6 Tips for Overcoming Short Attention Spans
Human attention span is at its lowest ever (thanks to technology!).
According to a study by Microsoft, the average human being now has an attention span of eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in the year 2000. More shocking, perhaps, is the fact that recent research shows that the human attention span decreases by a staggering 88 percent each year. {GASP}
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Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
trade show marketing,
design,
Blog,
booth design,
exhibit design,
trade shows,
B2B
“Safe travels!” We hear it all the time when someone’s wishing us farewell for a trip, and we say it to each other, too. In fact, it’s SO common that we handily dismiss it without even really thinking about what might help us actually HAVE safe travels.
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Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
Tradeshow event,
tradeshows,
trade show leads,
success,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
event planning,
human interaction,
travel,
safety,
air travel,
Uber
Managing a trade show is not a job for the faint of heart. It is a demanding job with a lot of moving parts, which we’ll discuss below. A trade show manager might work for the sponsor or the organizer of a trade show; or they might work for a company participating in a trade show. If a business is smaller and only occasionally participates in trade shows, the trade show manager hat might be worn by the marketing manager or to someone from the sales team. No matter where the trade show manger comes from, their job is to provide an experience benefits the company and satisfies the customer.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
Tradeshow event,
tradeshows,
trade show leads,
success,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
client engagement,
event planning,
human interaction,
trade show etiquette
Less Obvious Trade Show Do's and Don'ts
You probably wouldn’t talk on your phone or blow bubble gum or eat a Subway sandwich while manning the booth at your tradeshow. These are egregious errors in protocol that none of us would commit. However, have you ever skipped an opening event? Overlooked a surly-seeming booth visitor? Been too tired to give a client your full attention? These more benign breeches in etiquette might not strike us as that unbecoming, but to a prospective customer or client, our behavior matters. A LOT. If you think you’re above slipping up in the area of manners, look over the following trade show etiquette tips and judge for yourself.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
Tradeshow event,
tradeshows,
trade show leads,
success,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
client engagement,
event planning,
human interaction,
trade show etiquette
Ice Breaker Questions for Trade Shows
With actual human connection going the way of the dinosaur recently, people have to work harder than ever to see (literally!) eye-to-eye. Think of your day to day life. You’re at work and you see people over the top of a computer screen or listen to them as you work on your iPad or device. You’re in a public space and people are just head down, ear buds in, face in phone. You’re in your car at a stoplight, and chances are all the people around you in their cars are on their phones; not that you’d notice, because you’re checking Instagram.
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Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
tradeshows,
success,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
client engagement,
event planning,
human interaction
Empower Booth Staffers and Drive Better Staff Interactions
Albert Einstein once said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” If he said that over 80 years ago, I wonder what this brilliant scientist would have to say about technology and human interaction today.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
tradeshows,
success,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
human interaction,
empathy
Ways to Control Freight Costs
“The only certainties in life are death and taxes.” When Benjamin Franklin famously quoted this, trade show freight costs weren’t an issue or he surely would’ve included them.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that freight costs are rising. If you haven’t, you soon will. And not just by a small increment, either. Freight costs have been significantly rising in recent years, and the trend looks to continue. As of early 2019, the freight market was seeing record high prices and there seems to be no immediate relief in sight.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
tradeshows,
success,
ROI,
return on investment,
B2B,
budgeting and measurement,
trade show planning and logistics,
freight costs
Don't Be That Guy At The Show!
