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Sales Promotion And Publicity
• The Message: constructing the message is an important element in trade show strategy. Two
factors to be essentially considered are:- The positioning objectives for the products and services being offered.
- The action objectives aimed at reaching the desired result.
Any message that would be released at the trade show must be consistent and integrated with messages
sent through other channels such as advertising or personal selling. Most of the message is delivered
by the booth staff. Selecting staff appropriately is a delicate decision. Because the show experience is in
person and results in sales leads, salespeople may want to participate.
Salespeople, though, often may try to avoid being away from their sales territory and may resist fulfilling
their trade show responsibility. Technical staff, such as product development engineers, can provide
visitors with the technical information they desire.
Technical staff would need supplemental training to prepare for the selling environment of a show. Top
management may also participate at the show as may be needed.
• The Close: because the show experience occurs face-to-face, it should end with some
indication of an agreement between the booth staff and the visitor, the agreement is
concerning what should happen after the trade show interaction. Asking for this agreement
is in form of a close and it is actually a close. The close may be any of the following:
• A request to have a salesperson call on the prospective visitor.
• To send more information or whatever else is appropriate for the situation.If the visitor is ready to move to the next stage in the purchase process, then the staff member in the
booth should note that information so that the appropriate follow-up can occur. The staff member will
never realize what follow-up is appropriate unless the visitor is asked. Exhibit mangers should always
specify how to close to staff members and how to record the information for post-show follow-up. Some
companies have developed a form like questionnaire to record this vital information.
POSTSHOw FOLLOw-UP
Post-show follow-up is a critical element in the trade show marketing mix. In industries such as fashion,
toys and hardware, retailers place order at the show. At most industrial marketing shows, few sales are
made at the show thus getting the sales force to follow-up on leads generated at the show is an important
and essential function.