07 Communication Concept

Let's be realistic: The pure information that a company exhibits won′t knock a visitors socks off, not even your defined target groups. Today's trade fair visitor has better things to do than let himself be carried along by the stream of visitors at sparkling exhibition stands and spontaneously land where it seems to be nice. Visitors plan their short time ahead. According to AUMA surveys, trade fair visitors visit an average of 10 to 12 exhibitors per trade fair. And 86 percent of the decision-makers arrange their trade fair dates before the event. The probability that a prospective buyer will visit your stand spontaneously and by chance is therefore de facto zero.

You want visitors. And they want the right ones. At the right time, in sufficient numbers.

The purpose of your communication concept is to achieve this. It consists of all considerations and plans which concern communication around the trade fair. The communication concept is the basis for concrete measures within the framework of visitor marketing, press relations and trade fair lead management. 

Probably the most urgent questions that a trade fair communication concept must answer are:

What do we want to communicate?

How do we want to achieve this?

If you develop coherent concepts here that are tailored to your target group, you have a good chance of getting them interested in visiting your stand.

The first question focuses on your core messages: What do you want to tell your target groups? These messages can focus on your strengths in the market and in your product range, for example, or something that makes your company unique. Which products or services should your core messages be about, i.e. how should customers be won? Are there longer-term company goals or investments that are relevant for your customers? Even if you develop a trade fair communication concept together with an agency, you cannot outsource the consideration of these questions. They have to be answered in your company - the agency needs this basis in order to be able to work sensibly at all.

 For the definition of one or less central core messages, there are a number of methods in the field of presentation and rhetoric, the presentation of which would go beyond the scope here. These include the pyramid concept, the elevator pitch method, the limbic communication model and many more.

No matter how you proceed, as a result you should have the core messages for your current trade fair engagement on a maximum of half a DIN A4 page in written form and, if necessary, approved. You will then have to define the channels through which you will convey your messages in the phases before, during and after the trade fair.

 Before the trade fair

The pre-fair phase is about attracting the attention of the target group. Here, contact goals dominate accordingly. The aim is to get onto the visitor list, i.e. the virtual shopping list of the visitors. We have already explained that this is a real challenge because the appointment calendars are full to bursting today: Whether managing director or architect, pure save-the-date information is not enough.

So that you can hold as many discussions as possible during the fair, it is important that you get in touch with partners, customers and potential new customers before the start of the fair. It's not always a question of making a specific appointment on a particular day of the fair. Because such a fixed appointment is usually difficult for the visitor in view of the large number of visiting activities. But if you agree in advance that you want to speak at the trade fair at all, for example on a certain day at the stand, you will create a certain commitment. And if a specific date is reached, so much the better! In addition to personal, written and telephone appointments, you can also use online specialist portals and, for example, relevant trade fair groups in networks such as LinkedIn to make appointments. In order to achieve the goal of generating new contacts, it is essential that you create an acquisition concept, screen target customers, identify target persons and define appropriate measures.

Let's take the example of existing customers: The goal with regard to this group is customer care. It is about intensifying and expanding the business relationship, about the valuable and secure feeling for your customers that your company is a reliable and innovative partner. In coordination with the sales department, it is now necessary to determine which existing customers from which segments exist for which products and which messages you want to convey to them. Which products or services should be presented to regular customers? What are their benefits from the customer's point of view? What do you want to convey?

What is the best way to reach this target group in order to activate them for a visit to your stand? What measures can you use to communicate these messages?

 During the trade fair

The trade fair itself essentially serves the purpose of relationship management. At the trade fair stand, the aim is to skilfully continue pre-fair communication as a friendly host. The trade fair stand is nothing more than a huge live commercial in which a lot of emotion and a lot of relationship skills are at stake in a short time. In a personal conversation, it is the task of the stand team to create trust, arouse interest, present products and solutions, generate direct sales or arrange appointments for the post-fair phase. Special activities at the stand, such as live demonstrations or test stations, can increase the visitor frequency at the stand, even through spontaneous visitors. Other activities in the vicinity of the trade fair, such as advertising posters in the subways or the rental of advertising space or special promotions on the trade fair grounds, can provide additional advertising impetus.

