Post Exhibit: Positive Recall for Visitors

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Post Exhibit: Positive Recall for Visitors

Written by Barry Siskind

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Create a lasting memory for your customers

What do your signs and graphics say? Are they filled with information about products and services? What about your literature? Is it teeming with enough information to sink a supertanker? And what about your booth staff? Do they fill hours at the show telling people all about the features and benefits of your products and services?

The highly anticipated report by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) titled, An Analysis of Changes in the Key Factors Affecting Exhibit Recall in the Last Decade, has been released.

The report’s focus is on the issue of memorability. Since the majority of business transactions occur post-show, it is important that visitors can recall, in a positive way, the exhibitors they plan to do business with. Memorability is also important for brand awareness. In the 1980’s brand scored 4% on the recall scale. In this report it has grown to a whopping 53%.

Reasons for remembering exhibits other than size:

Average

Product Interest                      67%
Well Known Company            53%
Product Demonstration           49%
Stage/Theater presentation    24%
Booth personnel                     24%
Color/Design                           21%
Giveaway/Samples                 14%
Literature                                14%

Source: CEIR MC 46, October 2010

Booth size has always been the number one recall factor. This may be due to three reasons:

The physical dominance at the show
The repeated exposure created from their dominance.
Exhibitor is usually a well known, large company

However the past few years has seen shrinkage in the number of large dominate exhibitors due to budget restrictions and an increased emphasis on R.O.I. where companies often opt for smaller exhibit space. However the reduction in size can be overcome when other elements of recall are considered.

Crucial Factors in Exhibit Recall
As we see in the study, product interest and well-known companies are the two crucial factors in exhibit recall. Visitors attend exhibitions to see new products or learn more about those products that they have previously been exposed to. It is therefore important for the exhibitor to showcase their new offerings.

Well-known companies are not just those with strong international brands but those who have made a concentrated effort to reinforce their name, brand promise and the solutions they offer. For small and medium size companies this is a strong justification to reinforce their identity through pre-show promotion, being active in the social network and participating in other show related activities such as the educational program or through sponsorships.

Product demonstrations have increased in importance. More visitors want to see and experience new and interesting products and services. Product demonstrations that attract a large numbers of visitors who watch one presenter or one-on-one demonstrations are elements that savvy exhibitors should include in their exhibit planning.

Booth Personnel
The importance of booth personnel has also grown in the last decade. This leads to the need for exhibit integration. This means exhibit managers must include a balance between the physical characteristics of the booth and the human resources. Exhibit recall can quickly turn from positive to negative as a direct result of poor interpersonal interactions between the personnel and the visitors.

Literature and give-away items have decreased in importance. The drop in literature may be a result of companies attempt to green their booths. Excess literature is bulky, expensive to ship and often ends up not read. This creates a tremendous amount of waste. Most visitors today appreciate receiving the same information electronically with no waste at all.

Give-away items have decreased slightly due to budget cuts and a lack of metrics to measure their benefit. Other research has shown that when give-away items are handled correctly there is a positive return and yet few exhibitors have been quick to embrace the true value of these items.

The report concludes that “An exhibit is in reality an integrated organism of both physical and human systems working in concert to obtain maximum results.” Exhibit managers can no longer give lip-service to the importance of well trained exhibit staff while doing little to train them. Trade show organizers who sit back and let their exhibitors blindly struggle with the integration of these resources run the risk of lackluster results. The role for both the exhibitor and the show organizer is clear. Both need to work in concert to implement the technologies that ensure that visitors leave an individual booth and the show with positive recall.

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Barry Siskind
		About the author:
		Barry Siskind, President of International Training and Management Company is one of North America’s most sought after consultants and speakers and an internationally recognized trade and consumer show expert. Barry provides a wide range of products and services to help exhibitors improve their bottom line both on and off the trade show floor. These services translate to stellar results for his clients. He has written seven best-selling books and over 500 original trade articles and industry reports as well as a Guru series for the Centre for Exhibition Industry Research. .