Variable Data Printing

Trade show marketing is a great way to enhance your experience when participating in a trade show, as it is a great opportunity to get exposure to new prospects for your business. Where else other than the Internet do prospects find you? But you do need to tread cautiously in choosing which trade show to participate in. Creating a pre-show marketing plan and post-show follow-up are key to the success of maximizing your trade show attendance, generating traffic to your booth, and nurturing any new connections made while at the show.

The best way to maximize your trade show marketing efforts is to first identify the target market you are interested in reaching and make sure there is a strong likelihood that they will be attending this particular show, even if you have been an exhibitor there before. Has the show changed in its demographic audience? Are your competitors attending? If so are they trying to attract the same market segment that you are? Or are they looking to attract a different segment for a product line that is substantially different from yours? Don’t just exhibit there because another competitor is unless it makes sense to attend to support your marketing strategy. Weak strategy can lead to weak performance and trade shows can be a very expensive proposition with booth fees, personnel commitment, travel costs and more.

Part of your trade show marketing plan should be doing pre-show marketing once you find a trade show that is a good fit. Consider driving people to your booth rather than just waiting for people to walk by. Hiring trade show event staff to drive traffic to your booth is another great way to gain exposure and make new connections with your target audience. The event staff is trained on your products and services, therefore offering an informative introduction to the company and as prospects gain more interest, a salesperson is then introduced for an indepth discussion when it gets into specific details.

Pre- Trade Show Marketing

Often you can purchase a list of the registered attendees. Something as easy and quick as a variable data postcard with your booth number and a strong call to action, for example a raffle, can drive traffic to your booth, allow sales personnel an audience with your prospects and allow you to quickly capture vital contact information through entry forms or a card reader at the booth. That card reader can capture the contact’s information place it into an excel spread sheet or even better, add it to an excel spread sheet that you have built in advance with check off boxes to indicate which of your product lines your prospects would like information about.

You can of course have product literature to share with prospects at your booth, a giveaway as they walk by but that often gets lost after the show if finished. Consider using the database you have just compiled from your entry forms or your card reader and excel spread sheet to upload as emails by territory to your sales reps for follow up on and then to support those reps, consider a mailing of a customized literature pack with personalized letter carrying your reps name and contact information to these same prospects. Schedule it to arrive the week after the show.

Post- Trade Show Marketing

If you are collaborating with printer who has JIT (just in time) print capability and who has a work flow that can handle your template letter, you can have a customized package sent out to each of the prospects that visited your booth. This can all be an automated process that will allow every lead to be captured. Your sales rep will find their cold call warmed up since the prospect has already been to your booth, you know what they are interested in no guesses here (they told you). Your rep now has that information in the first email that you sent them from this new database you composed at the show and the prospect has a nice packet of information on their desk. They have been told in the letter to expect a call from the particular rep you have indicated in the letter. It isn’t mixed in with all the premiums etc that they picked up at the booths and forgot to bring back into the office.

Trade show follow up is key to trade show success. Just showing up with a booth and hoping you will get business doesn’t work anymore. As with any sales process, it takes nurturing your relationships with prospects down the path to becoming a customer If you do the appropriate follow up you can measure and track the success of your trade show participation and the list you have built can be a great addition to your CRM.

“Every marketer must understand each generation’s new concerns after the biggest economic calamity of our lifetime.”

Gaining insight into what each generation has lived through creates a further understanding of attributes that make up each group and how it applies to their spending habits, also known as generational spending. While each generation faces its own set of challenges, it’s apparent that technology and personalization make a huge impact in each one.

An article in destinationCRM Magazine presented an overview of the 3 major generations and their unique attributes. There are many specific differences that effect spending habits of each generation and as marketers, it’s of utmost importance to have an understanding of each individually.

For example, Generation X are caught in the middle of raising their own children while at the same time caring for aging parents; thus driving greater emphasis on doing things as a family. Knowing this information gives a better understanding as to what marketing strategies to implement, how to position a product specifically for this audience, and what the major selling points will consist of.

When you compare another generation, like Generation Y, its easy to understand their “live in the moment” point of view, considering some have attended college, incurred a lot of student loan debt and are left moving back home and jobless. This generation is putting off reaching major milestones due to the instability of the job market they’ve encountered.

With the Baby Boomers, marketers are starting to encounter the need for an “ageless marketing” program. Boomers are working longer than planned, accepting the fact that they’re getting older while looking to maintain vitality, and wondering if they’ll have enough to retire. Since they were 5, they’ve seen it all when it comes to marketing, to which point this generation is looking to acquire more experiences over “more stuff.”

