The Only Reason To Have A Show Booth Is To Turn A Profit

People decide to get a booth for their business at trade or business shows for several reasons. They decide it’s a good place to show off new product, or to make industry contacts.

Sometimes, they decide that the show is being held in a location they’ve always wanted to visit (Vegas!) and they can write off the expense.

The most common reason I’ve heard over the years is that their competition is doing it, so that person needs to have a booth at the show, too.

I have one rule for trade and business shows, and I know I sound like the obnoxious SOB I am, because when my clients try to tell me their reasons for going to the show this year, I repeat the acronym below louder and louder. I talk over them until they get the idea and go quiet. It’s pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled.

TORTHASBITTAP. Remember it.

The Only Reason To Have A Show Booth Is To Turn A Profit.

All other “reasons” are excuses. If you don’t have a process in place to turn a profit, don’t go.

Profit is usually defined as the money a company receives above and beyond the cost associated with producing a good or service. In other words, “buy low and sell high.”

However, it can have a wider meaning. Let’s say you work at a not-for-profit business, and decide to go to a show. The fact that you’re not in business for the money is in the definition of your type of business! In this case, “profit” could mean you’re looking to leave a show with more of something than you came with. Donors (that is, money), but also volunteers, material, publicity, and so forth. The only way to turn a profit is to make a sale.

Selling is generally described as exchanging money for goods or services. A broader definition might be that you convince someone of the value of an idea via a discussion. For instance, I have a non-profit client that runs a small cat rescue organization. If they want to generate funds from donors, they might engage in a discussion of Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) programs, and convince their target audience of the value of trapping members of a feral cat colony, performing spay & neuter services on the cats, and releasing them back where they were picked up. Their talk might catch the attention of a local journalist, who writes an article about TNR. A retired person volunteers to pick up the feral cats and drop them off after their surgery. My client has profited from dispensing information at a show, even though money has not changed hands. That is, as long as they consider the acquired publicity and volunteer efforts to be more valuable than whatever money they spent to attend the show.

When considering getting a booth at a show or conference, please keep the concept of TORTHASBITTAP in the back of your mind.

Prepare Your Promotions Preemptively

Which is to say, start working on creating your promos before you need them.

How Early Should you Start?

If you know you’ve got a “normal” promotion you’d like to run, I recommend starting 3 months, or 12 weeks ahead of time. If you’ve got a large promotion – think Black Friday – then it’s not unreasonable to start your preparations a year in advance.

Set Your Goals

Maybe you want to increase your sales. Maybe you want to add customers, or increase your email list. Maybe you want to introduce a new service or product. Decide what your primary goal is, and perhaps a secondary goal.

Plan Your Process

Once you’ve determined your goals, you need to set up a process to reach them, and then a process for how you’re going to measure your attempt. Will you be using a system that’s already in place, or do you need to build or refurb a system to facilitate your attempts? Knowing your goals, and they system used for attaining them, will drive your creative efforts.

Create – Then Wait

I come from a writing background. I recommend to people that they develop their creative – text, visuals, storyboard for videos – early. Complete your first draft, and then set it off to the side. Work on something else. Give your work enough time (at least a week, and maybe even up to 6 weeks if needed) so that when you come back to it, you can evaluate it with fresh eyes. You want to pare down your work, hone it to the sharpest edge. The creative should deliver your entire message clearly, and not detract from it.

How Late Is Too Late?

I try to begin my efforts at least 8 weeks ahead of time. I begin worrying when I’ve got 6 weeks left before the starting bell. In the past, I’ve run a successful campaign with less than a week’s lead time, but it involved dropping everything else, and working long hours. I don’t recommend it!

I would recommend that you plan on using as much time as you can give yourself, and then a little more. If you know you can pull off the planning, creative, and execution in eight weeks, try to give yourself at least ten weeks, and twelve is even better. Once you have your promo process in place, and you know it always takes you 7 weeks, then set aside nine for your next project.

Always expect the unexpected! Sickness, accidents, unexpected celebrations – it’s all hiding just around the bend, out of site. There’s nothing wrong with having everything in place three weeks before the ball drops. It’s like insurance: when you’re making plans, you hope you’re wasting time and money. It’s always better than the alternative.