 After the trade fair

It is now a question of remaining credible and continuing to show genuine interest in the visitor. The now known needs and wishes of the visitor must be fulfilled promptly. In order to communicate your appreciation for the conversation at the trade fair, you can contact the interviewee after the trade fair, for example, with an individual thank-you letter and topic-relevant information. This is also about differentiating yourself from your competitors in terms of communication. So don't hesitate to come up with something special for your top contacts. For example, you can send them a Feel-Good package with relaxing tea and fine nuts, according to the motto: "Relax from the exhausting days at the fair and enjoy your information package in peace. We are looking forward to the further personal exchange with you and the agreed appointment.

These three phases include various ways of establishing contact with your target groups and other communication measures. Some of these measures will be addressed to all parts of the target groups, for example, two to three months before the trade fair, save-the-date information mailings about the trade fair, banner ads in industry portals or entries in the trade fair organiser's communication media or during the trade fair, competitions or advertising and promotion measures on the trade fair grounds. Other measures are only aimed at special visitors, such as personal invitations and admission vouchers one to two months before the fair, customer events or press conferences during the fair and personal letters of thanks after the fair.

 When planning your communication, you should bear in mind that even at short notice your brand can be experienced very strongly and directly at the trade fair. This brand experience should be extended by using targeted communication measures such as mailings, posts in the social media, online contributions and personal contacts to continue to attract the attention of your target groups.

 Communication and visitor marketing measures

A variety of measures are available to you for visitor marketing. These include classic advertising in the trade press, for example, and catalogue and online entries for the trade fair company, as well as the numerous advertising services of the trade fair organisers. On your homepage, in the announcement in your telephone queue and in the e-mail binder, you can refer to the trade fair and, of course, also provide suitable content on your homepage. Brochure and brochure material as well as give-aways are classic instruments of visitor marketing. You can take part in lectures, special shows, design competitions or innovation forums organised by the trade fair organiser and organise events at your stand and outside the trade fair grounds. You can send vouchers for admission tickets to particularly important customers and look after them in a VIP programme which includes hotel booking, shuttle service and reservation in restaurants.

 Trade fair invitation - not to be underestimated

The standard invitation letter with the note that one will exhibit at fair X in hall Y product Z, with the request "Come nevertheless on a jump past! We are looking forward to your visit" will only lead to the biggest fans of your company really visiting your stand. Therefore, put a special focus on an attractive concept. Your invitation should be creative, funny, with a wink or unusual. From our experience, this also works in conservative industries and can provide the moment of attention to plan a visit to your company at a trade fair. Take a close look at previous trade fair invitation concepts and compare them with those of your competitors. Because maximum creativity and consistency are essential, it can make sense for you to receive professional support from a copywriter or an agency. In your invitation, clearly state the benefits of visiting the stand of the respective target group. This can mean that you have to create different cover letters.

 Also think about your communication style: How do you motivate your target groups to visit and talk at your stand? The style of all your communication activities - from invitations to appointments to thank-you letters - should suit your target groups.

Effective communication tries to trigger emotions or significantly change the knowledge of the target group, or contains a concrete impulse to act, for example to make an appointment.

Communication concepts can be the heart of a trade fair participation and a decisive success factor. If, however, you walk attentively through exhibition halls, you will notice that only a very few exhibitors have really put their heart and soul into it. That's a pity on the one hand, but on the other hand it's a great opportunity for everyone who does it.

Anna-Katharina Esche & Lars Lockemann

You can find out more about the communication concept and additional checklists and working aids in the book "Managing trade fairs professionally", which you can buy here (https://amzn.to/2FS621J).