Having insight into each generation makes it easy to integrate it into your marketing strategies, making campaigns more personalized and effective. Use this knowledge to drive the type of responses that meet your goals. Get started!

How Can You Apply This To Your Marketing Efforts Today

1. Use market segmentation for each generation.
2. Take time to understand key insights about each generation including media consumption, the purchasing process, family dynamics and influence, the content ecosystem and pop culture trends.
3. Know how the attitudes and behaviors of each generation influence the way they consume media and marketing messages and making purchase decisions.

Below, I’m sharing brief insight about each generation, their concerns and spending habits based on information from the article (due online in February 2012).

Generation Y [AKA Millennials] (population: 72.5 million):

Challenging job market: Finding a job that will help them pay down their massive student loans. [According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt is so high that it has already surpassed credit card debt in America and is on pace to exceed $1 trillion this year. Next bubble to burst?]
Unemployment Rates: 20- to 24-year olds rose steadily from 8.2% in 2007 to 15.5% in 2010, and slightly improved in June 2011 at 14.5%.
Here’s some insight on Gen Y:
Most educated, diverse, tech-proficient and soon to be largest American generation ever
Distrusts traditional advertising
More likely to listen to the opinions of their peers
Taking their time before reaching major milestones such as buying a house, getting married or raising children; with some returning to their parent’s home after college [Boomerang Children]
Spending power: $200 billion a year
Spending trends: experiences like backpacking internationally and buying latest tech gadgets
“Live in the moment”
Very social; do things in groups
Entering wealth accumulation phase
Uncomfortable getting firmly behind a product, except for a few like Apple; far more comfortable with getting behind a character-driven marketing campaign [create a lifestyle or persona that feels right for Gen Y – gives brands chance to connect]
First generation to grow up with the Internet and mobile devices
Challenge: As Gen Y increases spending, marketers need to figure out how to capture this generation’s attention

Generation X – Stuck in the Middle (population: 49 million):

Supporting 2 generations: their aging parents and young children
First generation where they don’t have the same expectation of living better than the prior generation
Net worth is much lower than what Baby Boomers’ net worth was during the same life stage
Extremely influential, especially if members of this generation are financially supporting 2 generations – their aging parents and young children
Here’s some insight on Gen X:
Self-reliant generation and somewhat cynical
Witnessed the introduction of the home computer, video games, cable and satellite TV, and the Internet
43% have earned at least a bachelor’s degree
First generation to see a huge jump in the number of women getting a college education, with more women (46%) than men (40%) in this generation earning college degrees
More Gen-X women entered the workforce and have stayed there; resulting in delaying marriage and leading to smaller families
Greater emphasis on doing things as a family and bigger focus on striking a balance between work and family
Strong mistrust of government and corporate America
Averse to ad hype and overstatement
More risk-averse taking a cautious approach; “play it safe”
Research products in excess before making a purchase using Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Amazon.com, Angie’s List, Epinions, CNET as part of research tools seeking reviews
Highly values honesty and transparency
Money-back guarantees go a long way toward getting Gen X past skepticism
More likely to be receptive to campaigns that make fun of convention and tradition
Multicutural generation
Everything is on demand, not on a schedule

Baby Boomers – Every Silver Lining Has a Touch of Grey: (population: 76 million):

Wondering if they’ll have enough money saved for retirement.
More opportunities for marketers to serve this generation, at least for the next few years.
Here’s some insight on Baby Boomers:
First of the baby boomers are starting to reach 65; median age: 56
Starting to retire
Most plan to keep working at least 4 years past age 65
Much lower net worth than previous generation
Earnings and consumption reach climax at age 50; don’t ignore the 50-plus market
Boomers expected to retire en masse in 2015
Luxury spending is down by 50%
Age 50 and beyond, priorities are shifting “from material things to ethereal things; with an interest in acquiring more experiences over more ‘stuff’
Cruising, destinations with shorter easy trips that are all-inclusive and group-oriented
Fewer family obligations but a greater sense of priorities when it comes to spending
Highly influential and the driver of this year’s election
Looking to maintain vitality; afraid of dying poor
Misconception: fearful of technology and aren’t participating but this is the one area Boomers will spend money without too much hesitation
Smartphones are a priority; leading users of online dating

Generational Strategy Questions To Ask When Planning Your Marketing:

• How do the unique profiles, attitudes and behaviors of each generation influence the way they consume media and marketing messages and make purchasing decisions?
• How should product, customer, brand, marketing and communication, and investment strategies be changed to align with the unique attributes of each generation?
• How can you leverage generational insights and emerging technologies to be leading innovators in your respective markets?