A
few simple pointers before hiring that magician!
By Mitch Tarr
Trade show magicians
are one of the many ways to build booth traffic and separate your
company from others on the floor.
At a trade show you not only have to compete against your competition's
sales reps but also you have to compete against all the 'attention-grabbing'
strategies they use.
Louder doesn't always
mean more traffic.
One thing that really
draws a crowd IS a crowd.
If you want to build
a small crowd that grows larger, consider how magic works on people.
It is irresistible!
Even better, a good trade show magician understands his (or her)
role on the floor and works for you to build an interested, feel-good
crowd.
If you
are planning to use trade show magic to draw a crowd . . . and it
will, then you need to go one step further.
Just
doing magic for the audience that will build in your booth is not
enough.
You have
to have a plan!
There
are really two things you have to do to make this not just a good
strategy but a great one.
First.
You have
to find a way to engage people during or after the magic to find
who they are. Look at your booth layout, train your staff and create
some sign up tools.
But in
some way you have to take advantage of the fact a large crowd has
stopped at your booth.
Second.
You must
ensure your key marketing message is incorporated into the act.
Trade show magic is not really about entertaining people, although
good magic does just that. People in good moods are easier to approach
and build rapport with.
But this
is a chance to add that EXTRA piece of having a larger group hear
your key marketing message.
This
will work great if your trade show audience is as
laser-focused as your target market.
For example,
if your target is dentists, and you are at a dental convention you
don't need to spend much time qualifying to discover if you have
a dentist in front of you or not. They will be.
But if
you are at a technology show, you may be talking to anyone from
the VP to a programmer so you need to find out who they are.
So take
this chance to get your message to your audience. A special offer
at the end would do the trick.
Spend
the time BEFORE the show during your planning sessions (you do do
planning don't you?) to use trade show magic to go to the next level.
Good
luck at your next show!
Mitch
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