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Successful trade show
media tactics - December
2007
Public relations is one
of the most powerful
tools for promoting your
company at a trade show.
You can use the trade
publications covering
the show to get
information to thousands
of
qualified prospects.
It’s not unusual for a
story to generate 3,000
product inquiries.
If you don’t have a new
product, you can still
get media
coverage at a trade
show.
Provide statistics
or research results
in a press release.
Create bulleted "tip
sheets" with
techniques,
strategies or useful
advice.
Remember to contact the
show daily in advance,
or at least
on the first day of the
show. If you do, you’ll
have a much
better chance of getting
coverage.
Three months before the
show, contact the
publications that
normally publish
pre-show issues. This is
the one time of
year when the editors
actually want to hear
from you
because they’re looking
for stories about the
upcoming show.
Visit the press room on
set-up day or early the
first day of
the show. Talk to the
person running the press
room and let
them know you’re
interested in media
coverage.
Give them some good
reasons to send the
press your way. Some
ideas that almost
guarantee publication:
-
Industry
trends (tie
in with how
your product
or service
relates)
-
New products
-
Eye-catching
photos
(interesting
product
demos,
celebrities
or VIPs
visiting
your booth,
Lee’s
flaming
wallet,
etc.)
-
An
application
story or
case study
about one of
your
customers
successfully
using your
product (the
more unusual
the
application,
the better)
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The
best trade show press
kits contain the
following:
-
Table of contents
-
One-page info sheet
on your company:
corporate structure,
executive’s names
and titles, sales
figures, Internet
links where
high resolution
photos can be
downloaded
At-show
contact info so your PR
person can be reached
immediately; include
cell phone number, hotel
name and number.
Be sure to put your
contact information on
each document, in case
a page gets separated.
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What’s the most valuable
asset in your business?
It’s not your equipment.
It’s not your buildings
or real estate.
It’s not even your
employees. It’s not your
inventory.
It’s not your accounts
receivable.
Many business owners and
executives mistakenly
believe the
value of a business is
its lease, furniture and
fixtures, inventory
or other hard assets.
They don’t understand
that none of those
things are worth much
without customers.
The most
valuable asset any
business can posses is a
list of
satisfied, loyal
customers. Without them,
there’s no reason
for your business to
exist. Realizing the
value of your
customers is critical to
maintaining and growing
your business.
The last
time you purchased a
manufactured product
such as
new car, stereo or home
appliance, you were
separated from
the manufacturer by a
distribution chain
including the
manufacturer's reps,
wholesalers, warehouse
operators and
the store or dealer.
You
probably filled out a
warranty registration
card and mailed
it to the manufacturer.
Why? One reason is so
the manufacturer
can find out who its
customers are. Smart
manufacturers use
these lists to market.
Others just accumulate
the data. They
don’t know what to do
with it, but, at least
they have a
customer list.
If you
know the lifetime profit
value of your customers,
you
will probably find that
you can spend much more
to acquire
and retain customers
than you originally
thought. For example,
if your average customer
produces $2,000 in
revenue,
theoretically, you can
afford to spend up to
$2,000 to bring in a
new customer and still
break even.
In reality, we know you
can't spend the entire
$2,000. But,
you may find that you
can spend five or six
times more than
your competitors are
spending to attract and
retain customers.
Just
knowing your margins
gives you a
tremendous edge over
your competition. As you
establish marketing
objectives and
strategies for 2008, be
sure to carefully
consider the value of
your customers.
-------------------------------------------------------------
How to calculate the
lifetime value of your
customers
Knowing
the lifetime value of
your customers can have
a greater
impact on your business
than almost anything
else. Once you
understand it, a whole
new set of factors will
come into play.
It can absolutely
revolutionize the way
you look at your
business,
the way you do business,
and the profits you
generate.
There
are two parts to
lifetime customer value:
1) the cost of acquiring
new customers and
2) the revenue generated
by a customer over their
buying lifetime.
To properly develop your
marketing budget, you
absolutely
must establish these
figures. They are a
vital key in the
budgeting
process.
First, to calculate
the cost of acquiring
new customers, take
your total annual
marketing costs for 2007
and divide that
figure by the number of
customers you did
business with during
the year. That’s your
cost per customer.