What’s Your Situation Like?

How far ahead do you start working on regular promotions? How about large-scale promotions? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave your comments below.

More Famous In Death Than In Life

Five years ago, a small family-run diner opened near my house, half an hour north of Syracuse, NY. I already had a couple clients in the plaza, so I visited it fairly often anyway. I ate at the new diner, and found it was pretty good. The owners, a husband and wife team, asked me to help with their social media.

In addition to making regular posts on Facebook and (at that time) Twitter, I also contacted a few media outlets on their behalf. Although none of the local papers or blog sites deigned to write about them, they developed a steady stream of regulars. Closing during the pandemic actually helped their numbers. They often had people standing outside their door, waiting for a table to become available.

Bill was a retired truck driver. He and his wife Fran opened the diner as a place to earn more income for themselves, and a place to employ their daughters and grand daughters. When they found that many of their regulars were veterans, they put together a display of photos and name plaques on one long wall of their restaurant, honoring the regulars and other visitors who supplied pictures and info about their service.

This Wall Of Honor is the only thing that inspired a story by the media. Even then, they relied on pictures I took, and made a phone call to interview Fran and Bill – from Iowa. Amazingly, the journalist sold the story to a news outlet in a small city close to us.

Just as the restaurant was recovering from the after effects of COVID, Bill began having coughing fits. He went to his doctor for a checkup, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since the diner was run by family, it was often understaffed, or even closed, while Fran and her children took care of Bill.

The disease progressed rapidly, and within eight months, Bill passed away, and the diner was closed for over a week. Shortly after they re-opened, their daughter-in-law announced she was pregnant and would soon be leaving to stay home with the baby.

With all the time being closed, regulars began to slip away. The diner closed first on Tuesdays, going from being open seven days a week, to only six. Last fall, they began to close on what had been their busiest day – Sundays.

Still, my efforts to entice the media to visit were being ignored. Even a regional “food review show” that charged restaurants for promotional visits told me they weren’t interested.

Just after the first of January, Fran took me aside and told me she’d made the difficult decision to close the diner. She would be shutting the doors after business on Saturday, January 27th. I offered to help her find buyers for the diner’s equipment. I made a single phone call, which hasn’t yet been returned.

This week, there have already been three stories on the diner closing it’s doors – one in a local paper, and two stories on local media websites. Amazingly, they focused on two things: the fact that the closing was a hard decision, and the hours the diner was open.

People have been crawling out of the woodwork to like the (about to be terminated) Facebook page, and to message Fran about how the diner will be missed.

As a popular meme says, “Don’t bother to cry at my funeral if you couldn’t be bothered to visit while I was alive.” I find it jaw-dropping that the diner, on the eve of it’s impending demise, is suddenly popular with people who couldn’t be bothered to visit, or write about it’s impact on the local population. And why would you want to make sure you posted the hours of operation for a restaurant about to shut it’s doors?

So, what am I trying to say with this article? A couple things, I suppose.

First, if there’s a local place you like doing business – or have thought about visiting – then by all means, go. Take a friend. Tell your family about them. If you like the place, buy gift certificates to pass out to people in your circle. These places are run by people just like you, who need to cover housing and utility bills. They’re folks following their passion, trying to live their best lives.

Second, that the media – and people in general – are more interested in celebrating a death than they are celebrating a life. And I think that’s pretty damned sad.

Launch It! finals judge – 2023

I was honored to be a judge for the finals of the Launch It! entrepreneurial competition at SUNY Oswego this year. Here are a couple pix from the Friday afternoon finals. One with all the students (including one telepresenting from Yonkers!), educators, and judges (except for me). 2nd pic is the winning team, Anonymous Athlete, plus School of Business assistant dean Dr Irene Scruton and Dean Prabakar Kothandaraman.

Looking for a special non-profit

Agile’ provides marketing services to small- and medium-sized businesses. I also provide services to non-profits.

