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Hidden Value in a booth Draw
By:
Barry Siskind
We have all done it, walked by a draw box that said "Free Draw" or "Win a
free Widget," and dropped our business card into the bin. They are
irresistible. There is no real commitment and who knows, maybe you can win
something.
Because of this cavalier attitude many exhibitors assume that there is no
real value to a booth draw. However a well designed draw is an excellent
tool for attracting booth traffic especially for exhibitors who do not have
enough space or staff to handle the crowds. A booth draw catches the
attendees attention, slows them down and if done right, will bring
prospects into your booth to talk to you.
Before setting up your draw box consider your objective for doing so. If
your objective is to capture names for future follow-up then providing a
great prize will result in lots of names. The problem is that most of these
people when contacted afterwards will ask, "Did I win?" Their primary
objective was to win something. More times than not they won't remember you
or your display. This approach may still have mertit if ascertained that
this show was targeted properly and your need was to develop a data base of
industry people. However, for exhibitors who want a more targeted approach
and a chance to talk to the attendees the booth draw becomes an exercise
in quality rather than quantity. Here are three steps to consider if you
are in this latter category of exhibitors.
1. Your prize.
Ideally your prize should relate to your company's
products or services. It is not necessarily helpful to have a fantastic
prize that everyone wants. This means that you don't give away a new
television unless your are Sony or Toshiba, a great trip unless you are
American Airlines, and a motorcycle unless your are Harley Davidson. For
exhibitors like these there is an obvious connection. For the rest of us
the connection is illusive.
Your prize can be a product or service that you offer, Discounts on future
orders, a collection of products that make up a buyers dream set or
something that your target customer will find useful in their business such
as a library of technical books, advance copies of research reports,
specific industry related software packages, it could even include a
private luncheon with your C.E.O. It is up to you to be as creative as
possible.
Now when people walk by your booth some will see the prize and say, "I'm
not interested in that," and walk on others will find your prize valuable
and stop.
2. Ballots only.
It is too easy to drop a business card into a draw box and
keep walking. When you require your visitors to fill in a ballot you are
asking them to commit to the draw by spending time. On your ballot ask them
some simple market research questions in addition to the traditional
demographic information. This gives you extra value for your effort. Some
of these questions may include:
- How did you hear about our company?
- Have you ever used one of our tools before?
- Do I have your permission to keep you on our mailing list?
- What is your primary reason for attending this show?
- What other shows do you attend?
3. Talk to them
It is not simply enough to have them enter your draw. Your final need is to engage these people in conversation. The booth draw is a enhancement to your display that attracts attention. The way you achieve this is by adding the line, "Must be validated by a booth person" to the bottom of your ballot. When they approach you the draw has accomplished it's task and now it is up to the booth person to engage the visitor in a conversation. A booth draws is an excellent enhancement to your overall display plan. It will help you talk to more people if you handle it correctly.
