradeshow is a skill, nobody starts off an expert, it takes hands on experience to really master the tricks of the trade...show.

Inside the Eye of an Interior Designer

According to Martin Soler, COO of WHIP, a hotel marketing agency, the design of your space makes up at least 40% of a hotel’s marketing value. [1] High-quality interiors not only fill rooms, but they also fetch a higher average daily rate.[2]

But before you drop a chunk of change at the local furniture supplier, here’s why you should do it right and invest in the services of an interior designer. 

Form and function
Interior design is about much more than the proper placement of throw pillows and the coordination of paint colours. As Theresa Cleary, an interior designer at Hospitality Designs, explains, designers enhance not only the attractiveness, but also the function, of your hotel.

“We are trained to understand all the fundamental elements of how the interior operates and how it affects the end user,” she says.

Guests with disabilities, for example, require different design elements. “There are hotel bedrooms dedicated to persons with disabilities,” says Cleary, “but how will they get from the front door?”

Your designer will have an understanding of building code and of the way disabled guests will use and navigate through your space.

Balancing act
You have a sense of what would be appropriate for your location and target market. An interior designer can take your vision and help you achieve it within your budget and on time.  And they do this while satisfying the requirements of your franchise, which, according to Cleary, can be tricky.

“We often span between a client’s great idea and knowing that their franchise won’t approve it,” she says.

Interior designers liaise between you and your franchise, ensuring that all parties are on the same page about the end result. They also connect with your team of consultants, architects and engineers, to ensure proper design implementation.

Choosing a designer
How will you know which designer is right for you? Cleary stresses the importance of researching qualifications and whether the designer has done projects on the scale that you need.

“Ask for success stories,” she suggests. “If the designer has worked on a similar project, how did it run from start to finish? What were some of the challenges they faced, and how did they overcome them?”

To make sure you’re on the same wavelength about timelines, Cleary of Hospitality Designs says, ask the designer for a delivery schedule—just don’t forget to account for the time it takes to get franchise approval.

Whether you’re undertaking a major remodeling, or looking to make smaller improvements to the look, feel, and usability of your space, having the expertise of an interior designer on your side is essential.

 

 

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[1] http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/hotel-design-marketing-adr-7101/

[2] http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/hotel-design-marketing-adr-7101/