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MARKETING MATTERS

It’s OK to be Picky with Trade Shows

Boost your chances of sales by doing your research, knowing your audience and thinking about alternative venues. Boost your chances of sales by doing your research, knowing your audience and thinking about alternative venues.

Dan Kirkpatrick, Contributing Editor

When hitting a baseball topped USA Today’s list of the toughest things to do in sports, few people argued. After all, many pros say they can see the ball for only the first 10 feet after it leaves the pitcher’s hand.

The rest of us might as well close our eyes and swing at a 95 mph fastball.

But ‘close-your-eyes-and-swing’ doesn’t get you hits in Major League Baseball, and it doesn’t get you results in selecting where to showcase your outdoor equipment, either.

No matter where you are, there are home-and-garden shows, outdoor shows, county and state fairs and all sorts of ag shows throughout the year. But taking a blind swing at any of them can result in more misses than hits. So it behooves you to strategically approach the expo circuit.

Where Should You Go?

Exhibiting requires significant investment of time and money. Selecting which shows to attend is crucial. Ask yourself these questions:

• Historically, where have you gotten the best return on investment (ROI)?

• What shows deliver contact quantity and quality?

• Where could you get a better ROI?

• Maintaining long-term community goodwill may play as important a role as immediate sales.

• Adding an appearance at non-traditional venues may give you access to new customers.

Don’t limit yourself to traditional venues. Be creative. Consider your customers and their avocations. Are they hunters? Gardeners? Four-wheelers? Home improvement enthusiasts? Do their kids participate in 4H or FFA? How can your show choices generate community goodwill? It pays to know your customers and hometown.

Consider these:

• Lawn-and-garden shows

• Home shows

• Remodeling shows

• Outdoors shows

• Boat and sports shows

• Hunting and fishing shows

• State fairs

• County fairs

• 4H events

• FFA events

• Rodeos

• Equine events

• Livestock competitions

• Regional farm shows that target hobby farmers

• Tractor pulls

• Antique tractorshows

• Local festivals

Do Your Homework

The organizers of the trade shows you’re interested in should be able to provide you with information to help you decide where to exhibit. Remember that expo traffic figures are only indicators — not guarantees of performance.

Keep in mind, too, that quantity of leads may not equal quality of leads. You can get the same or better ROI at a show with a few highquality leads as a show with lots of traffic but few sales.

Find out from show organizers precisely who attends their shows. Research the demographics, the geographic radius from which it draws and the customer profile breakdown.

If a particular expo draws mainly single women over 50, while you’re interested in married people under 40, you’ll know to go elsewhere. But if a 4H festival attracts ranchers and outdoor equipment enthusiasts from a multi-county area, it might give you access to more potential customers than you might ordinarily see, making it worth your while to exhibit.

Consider whether the venue allows you to cost-effectively demonstrate the appeal of your products. Can you spread out and showcase your equipment? Are the logistics of equipment delivery and setup affordable? Sales slicks don’t deliver the impact that climbing into the driver’s seat does.

Most shows should provide you with a show manual. This should give you everything you need to know about the show, including schedule, registration forms, floor plans, exhibit specifications, speakers and other details. Make sure to get the manual and answers to all of your questions prior to committing to exhibiting at any show.

What Are Your Customers Doing?

Your customer base — and the markets you hope to tap — can guide your decision making. If most of your sales are lawn tractors, for example, then it makes sense to focus appearances in home-and-garden shows. But you might expand your outreach to local festivals. Consumers who lovingly tend their yards also tend to be civic minded. Being seen taking an active role in a community may generate goodwill and deliver long-term ROI.

But if your sales include all-terrain vehicles, compact tractors and powertake- off (PTO) equipment, you have a wider option of shows to consider. People use ATVs on hunting and fishing trips as well as to do work around their acreage. To attract them, you might exhibit at outdoors shows, hunting shows or home-improvement shows. Ranchers frequently rely on ATVs to deal with their herds. Livestock or Western-themed shows might prove beneficial.

Ultimately, it comes down to knowing the equipment you sell, knowing its uses and knowing who uses it. The good news is that you are the dealer. And that makes you the expert.

Where Is Your OEM?

As a dealer, you’re well versed in the manufacturers you represent and their products, both current and planned. You probably have a firm handle on the kind of support your manufacturer partners plan to provide each product line. Consider that as you plan your marketing outreach.

For example, find out what shows near you that an OEM plans to appear at. Can you participate in that booth? Finding ways to partner with your OEM is a key way to leverage their brand awareness and enhance your visibility while cutting costs and strengthening relationships with each other and with your customers.

Your OEM also may have recommendations about which shows you should consider having a display. Better still, your OEM may have cooperative marketing dollars that may help you conduct pre-show advertising outreach promoting their products and your booth appearance.

Don’t Forget To Promote

Expositions, trade shows, fairs and festivals are prime sales opportunities for rural lifestyle equipment dealers. You have your target audience gathered together, they’re ready to learn, and with any luck they’re ready to buy. But are you ready to convince them to buy from you?

The key to getting the most from these opportunities is to choose the right shows and then fill the stands with your customers. That means plan early and follow through on promotion. You can’t afford to exhibit just for the sake of appearances, or simply because you’ve always done it in the past.

Trade shows can be a key part of winning marketing strategy. So go into your expo season with a plan in place. It will dramatically improve your odds of scoring more sales and avoiding the errors of taking a swing at the wrong shows.

Dan Kirkpatrick is director of the Equipment Practice Group for Osborn & Barr, the largest marketing communications agency serving the agricultural and rural marketplace.

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