Can 70% of trade show attendees find you?
Trade shows and event marketing account for twenty percent of B2B companies’ average annual marketing budget according to a 2014 Forrester Research study. With one fifth of a company’s budget going toward an events like a trade shows, conferences or seminars, and the explosion of programmatic digital advertising and mobile devices, it is vital companies implement state-of-the-art marketing technologies into their arsenal.
There is no doubt that traditional tactics work. Utilizing pre-and post-show emails, inviting clients, writing press releases, website landing pages, purchasing flashy new exhibits and staffing booths with intelligent, outgoing employees is a must. But what else should you be doing to outshine your competitor in booth 103?
To answer this, ask yourself: what is my potential client is doing before, during and after an event like a trade show? The answer is: Research on the internet. And the best way to place your company in that research is through search engine marketing (SEM).
Seventy percent of event attendees plan out who they will visit before and during the show. According to AdWeek, eighty-one percent of consumers conduct online research before they make a purchase, and sixty percent of those consumers start their research on a search engine before heading to a specific website. Although some of this data relates to consumer purchases online, combining these statistics helps us understand how attendees behave. It makes the most sense strategically to place ads on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and their network partners where attendees will be conducting research. This is a perfect storm for digital trade show marketing.
The ability to advertise your company, products and presence before a trade show is of tremendous value and a new, effective way to stay ahead of competitors. But you might be asking yourself, how can SEM help me during the show? How do I drive potential customers to my booth?
Since we know consumers conduct online research before visiting a booth and/or making a purchase, and with the advancement of the search engine marketing (SEM) platforms, companies have the option of targeting ads to within a mile of a specific location. With other location based optimizations in place within your account, you can be confident attendees searching for you keywords on a mobile device or desktop at a trade show are served your company’s ad. Seeing that sixty to seventy percent of viewers prefer search engine ads targeted toward their immediate location, and that thirty-two percent of viewers who were served location-based ads visited a specific store/location made a purchase (Search Engine Watch), this tactic is sure to increase visitors to your booth.
Utilizing search engine ads allows attendees to find your company before, during and after a trade show or event. But most importantly, placing these ads where your customers will be searching drives traffic to your booth, and serves as one of the most efficient ways to bring value to the largest expense in your annual marketing budget.
Strategy Critical to Long Term Marketing Success
It is very easy to get caught up in the web of tactical initiatives when marketing a company. However, in order to be effective and receive the most impact from your marketing budget, strategy development must take top priority. Developing a strategic plan for your marketing initiatives, and systematically reviewing that plan allows you to respond quickly to the constant ebb and flow of your business.
According to a recent survey conducted by Adobe B2B Digital Trends, when asked about the building blocks of customer experience, B2B respondents overwhelmingly identify strategy as the most important. They understand that without a long-term view that is shared by executive leadership true change is difficult and slow to achieve.
They also identified that if an organization’s culture does not embrace changing priorities of their market any changes will be only temporary.
Q: Please rank the importance of these areas as building blocks for building a brilliant customer experience.
618 Respondents
Adobe B2B Digital Trends 2015
Without a long-term strategy in place it becomes impossible to develop and track goals and benchmarks that drive success. In order to fully understand what changes have the most impact you need to have a clear goal and in order to make those goals you must have strategy in place. Without these things, you’re unable to evolve to correct your course. A strategy does not have to, and should not be a concrete entity. It should be fluid and always changing with your company, your views, your goals, and the marketplace.
Without support, a plan has little chance to endure long term. A company’s plan must run parallel with the culture of the company, both executives and employees, and the marketplace, in order for it to be successful. As the Adobe study shows us, technology, skills, and data, also have an impact on the ability to change, but strategy and support are the clear deciding factors in a company’s ability to develop and execute a successful marketing initiative.
Change is in the Air This Holiday Season!
This year, our Holiday cheer comes wrapped in growth and change as we are pleased to announce our new name.
When she founded the company formerly known as JMS Consultations, Inc. in 1991, Jean Marie Saidler had every intention of sticking with that name for the long haul. After all, why wouldn’t she? Her intent was to use her God-given talents and skills mastered through years of experience knee-deep in the trenches of corporate marketing to help companies promote themselves. Why would she cast aside 25 years of brand equity?
As the company moved toward its 25th year, we realized the word “Consultations” in our original name, though it had served us well, did not reflect the true service elements of the company – turn-key, performance based marketing and communications services. With so many new options in digital marketing impacting traditional marketing tools, we felt it was time for a change.
“It was an emotional issue for me, and I realized that building the company is much like raising a child,” stated Jean Marie Saidler. “As it grows and develops…so do you. There is loads of excitement as you carefully find your niche and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the business – disappointments, when world markets take a turn and you are forced to adjust your vision while remaining optimistic – and surprise as you realize the industry is ever changing and your passion and strength does in fact allow you to embrace that change without impacting the positive traits of your company culture. But by far, it’s the great joys that far outweigh it all: the joy of meeting the challenge, the joy of building relationships, the joy of putting together a talented team of dedicated, marketing professionals who deliver tremendous value to our clients.”
And so the JMS Marketing, Inc. name was created to better reflect who the company is, what we do, and where we are going. It was Henry Ford who said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” The team at JMS Marketing, Inc. is honored to continue working together to serve our many clients and is grateful to be awarded their ultimate gift of trust, as we continue to grow through our own experiences and that of our clients. We wish you happiness this Holiday Season as well as Peace and continued prosperity in the New Year ahead.