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module a start with a plan and select the right shows

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start with a plan and select the right shows module a how to set long range objectives and identify target markets a brief overview the strategic and operational plans success with trade shows depends on your perspective about them as a sales and marketing tool the function of trade shows in a company can be viewed one of two ways it can be viewed as a singular isolated event or it can be viewed as a key component of the company s marketing communications mix implemented to contribute to specific goals in both the long and short term objectives of the company how does your company view shows most handle shows as isolated events in that case the only planning required is strictly operational planning which exhibit should you use how will you get it to the show and get it set-up etc companies with the hardest working trade show dollars view shows the second way as an integral part of the total sales and marketing strategy this requires a different type of planning altogether strategic planning that applies marketing principles to trade show participation for the second type of company a basic strategic analysis provides the foundation to determine exactly how trade shows as a marketing communications medium can further the company s goals and objectives in this type of planning questions about corporate image objectives product positioning and market penetration become steering elements that guide decisions about show participation creating a complete trade show plan requires answering both types of questions strategic and operational determining how trade shows will contribute to long range corporate objectives is accomplished in the strategic planning process the strategic plan then becomes the foundation that supports the operational plan making decisions about specific shows setting goals for those shows and measuring performance on a show by show basis is the operational planning process copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p2

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what is the trade show plan the trade show plan is a document that puts all of the strategy behind show participation and the resulting tactics for each show down on paper it is frequently created in the trade show or marketing communications department approved by upper management and used as a tool to communicate with other divisions or departments within the company more specifically a thorough show plan includes a strategic plan and a set of operational plans strategic planning is done once and reviewed and updated each quarter for shows 18 months out it covers participation in all shows an operational plan is created for each show in which you participate it includes specific goals for that show and plans for implementing those goals it typically covers at least the following seven categories and is usually created about 12 months in advance of the show an operational plan template is included at the end of this module 5 categories of the operational plan 1 2 3 4 5 show statistics show goals and tactics the exhibit plan the promotions plan resource needs you may also want to add a section on installation/dismantle which would include preliminary details such as space size and location space contract official show contractor name etc however many exhibitors prefer keeping installation/dismantle details in a separate notebook a site book which they take to the show for more information on creating a site book see module f prepare for exhibit installation copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p3

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organizational tip keep your trade show plan in a large looseleaf binder the first tab or section will be the strategic plan section behind that include a section for the operational plan for each show divided by the seven categories indicated above or more as your plan requires your trade show plan notebook will be dynamic and you will add operational plans as they are completed for shows and take out sections to file when the shows are over use technology or if you don t like the paper version keep this document on a web server such as googledocs basecamp evernote or other project management and document access programs that way you can access the document from any computer or mobile device this module covers 1 a definition what is strategic planning for trade shows 2 the corporate strategic plan how it differs from yet contributes to the trade show plan 3 marketing direction how to interpret sales and marketing strategies for trade show objectives 4 the customer-oriented message how to create this vital component that drives your show strategy 5 the strategic plan a worksheet and outline for preparing the strategic plan 6 target markets how to find and evaluate target audiences in trade show opportunities 7 operational plan a template for creating show-by-show operational plans copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p4

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introduction to strategic planning for trade show participation simply put the strategic plan defines the mission or purpose of trade show efforts as they contribute to long term objectives for corporate growth the goal of strategic planning is to identify target markets that can be reached through trade show marketing long range objectives for reaching those markets and to define a communications message for those markets strategic planning by its very nature is long range and visionary the strategic plan is prepared for shows not just in the following year but 18 months down the road it is reviewed and updated each quarter for shows18 months out this is important because the strategic plan becomes the road map for show participation planning which most often begins with space selections12 months in advance of the show eighteen months in advance might seem extremely early for preparing the strategic plan but a few of the advantages that can be realized by early planning include 1 space selection is often held a year in advance of the show and getting prior approval for show selection which is an integral component of strategic planning will make that selection more accurate help avoid late changes and unnecessary expenses 2 getting necessary input for show participation from other departments is an ongoing struggle the earlier people begin thinking about it the better 3 getting necessary management approval for show selection early helps to avoid last minute disagreements that can delay progress at critical points copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p5

