Advent Blog

Does your company give away a "grand prize" at every trade show you attend?  Many companies do but is that really the best way to spend your marketing dollars?

I recently attended a seminar and the presenter told a story about his first trade show experience.  He had just started a new business and wanted to promote it by giving away a brand-new television.  After being at the show 4 days he had thousands of entries for the television!  Seems like his plan worked!  But wait…..

When he called the people who entered the drawing, he found out that almost all of them had no need or interest in the services his business could provide. What he found happened was that he had a ton of entries for a televison but little or no leads!    

Our presenter learned valuable lessons…target prospects before they even arrive on the show floor and no more grand prizes offered to everyone in attendance. Instead, conduct pre-show marketing to encourage targeted prospects to stop by the booth for a personalized, high-end item.  His response rates are now out the roof and his business is seeing a growth rate directly related to his new style of marketing.

Before you offer that new plasma to the entire world, stop and think, "Is this the best way to grow our business?"