Advent Blog

by John Roberson

Performing a Google search in today’s age of technology is almost second nature for us. Much like Band-aid and Kleenex brands have become representatives of their products, “Google-ing” will be synonymous with a product of service. As the internet sets a new standard for business lifestyles, many analysts predict that trade shows might die. In reality they continue to increase in both square footage and number of exhibitors. However, we have seen that the amount of time attendees spend at trade shows has decreased.

What are the ramifications of these findings? Since attendees have less time on the trade show floor, they approach it by searching for their key needs similar to typing in key words for an internet search. Part of the challenge of any advertiser on Google is to identify the search terms that are relevant to their product because they are used to filter irrelevant providers. An exhibitor has a similar challenge: understand their audience’s language, identify critical search terms and classify themselves against those search terms. Just as Google users filter out irrelevant responses, the show attendee, armed with key search terms, filters out trade show exhibitors that are not relevant for their needs.

Primary search terms are used by frequent trade show attendees who are aware of significant players, service providers, and needs within their industry. They approach the trade show floor with very specific goals. For example, an attendee looking for surgical instruments at a surgery show will come with those primary search terms. If you consider the trade show audience from this perspective, you understand how critical it is to develop a key messaging strategy that will make you, the exhibitor, stand out among the clutter and say, “Hey! We provide the solutions you need!” The next critical step is for the exhibiting company to effectively differentiate from the competition in order to grab the attention of their audience. For example, what is different about the way they provide surgical instruments? What makes their surgical instruments special?

Occasionally, an attendee will approach the show floor with secondary or “hidden needs” search terms. In this case, attendees may be looking to satisfy specific needs or to simply keep themselves abreast of what is happening within the industry. However, they may also have latent needs that could become primary if sparked by an exhibitor. When an exhibitor does an effective job of communicating their product and key differential, an attendee may realize, “I also have a need here. In addition to surgical instruments, I need surgery center management software. I should go speak with them.”

The overriding commonality between a Google search and a trade show is that the power lies with the searcher. It is the charge of the exhibitors to be aware of those search terms, to communicate the way their product solves customers’ problems and satisfies needs, and to convey the unique differential that sets them apart from the competition. This is paramount — it is most simply stated as the term relevance. Our quest in effective trade show and face-to-face marketing is to make our key message and product or service offering as relevant as possible to the needs of attendees. Exhibitors are too often distracted by their booth’s functionality, architecture, complimentary events, or (perish the thought) the distractions of the host trade show city. What needs to be primary in an exhibitor’s mind is “How can I clearly communicate what we do and how we do it differently with relevance to the audience needs?” This should always be a primary objective.

Advent is in the business of helping our clients engage their customers with face-to-face marketing using exhibits, events and environments. It would be our honor to partner with you!