Nobody wants to be “that guy.” You know, that guy that talks too loud. That guy that tells dumb jokes. That guy who wears too much Axe body spray. “That guy” is doing all the wrong things, and people are noticing.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
tradeshows,
success,
F2F,
B2B,
client relationships,
booth staffing,
technology,
trade show staffing roles,
trade show humor
Go Beyond Selling Products or Services
Facing the trade show season can be daunting for the experienced and first-timers alike, because the whole of trade shows are just such a large undertaking and incredibly detailed. Not only do you have to pick the best events that are the best fit for your product or service, but you also have to attend to the myriad details involved in actually pulling it all off. One thing to keep in mind to keep from getting overwhelmed is to remember that trade shows are not really about your product, your service, your booth, your giveaways. Sure, that matters. A LOT. Still, what’s MOST important in the trade show world is {drumroll, please}. . . the PEOPLE. You already knew that, but it bears saying. The connection between your company’s booth staff and your booth’s visitors is primary in every interaction. As you begin to think about how to connect with your attendees, remember the 5 Es of the trade show world. The 5 Es are based on research found in “It’s Not Your Father’s or Mother’s Trade Show Anymore – Engage with Caution,” an article hosted by CEIR Industry Insights Series.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
sales leads,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
client relationships,
booth staffing,
experiential marketing,
trade show promotions,
trade show product displays,
booth lighting
10 IDEAS TO GET YOUR EXHIBIT NOTICED
Some things take a larger amount of time and money to implement. Here is a list of 10 fast and simple to implement ideas to get noticed. Look to these quick, easy ideas to spruce up your booth environment to get the attention of attendees and set up for the best trade show yet.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade shows,
sales leads,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
client relationships,
booth staffing,
experiential marketing,
trade show promotions,
trade show product displays,
booth lighting
by Mike Thimmesch
Trade Show Marketing Wars: Twitter vs LinkedIn
With over 575 million users, LinkedIn is every business’s go-to social network. For connecting with like-minded business owners and people locally, nationally and globally, it seems to be the obvious choice. Since it burst onto the professional scene in 2003, it has seemingly made networking faster and more powerful in the business world. However, a closer look at LinkedIn, its user trends, and its current growth reveals even more that affects your marketing dollars and clientele.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
trade show promotions,
trade show product displays,
Twitter,
LinkedIn,
social media marketing
We all rely on our trade show partners/suppliers, and the approach to this critical relationship needs to be part of your strategy. Most every company - regardless of if your company is product-centric or service-oriented - can’t function without solid partners/suppliers. Some organizations seem to get this relationship a bit backwards. The misconception is this… because they sign off on a project, they're in the dominant position and can leverage the relationship with unreasonable demands of all shape and form.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
trade show promotions,
trade show product displays
If you tend to think that living in a technological era isn’t really that big of a deal outside of cell phones, heated car seats, and Netflix, read the following statistics:
* Over 3.8 billion people use the internet daily; that’s about half of the world’s population.
* More than 570 new websites are created every minute.
* 340,000 tweets are sent a minute.
* 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last 2 years.
* Digital marketing and AI marketing are among the fastest growing new careers.
And THIS is why you need to get yourself to a trade show. If you don’t display your products at a trade show, you are out of the running for potential buyers who make their buying decisions primarily at those venues.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
technology,
trade show promotions,
trade show product displays
Supporting The Value of Trade Shows
Maybe you’re hesitant about showcasing your company’s products and services at a trade show. Or maybe you’re even leery of just attending one. Well, don’t be. As they say, “The proof of the pudding is in the rising.” And this year, a LOT of rising happened at trade shows nationwide. If you need proof that trade shows are an excellent marketing medium, we’ve got it for you. If you need cold, hard, factual motivation to get you to the next event, you’ve come to the right place.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
success,
budget,
marketing budget,
ROI,
return on investment,
B2B,
budgeting and measurement,
client engagement,
trade show promotions
Using Trade Show Promotions
Trade show promotions are a no-brainer. The basic 3 categories you can break this down into are pre-show promotions, at-show promotions, and post show follow up. Overlaying all promotions are the goals you have for the attendee experience and what we want accomplish as a company. There’s no better way to DRIVE people to your booth and draw attention to your company and products. What’s more, there’s an endless variety of ways to do it!
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
trade show leads,
sales leads,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
client engagement,
trade show promotions
50 Things a Booth Staffer May Do...
When I was in college, I worked summers at our city’s publishing house. I had the lofty title of “Office Staff.” I always hated that title because it conjured up images of a slothful slacker who was hard on the rolling chair they were plopped in all day. Anyway, another reason I felt disdain for the title was that I was so much MORE than “office staff.” I had so many jobs in that office – errand boy, social planner, events coordinator, warm body to guard the phones and the office, and more – that I sometimes wondered how on earth they operated when I was away at college! I figured I was the hardest working person in the building. I’m not sure what I wanted my title to be, but whatever it was, it needed to cover a LOT of areas!
