Marketing Your Shows the 4 C's WayWritten by Susan Freidmann
Continued from page 1
Experimentation is name of game. Each year you need to introduce new ideas and concepts into your show organization and production. Change doesn't have to be drastic; small subtitles can make difference, especially when you implement ideas supplied courtesy of your exhibitors and attendees. Make sure that you communicate these changes and let your customers know that you're listening to their suggestions. Convenience How easy is it to do business with you? Are your systems user-friendly? Consider every piece from exhibitor manuals to registration desks at show. What can be done to make participating in your shows a hassle-free experience? Consult your vendors, staff, exhibitor advisory committee, outside consultants, and even children for ideas and suggestions. Then try them out yourself. Again, model concepts that work. Ask yourself how favorite companies might solve your particular challenge. Use Internet to simplify form completion and registration procedures. Offer discounts for using technology. Challenge yourself to constantly make process more convenient. Communication Bernd Schmitt, author of Experiential Marketing, once noted, "Today's customers take functional features and benefits, product quality, and a positive brand image as a given. They want products, communications, and marketing campaigns that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts, and stimulate their minds. The degree to which a company is able to deliver a desirable customer experience -- and to use information technology, brands, and integrated communications and entertainment to do so -- will largely determine its success in global marketplace of new millennium." You want to stimulate such excitement among your exhibitors and attendees that your show is an experience not to be missed. Experiential marketing is latest trend in marketing that focuses on experiences of customers. In addition to dazzling your exhibitors and attendees with your show promotion, realize too that they hunger for two-way communication. They want to know that you care, that you are interested in them and their goals. Either way, key is two-way communication, them hearing you and you listening to them. Customer value, change, convenience, and communication all make up essence of a powerful 4 Cs marketing approach that will help take your show and organization to another level.
Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.
| | Top 10 Blog Writing TipsWritten by Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman
Continued from page 1
8. Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence). No double speak or jargon; no more than one idea in one sentence- don’t make your readers have to think about your meaning. Spoon feed them. Use commas and dashes liberally. 9. Write like you talk. It’s okay to use common expressions from speech. Examples: Go figure. Don’t even go there… Now, I ask you… Gotta love it… (And, remember age group of your readers…) 10. Use a clear headline, and don’t be afraid to make bold statements (but don’t mislead people either). Make it snazzy and use key words. Example: Ex-Techno-Weenie Masters HTML Code BONUS: After you write a post and BEFORE you hit save button Use this checklist to ask yourself a few questions as you are reading through for typos and grammar: __ Is topic clear to someone who only reads headline? __Does lead paragraph tell who and what story is about and why reader should care about it? __ Is angle you've used likely to seem newsworthy? __Would someone who knows absolutely nothing about this topic understand this post? __ Is post free of jargon? __ Is it written in journalistic style and does it make an effort to be objective? __ Have you peppered headline and post with keywords and phrases that will be attractive to search engines? __ Did you remember to ask your readers a question at end, or something to stimulate readers to comment? __ Did you remember to write with reader in mind, always keeping in mind WIIFT? (What’s in It for Them?)
Denise Wakeman of Next Level Partnership, and Patsi Krakoff of Customized Newsletter Services, have teamed up to create blogging classes and marketing services for independent professionals. Read and subscribe to their blogs at http://www.biztipsblog.com, http://www.coachezines.com and http://www.bizbooknuggets.com
|