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ways to use the strategic plan this plan can be your reference guide for all of the remaining decisions you make about show participation if you are a corporate trade show department with separate divisional departments the strategic plan points everyone in the same direction it sets the corporate direction for trade show functions which are often implemented on a divisional level if you plan all shows it becomes a guiding beacon for setting specific show goals and creating the operational plans not for executives only to identify the task of up front planning for trade shows the term strategic planning has been borrowed from the disciplines of executive management but don t worry about having to make decisions or set directions that are typically handled by the executive team what you will be doing is identifying the direction and strategies that have been set and then interpreting them for the exhibits program but before you get started it will be useful to review the concept of corporate strategic planning and what executives consider when they create a strategic plan in their book the executive guide to strategic planning below morrisey and acomb list seven elements of the corporate strategic plan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 organization mission strategic analysis strategy long term objectives integrated programs financial projections executive summary there are some important differences between corporate strategic planning and the type of strategic planning you will do for trade shows corporate strategic planning typically considers five and ten years into the future you will only be considering 18 months into the future the goal for the corporate strategic plan is to set long range objectives and directions for the company by copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p6

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contrast the goal for your strategic plan is to interpret those objectives as they relate to the trade show environment corporate strategic planning defines objectives for all functions of the company from r&d to human resources your strategic plan will focus primarily on sales and marketing related objectives as you embark on the research required to identify corporate long range objectives keep the variance in time frames in mind be sure that you are interpreting the job requirements for the next 18 months that will contribute to long range goals that are set for five or ten years into the future four steps to creating the strategic plan creating the strategic plan is an exercise in getting to know your company and products for example do you know how different products within your company are perceived in their various markets do you know what market share they currently hold do you know the long range plans for the corporation answering these along with other questions helps to clearly bring into view the role which trade shows play in the overall sales and marketing functions of the company strategic planning will follow a three step process first you will take a step back to get an overview of the corporate direction by considering the nature of your business corporate positioning and corporate direction second you will step in a bit closer to review the sales and marketing structure of your company and how it influences and directs the trade show function third you will look specifically at how trade shows will work within and contribute to the corporate and sales and marketing objectives of the company identifying target markets and related shows for participation copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p7

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step one the corporate overview begin by answering the following questions 1 what business are we in answer this question as succinctly yet specifically as possible it is important because a company s view of its own business will limit or encourage its growth if your corporation has a mission statement it should clearly answer this question for you 2 what is our brand position in the marketplace where does the company image stand as compared with that of the competition if you work for a small company with a single product line product brand and corporate brand may be one and the same but if you work for a larger company with multiple product lines the corporate brand will likely be distinct from that of any single product or product line when there is a discrepancy between corporate and product brand focus here on the corporate brand reviewing brand identified with specific products will be covered later this is part of the strategic analysis step in corporate strategic planning for many companies this type of analysis is a basic component of planning you probably have a department in your company or at least a person who has done some research here and given it some thought talk to them and review results of any research that is available to you copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p8

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3 what are the long range objectives of the company note in many cases the exhibits manager does not have access to the corporate strategic plan if this is the case for you work with the information you can obtain in most cases the marketing department will have a focus for planning and execution this will be enough information to get started thinking about the strategic plan the following are examples of corporate long range objectives to be a $200 mm company in ten years to establish the company as a leading supplier of x products in x industry in five years introduce x products to new markets with at least 30 of those products revenues coming from newly defined markets to change perceptions of the company from technology supplier to service supplier in x markets in five years move from product based sales structure to market based sales structure within five years since many of the long range objectives will not relate to the trade show function part of your job is to identify those objectives to which the trade show function can contribute most of them will either be sales or marketing objectives any of those listed above are objectives to which trade shows could contribute after you have identified long range corporate objectives spend some time thinking about the long range trade show objectives that would contribute it s a matter of translating the objectives for the trade show function the chart in tool a-1 offers a few examples of how to make that translation copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p9

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corporate objectives to be a $200 mm company in 5 years related trade show objectives generate sales leads to contribute to revenue increases to $200 mm in 5 years identify trade show opportunities in x industry where leading supplier position will be established for x products in those markets commit communications message for x products at shows in x markets to build image of company as a service supplier identify trade show opportunities in selected markets generate sales leads for x products in those markets move from product based exhibits strategies to market based exhibit strategies in the next year establish the company as a leading supplier of x products in x industry in 5 years change perceptions of company from technology supplier to services supplier in x markets in 2 years introduce x products to new markets with at least 30 of those products revenues generated from newly defined markets move from product based sales structure to market based sales structure within 1 year write in your objectives copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 10