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
booth staffing
As we are settling in to 2019, it is always good to look back at what worked in a “2018 Year in Review.” I always love the year-in-review posts that flood the online world this time of year. Some are fun, but they offer a real look at what actually happened in the year that just flew by. Here is a year-end recap of the marketing world’s best tips and trends. Read on to discover (or remember!) the year’s best trends and takeaways.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
booth staffing
It's time for a bit of lighter side humor in trade show booth staffing. On occasion we will go to trade shows and see some of the following personalities. Some of them are easy to recognize because they act just like their animal kingdom counterpart. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of the beastly world of booth staffers. See if you recognize anyone you have observed on the show floor?
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Topics:
Nashville trade show displays,
Nashville trade show exhibits,
Nashville trade show installation,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
Blog,
B2B,
booth staffing,
trade show humor
Trade shows are pivotal events for your business. They create a steady stream of customers perusing and passing your booth. A captive audience, almost. You get to encounter massive amounts of people who are interested in your exact product line. Consequently, you’ve dedicated money and talent and manpower hours to preparing and manning the booth. However, you might inadvertently be making some key errors as you go along. Are you planning well? Do you and your staff have staying power? Are you following through? You’ve got a tremendous investment, not only in money, but also in time, training, and team-building in marketing your business at trade shows. Pay attention to these classic mistakes exhibitors make to ensure you don’t get in the way of your own success!
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Topics:
Nashville trade show exhibits,
marketing,
Trade Show Exhibits Knoxville,
trade shows,
B2B,
booth staffing,
trade show planning and logistics
With the advent of electronic communication, the business world experienced a radical boom. Businesses that previously relied on phone calls and mailers for marketing and customer service switched to mass emails, flashy websites, trendy blogs, social media, and instant communication via mobile devices. Covering so much ground with so little effort enables companies to expediently serve a wide base of customers and clients with less work output. And, of course, it increases speed and productivity. Win-win!
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Topics:
Nashville trade show exhibits,
marketing,
Trade Show Exhibits Knoxville,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B
Help Us Get to 30, Suggest The Rest!
Tough, fearsome, and strong are the words that come to mind when describing why Chuck Norris is so legendary - there are hundreds of Chuck Norris jokes on the internet about him.
For example:
• Death once had a near-Chuck Norris experience.
• Guns are warned not to play with Chuck Norris.
• When Chuck Norris does push up’s he pushes down the earth.
So let’s look at if Chuck Norris went to trade shows as an exhibitor? What feats of power, speed, and awesomeness could Chuck bring to your show? The mind boggles at what could be:
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Topics:
marketing,
trade show displays Knoxville,
trade show exhibits Nashville,
trade shows,
trade show leads,
B2B,
trade show regulations,
trade show planning and logistics,
Chuck Norris
Unpacking The Basic Rules and Regs
If you’re in the biz, you definitely hear the buzz about the hurry and flurry of trade shows – the fun, the excitement, the contacts and leads. And . . . the WORK. There’s no way around the massive amount of manpower from your company that goes into planning, designing, building, and hauling your exhibit for a show. Here’s the big “but”: it’s worth it. Trade shows pack a lot of punch and cover a lot of areas of business for you. Here’s a list I jotted down in about ten minutes – and no help from Google! – of reasons to lug your exhibit down to the nearest convention center.
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Topics:
marketing,
trade show displays Knoxville,
trade show exhibits Nashville,
trade shows,
trade show leads,
B2B,
trade show regulations,
trade show planning and logistics
Unpacking The Basic Rules and Regs
Everyone in the trade show industry knows that any trade show has a list of rules and regulations a mile long governing everything from the volume of your booth music to the number of prongs on your cables. For specific terms and conditions of your show, be sure to see your trade show’s prospectus or your rental contract. The biggest consideration for your trade show, however, should be the particulars of your exhibit. And because breaking the rules for exhibit size or height could have financial ramifications, you’ll want to know the following dos and don’ts regarding the most common regulations.