(See figure 1, below.)
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Fig. 1:
Sample customer
acquisition cost
calculation
Assume
$1,000,000 in
product sales
with marketing
costs of 5% of
revenue.
Total 2007
marketing costs
$50,000
Number of
customers or
units sold
150
Average cost of
new customer
$333 |
If you
don’t know how many
people purchased from
you,
then divide by the
number of units sold. Of
course, it’s not
accurate to the penny,
but it’s a good
guideline. Next,
take a look at the
“lifetime profit value”
of your customers.
See figure 2 for
a guide to help you with
the calculations.
It’s filled in with
hypothetical figures for
a manufacturing
company.
Fig.2:
Sample customer lifetime
profit value calculator
|
Customer
Lifetime Profit
Calculator |
|
|
A. Amount of
average sale |
$5,000 |
|
B. # of sales
per year per
customer |
3 |
|
C. Gross revenue
per year, per
customer (A X B) |
15,000 |
|
D. # years
customer buys
from you |
4 |
|
E. Gross revenue
over buying
lifetime (C X D) |
60,000 |
|
F. Average gross
margin |
30% |
|
J. Lifetime
gross margin (E
X F%) |
$18,000 |
When
your price is higher
When
selling against a
lower-priced competitor,
communicate
the price difference -
your extra cost - in the
smallest
measurement possible.
Example: You sell an
annual service
agreement covering home
appliances for $395, and
a
competitor charges $295.
Customers like you
better, but
are having trouble with
your price being $100
higher.
What
they don't see is that
$100 divided by 365 is
only
27.4 cents a day. Focus
on that small price
differential in
your selling. Point out
that they are getting
superior service -
and greater peace of
mind - for just 27 cents
a day ... “less
than the price of a
first-class postage
stamp.”
Source:
The Selling Advantage,
Special Issue, 10/6/07,
p.2.
See Red
For
two-color direct mail
packages, red is
usually the
best choice for the
second color. The
reason: a growing
body of scientific
literature on the
effects of color
indicates
that red has an exciting
and arousing affect on
people,
while blue andgreen are
calming.
Source:
"Seeing Red," AARP
Magazine, 12/07, p. 103.
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LEE’S TECH TIPS
(aka the geek corner)
Have you ever needed to
produce screen- capture
videos
(videos of stuff on your
computer screen)? Well,
in case
you haven’t heard the
exciting news, here it
is. For a limited
time, you can get a
FREE copy of
Camtasia Studio 3
software. With Camtasia,
you can:
-
create computer
training videos for
new employees
-
make
an instruction video
of how to use your
on-line
products or services
-
capture
a webinar
presentation for
viewing again later
Grab
this software now, while
it's still FREE. Here's
how:
STEP
1.
Download the free
version of Camtasia
Studio 3 from the link
below.
Save the
.exe file to a new
folder on your hard
drive.
http://getresponse.com/t/9761935/606304/196738872/
STEP
2.
Go to the link below,
complete your name,
country and e-mail
address
and Techsmith will
e-mail you the software
key code to unlock the
program.
http://getresponse.com/t/9761937/606304/196738872/
STEP
3.
Install the program you
downloaded from step 1
above, then enter
the
software key you
received from Techsmith.
You'll have a fully
working
version
of Camtasia Studio 3 on
your PC.
STEP
4.
(Optional) If you want
to, you can upgrade to
Camtasia Studio 5 for
$149.
That's a savings of $150
over the full price of
$299. No problem if you
don’t
upgrade though; your
Camtasia Studio 3 will
continue to work just
fine.
Plus, it
has some really good
tutorials on how to use
Camtasia.
ABOUT
LEE AND VANESSA LENTZ:
Lee and
Vanessa Lentz are the
authors of the
top-selling book Crush
the
Competition, Dominate
the Market, Count the
Money. They are among
the most popular trade
show marketers, lead
generators and brand
communicators in the
United States. Their
client list includes
AT&T, HSBC
and SAS Software. Lee
and Vanessa consistently
deliver record-breaking
results for companies
across America at trade
shows, conferences and
customer events.
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InfinityPartners
www.leelentz.com
Tel: (615)
333-7546
Toll Free: (866)
533-5368
5369 Village Way
/ Nashville, TN
37211 |
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