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step two review four components of the sales and marketing strategies before launching into this section of the plan think for a moment about how trade shows are managed in your company are they perceived as a sales function and thus managed in the sales department or are they perceived as a marketing function and managed in the marketing or marketing communications department actually trade shows are both sales and marketing functions trade shows are a microcosm of the sales and marketing functions of your business just as marketing prepares the way for sales to occur by providing direction and strategy so too taking a marketing approach to trade shows will lay the groundwork for shows to be used efficiently as a sales function to generate new business just as defining audiences for a product selecting target markets and creating a promotional mix are marketing functions so too defining show audiences selecting target markets at shows and creating a promotional mix for show participation are also marketing functions and once the marketing decisions and strategies have been established the sales force takes over to sell the product so too once the marketing strategies for a trade show have been put into place the sales team or exhibit staffers move in to make the strategy work each group sales and marketing carries equal importance in using trade shows successfully to emphasize one at the exclusion of the other leaves you with the cart and no horse at this point you will move in a bit closer and take a look at sales and marketing strategies in place to reach those long range objectives to organize your thinking this section will be divided along the classic four components known in marketing 101 terminology as the marketing mix product development product position and pricing sales and distribution and promotion copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 11

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component number one products and product development at the pace companies move today it is difficult to identify product developments planned for ten years into the future fortunately you won t have to worry about that begin by getting a fix on product plans that are targeted for introduction in your 18 month timeframe identify target markets for those products as you will see the target markets defined become the guidelines for identifying your potential audience at each trade show you plan to attend once you have identified new products or product lines you will be working with move on to the more familiar identify all existing products or product lines that will be marketed or sold through trade shows as the term product is used here it includes services next determine where each product line is in its life cycle stage a product s life cycle stage can influence everything from the amount of money allocated to its promotion at trade shows to the amount of exhibit space used and its placement in the exhibit the chart in tool a-2 illustrates a time line of product life cycle stages with related trade show marketing implications copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 12

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introduction the marketing strategy here is survival the goal is to provide enough marketing support so the product will experience sales and profit growth therefore trade shows may be selected just for the purpose of introducing this new product to markets more dollars are invested in the product at this stage although return on those dollars is unknown unfortunately many new products never get beyond the introduction stage growth as profits and sales grow there are new promotional factors to consider competition may be a factor now where it hadn t been in the past the entire promotions strategy and the trade show strategy as part of it will change more emphasis will be placed on brand preference thus focusing the marketing strategy on benefits over competing products rather than on the product s features alone you may deal more with price and distribution issues healthy amounts of resources will still be invested in this product to see how high sales and profits will go maturity competition has increased and expenditures required to maintain sales continue to increase management may extend product lifecycle by developing new uses for it think baking soda in your refrigerator they may also choose to promote to more vertical markets either approach affects strategies as you will either be presenting the products from a different vantage point or looking for new shows to meet indentified markets copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 13

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decline here profit margins have declined and competition is intense management may choose to maintain sales and profits by reducing costs among them promotion expense they may not be considered at all in show strategies or be entered in shows with a limited effort you might cut shows where that product was the main focus in order to allocate resources to products in different lifecycle stages component number 2 price and position the pricing and position of the product line will relate to trade shows primarily as they influence messages that are communicated through graphics literature and product displays pricing is important here not in terms of how a product price is determined but in terms of how the product price influences its perception in the marketplace a variety of factors influence how a product is priced but the end result is that the price determined will influence the marketing strategy for that product factors that influence price/positioning strategies are market segmentations competition s prices and positioning and not in kind competitors an example of a not in kind competitor would be paint companies viewing wall paper manufacturers as competitors they are not selling the same product but they compete as a solution for the same applications in its simplest sense when high costs force high prices the product must be positioned in such a way that the higher prices are acceptable for example for one company higher costs are a factor of additional service provided with the product the costs are passed on in the product price which is significantly higher than that of competing products the company has justified that price by establishing its position as far and away superior in service to any other supplier volumes have been written on the subject of product positioning and the task identified here is certainly not to establish or define a positioning strategy you simply need to know what strategy has been selected for various products or product lines copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 14

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to determine price and positioning factors relative to specific product lines ask the following questions where do our products and our competitors products land in the pricing continuum identify those companies or products that are high priced low priced and floating somewhere in the mid range what are our product and competitors product positions in the marketplace based on the price established how has the product line been positioned competitors advertising and promotional messages should provide some clues where do these products fall in price range as compared with competing products the chart in tool a-3 will help you organize and categorize competing products pricing and related positioning strategies as compared to yours write the names your competitors or specific competing products on the boxes that fit their price/position don t forget to include your company and products high price/low quality high price high quality low price/low quality price low price/high quality quality copyright 2010 christine christman www.tradeshowexhibitor.net module a p 15

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