One expensive tactic on the chopping block for a lot of companies is the trade show. Since 2001 (9-11), business travel and trade show attendance dropped. In our current economic environment, trade shows are suffering even more because marketing and sales departments are cutting out shows they’ve attended for years. Some of the trends affecting trade shows include: Increase in alternative methods to showcase products and services. Increase in number of shows and therefore competition for your prospects’ attention. MORE >>

It shows a dynamic stream of messages so at a glance a visitor can see if your company is one he or she might be interested in. Sure, include the photos of products and company business (press conferences, product launches, user conferences, trade shows, board and sales meetings), but consider including photos about your company culture as well (company picnics, sports teams, community service, employees, etc.). This content can really extend your reach at a trade show to those who didn’t attend! Tweet. You are blogging, aren’t you? Run a marathon? MORE >>

One day Joe sees the print ad of a software company in a trade journal. Then, Joe gets a postcard in the mail that tells him the same company will be at the trade show he is attending next month. At the trade show, Joe sees a brief demo of the product and asks for more information. Then, because the software company knows that 70% of trade show leads never get followed up on, in two days Joe gets a phone call from the company’s sales rep. Marketing Implementation The Book on Business b2b customer marketing social media trade show MORE >>

Stop running those ads/attending trade shows just because you always have. Marketing Planning Marketing Strategy b2b marketing marketing persona plans results trade showWhen it comes to your marketing, sometimes it’s important to stop doing what you’ve been doing. And start some new things. In the book Good to Great , Jim Collins says that great leaders are disciplined – they not only have a to-do list, but they also have a stop-doing list. Here are some marketing things to stop doing and some you should start. Spend it on content. MORE >>

now use Microsoft Excel to show the marketing objective, tasks, resources, start dates, and timeline as well as the estimated and actual costs and measurable results. These might include trade show marketing, web site updates, creating brochures and white papers, sending out press releases, holding webinars, etc. In the middle I graphically show each task, indicating its start date, duration and end date. The time segments in most of my timelines are by week, so I show beginning and ending dates by starting or ending the graphic in the week in which the date is. MORE >>