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Topics:
marketing,
trade show displays Knoxville,
trade show exhibits Nashville,
trade shows,
trade show leads,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
trade show regulations,
trade show planning and logistics
...Before Starting Trade Shows
Once you’re thrown into the whirlwind world of trade shows, the learning curve is steep. It’s like being thrown into the deep end of the pool – you either sink or you swim. Either way, there’s a lot of flailing! And although there is nothing like hands-on experience to teach you how to maneuver the trade show life, there are a few things I wish I’d known before I started. Here they are:
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Topics:
marketing,
trade show displays Knoxville,
trade show exhibits Nashville,
trade shows,
trade show leads,
sales leads,
branding,
marketing budget,
ROI,
return on investment,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
trade show regulations,
booth staffing,
trade show planning and logistics
Experiential Marketing At Trade Shows
Some things must be felt, seen, tasted, smelled, attempted, or heard in order to be believed. Through a campaign, we can tell someone what we think or how great our offering is, however there is no replacement for showing someone face to face and allowing them to experience it for themselves.
Experiential marketing allows your skeptical prospects or most dedicated customers to develop an emotional investment in your products or services, literally helping them shape your brand’s evolution. Another by-product of this is shortening the sales cycle because the prospects and clients are becoming more comfortable with who and what they are purchasing.
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Topics:
Insider,
Nashville trade show marketing,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
trade show exhibits Nashville,
Tradeshow event,
trade show leads,
branding,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
client relationships,
experiential marketing
Trade shows are a serious marketing medium in which we invest billions of dollars. In our quest to achieve business results, we often talk about getting the highest ROI (Return on Investment) or ROO (Return on Objectives). But what about the greatest ROF (Return on Fun)… more specifically, how do we make the shows fun for ourselves?
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Topics:
Nashville trade show exhibits,
marketing,
trade show displays,
trade show exhibiting,
trade show exhibits,
Trade Show Exhibits Knoxville,
trade shows,
environments,
trade show leads,
ROI,
return on investment,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
client relationships
Do a web search on hiring models for your trade show and you’ll find not just a few articles that decry the practice. There are a lot of reasons to be cautious in the use of models. For one thing, having a gaggle of hot models in your exhibit can actually intimidate some people. That high energy and frankly “intense” atmosphere that is often associated with the proverbial “booth babe” environment is tough for the more reserved people, and can even cause anxiety just by being in the area.
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Topics:
Insider,
Nashville trade show marketing,
marketing,
trade show marketing,
trade show booths,
trade show exhibits,
trade shows,
trade show leads,
branding,
ROI,
return on investment,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
booth staffing,
promotional models,
island trade show exhibits
In the South, we are raised to be "nice." Nice is always expected, but nice means nothing without sincerity. Too often nice can be a passive-aggressive behavior where you are smiling and nodding while inside you're really rolling your eyes or looking for an escape route. What does this have to do with staffing at your trade show booth? When you're hosting at your booth, you should strive to treat each visitor as you would a guest in your office or home. Here are some suggestions to ensure your guests are sensing sincerity in your interactions at the booth.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show exhibits,
marketing,
Trade Show Exhibits Knoxville,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B,
southern hospitality,
booth staffing,
Maya Angelou,
Exhibitor Source
It matters more than ever!
One of the biggest challenges in life and business these days is face-to-face communication. How many of us are constantly checking our phones while we are with our friends and loved ones...and then find ourselves staring at our screen even in business meetings? (::reluctantly raises hand::) While we can serve our customers faster and more efficiently via electronic means, the number one (and most effective) means of B2B marketing is good, old fashioned face-to-face interaction.
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Topics:
Nashville trade show exhibits,
marketing,
Trade Show Exhibits Knoxville,
F2F,
face to face marketing,
B2B