What kind of buyer are you or what type of vendor should you look for?

Finding the right vendor for your trade show needs can make
the difference between a confidence successful event and a frustrating,
stressful, and possible failed effort. Choosing the wrong type of vendor is like having the wrong size shoes, may look good but it could also be painful.

Buyers for trade show exhibits, and other related marketing materials fall into three groups.  The names may not be technically correct but the segments are correct.  This divides the market by vendor selection and not product selection.  

The three categories for this marketing paper are; Purpose, Want, and Need.  No buyer will be in one category all the time but will likely follow the pattern of their group for the major purchases.

Why know this?  As a buyer it can save you time and research for the types of vendors who offer the
best services for you.  Also it can save you a lot of money and frustration. 

If you are a vendor this may help you understand why some of your marketing and sales efforts work while others seem to miss the target.  Also why with some clients you just cannot seems to do anything right (in the clients eyes) leaving all parties unhappy.

Marketing Love it or Leave it Alone.

I’m in marketing and I love it. 

I love the feeling when an idea takes on a life of its own.  Seeing your work obtain
the results you imagined and knowing your efforts are worthwhile by being well
received by the intended audience is a great feeling.  But like most emotional feeling it is
fleeting, which makes it worth pursuing.

If you are a true marketer you know why you put up with the long hours, incredible stress, idiots in sales and morons in accounting, not to mention upper management with their own brand of lunacy if not for the fact that without marketing they would all be looking for work.    So realizing the world turns as a result of your marketing efforts, aren’t you looking for the next advantage a way to
actually preempt your competition?

Imagine you have a limited budget, unreasonable time lines and only a fraction of the resources you need to change the world.  Now ask yourself how you can get the information and ideas that could give you an edge if not advantage in your market space using trade shows and other interpersonal events.

Nowhere is marketing more visible and important than when people interact directly with your company’s sales people or corporate property, be it at a point of purchase, product launch, trade show or grand promotion. 

INTERPERSONAL marketing is where wins and losses can be absolute where everything a customer knows about your company, brand and people is either confirmed or destroyed. Indifference is not a win. 

After 25 years of marketing especially in trade shows, retail and the corporate promotional space I got tired of “training” so many sales people whose only  marketing knowledge comes from watching commercials on TV.   As sales people they are ok but as far as knowing anything about marketing or what marketers go through they are totally hopeless.

So a group of us former marketing people got together to discuss the need for a better source of ideas, graphics and trade show related items and realized if we did not do this who would.  Being “experienced” we knew to be successful we would need the energy and certitude that comes with youth; so by teaming up with young eager markerters we hope to create a new kind of marketing energy. 

The beauty of “experience” is you recognize “new” when it comes along it may not be better but it is new.  Sometimes “better” is not really new but a different use of something that has worked in other markets at other times.  The best part of ideas is they tend to generate discussion which will always lead to different ideas.  In the end, it is not the idea but the implementation that wins.

Are you the type of marketer you think you are?

 Most aren’t.

Nearly all marketing people consider themselves Active or Proactive marketers but the vast majorities are Reactive or Passive.  The sad truth is most would be Proactive if they were allowed to be by their respective companies. 

How do you know for sure where your company falls in the
list?

The Active creates opportunities, drives changes in the market place, sets standards, and gains market share.

The Reactive is always "doing"; it may be "doing" what is popular or "hot" in the world of
marketing but the fact is they are reacting to the competition not leading. They look at trends and follow; they see what is popular and follow.

The Passive is the saddest case of all for these companies’ marketing programs are driven by non-marketing types.  They are competent in their profession just not creative nor allow their marketing professional to be either (assuming they have true marketing people).

You see it all the time a company will put out marketing campaigns just to put something out the when upper management does not see the results (usually in a unrealistic short time frame) they see from the competitions Active marketing teams they blame their own marketing staff or more likely the sales people (which may not be all bad).

But Active is no longer enough for most companies they must jump ahead; and do things that will change the game, not just more of the same but a complete leap ahead, in other words they must Preempt the Market.   You want it you have to take it.

Ok so you are not Apple and don’t have the iPod, iPad, or iPhone waiting in the wings to spring on the market. Does that mean you have to keep doing what you have been doing and hope for different results?

We want to help you find ideas, solutions and practices that will help you Preempt your completion without losing your job or sanity.  We don’t charge for our services so if you have a question or need let us know.