Right now, the business world is a-buzz
about Chris Anderson's latest book, The Long Tail. Even if you haven't read it,
chances are you've heard of it: the best-selling business book that predicts the future of
business lies in selling less of more. Niche marketing, Anderson posits, isn't just
tomorrow's trend -- it's today's reality.
The idea has caught on, and in a big way. Many companies
are entering niche marketplaces -- tailoring some or all of their product line to meet the
needs and desires of a specific target audience. Doing so will allow companies to dominate
certain segments of the marketplace, resulting in small but very profitable pockets of
income. Perhaps your firm is doing exactly that. Perhaps they're about to.
What does this mean to you? Well, your marketing workload
just got a lot heavier. Diversifying your product line into several niche markets can
result in the following:
- Increased number of brands
- New and different target markets to attract
- Increased number of product launches
- Increased number of relationships that have to be begun and
maintained
- Constant need for new and innovative marketing campaigns to
differentiate each individual brand
Does your head hurt yet? All of this is a LOT of work. You
know how much time and effort you're putting into your current campaigns. Increasing that
to accomodate the niche market strategy can put a real strain on your department,
especially since, chances are, your budget did not get proportionately larger.
What can you do? The clear profit potential inherent in the
niche model makes it irresistably attractive. However, to maximize the return from
adopting this new model means that you'll have to take a good, long, hard look at your
exhibiting practices. What worked yesterday won't work today.
For one thing, you won't have the money to do things the
way you used to. Budgets never blossom as quickly as enthusiasm for new ideas. You'll have
to do more with less.
In this new environment, the key to exhibitor effectiveness
is efficiency.
It is crucial that you make the most of your limited
resources to promote a wide range of niched goods and services. Applying this concept to
the tradeshow environment means embracing the following six steps:
Step One: Do Your Research
At this point, researching which shows to exhibit at
becomes crucial. You may be trying to attract many disparate target audiences. Are your
interests best served by exhibiting at many smaller shows or one larger, national show?
Make your selections based upon the size of the target audience you'll be able to reach.
This may mean changing your showing schedule, forgoing some shows you've previously
attended that do not focus on your target audience and exhibiting at some new shows that
do.
Step Two: Create Unifying Themes
Marketing many disparate brands can present challenges. You
want to highlight each line's unique features while reinforcing the parent company's
positive image. Using unifying themes, either overtly or in a more subtle fashion, can
help accomplish this. Pay careful attention to color choice, language, and more.
Step Three: Offer Educational Programming
Speakers, seminars, hands-on demonstrations and other
educational programming are great ways to attract large numbers of your target audience
all at once. You'll be speaking to many people at a time, delivering your marketing
message in one of the most efficient ways possible.
Step Four: Raise Visibility
Explore sponsorship opportunities to raise your visibility
at any tradeshow you're attending. This can be a very cost-effective way to put your name
prominently front and center: in advertising, by underwriting the cost of speakers or
programming, hosting hospitality suites, and more.
Step Five: Plan Ahead for Key Players
Most attendees are at a tradeshow for less than a day. With
hundreds of booths to see and a limited amount of time, there's a real possibility that
you might miss out on some great prospects unless you make an effort to preclude that from
happening. Schedule meetings ahead of time with your best customers and key prospects.
This way, you'll be assured of having at least some face time with them, and they'll know
you value their business.
Step Six: Follow-Up Aggressively
All the work you did to prepare for and exhibit at a
tradeshow is for nothing if you fail to follow-up. Yet this is where most exhibitors drop
the ball. Make a plan covering how you'll follow-up with leads collected at the show, from
initial thank you to scheduling sales meetings. Then stick to it. You'll be glad you did.
As you can see, the trend toward niche markets will
necessitate some changes in how you exhibit. However, the core essentials of how you do
business: focusing on the attendee's needs, qualifying questions, and an emphasis on
follow up, remain the same. |