I’ve decided to bring on one more non-profit client for 2024 and beyond. I’d like to ask for your help in suggesting an organization which Agile’ might be able to help. Ideally, I’m looking for –

  • a non-profit (need not be a charity)
  • with a budget under $250K
  • anywhere in the US

For the right non-profit, I’m willing to offer –

  • a $1/year contract for services
  • an audit of their current marketing efforts
  • social media post design and scheduling
  • email/SMS list creation & management
  • website design, hosting, and management
  • copywriting
  • quarterly media releases
  • online giveaways
  • staff and event photography (within driving distance of Syracuse, NY)
  • limited fundraising activities
  • Facebook advertising at-cost
  • other specialized marketing services

If you know of an organization that needs new or additional marketing assistance with their mission, I’d like to ask for a mutual introduction between their director and myself by end of business on Friday, October 27th. I’ll spend November learning about the referred non-profits and their staff, and they and I can mutually decide if it’s a good fit.

If you personally don’t know of a non-profit that could use help with their marketing, feel free to mention my offer to your connections.

Thanks for your time and attention! I look forward to hearing your positive reply.

LinkedIn: What the hell’s the point?

Image courtesy USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM

LinkedIn isn’t quite like “Facebook for business,” although you can waste hours there reading posts, watching videos, and participating in arguments – er, I mean discussions. It’s also not meant to be a digital version of the Old Boys Network.

It’s very confusing when you’re introduced to it. “There it is! Isn’t it glorious?”

“Yeah, but what do I do here?”

According to their own stats, by May of 2023 LinkedIn had over 930 million users. But what are all those people doing on LinkedIn?

The Questions

The way I see it, there are three questions worth asking about LinkedIn:

  1. What is it?
  2. Why do I want to be on it?
  3. What good can it do for me?

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn calls itself “the largest professional network on the internet.” But that’s just a description. Once you sign up for LI, you can post a biography and job history, along with a list of skills in which you’re proficient. You can write short posts or longer articles, as well as read those written by others. You can also post video and audio clips. You can join groups built around shared interests (“Yak Fur Marketing”). There are pages run by companies, where owners and employees theoretically hang out.

A basic LI account “doesn’t do much.” In order to really use LI, you need a Premium (aka Paid) account to get access to stats & info on other businesses, generate leads, and send mail to people you don’t know. At least – that’s what folks (and LI itself) will tell you. That’s not necessarily the truth. You can accomplish a lot for yourself with a no-cost Basic account.

Why do you want to be on LinkedIn?

At its heart, LI is a professional network. It’s a singles bar for business people, where you’re meant to mix and mingle, get to know other folks and make friendly connections.

Note: I didn’t say “make friends,” I said “make friendly connections.” Making true friends is a bonus. LinkedIn’s idea is that by connecting with others, they make business people “more productive and successful.”

So, why do you want to have an account on LI? In order to be seen.

Why do you want to be active on LinkedIn? So that by networking, you can meet others, help them and receive help in turn.

What kind of “help?” Job assistance, or learning something new. Experiencing a different viewpoint. Meeting new friends, and finding out your interest (maybe in marketing yak fur?) isn’t as esoteric as you’ve been lead to believe. Maybe just to see a friendly face, to offer a comforting word or a sympathetic ear.

Connecting is much more than just collecting a list of names. There are millions of accounts that do only that, each one of them seeming to think, “I win the Internet because I have a bigger list of connections than you do.”

What good can you get from being active on LI?

It doesn’t matter if you have a Basic account, or a Premium one. The important point is to be active. By “active,” I mean that you interact with other people. Say hello. Congratulate them when they get promoted or change jobs, have a work anniversary or a birthday. Read their posts, and give them a “thumbs up” response when you finish. Better yet, leave a short written comment (hopefully positive, if you can) to let the author know you read their words or watched their video, and considered them.

One of the best ways to get noticed is by noticing others. That is, interact with the content they’ve produced (posts, articles, videos, etc.) and demonstrate you’ve consumed it. Respond – hopefully in a positive manner. Give it a “thumbs up,” comment, or share it. Essentially, you want to be seen being a good connection. Promote others, do positive things for them – help them – and you’re likely to be helped in turn. If you can, create some content to share on LI, and let your connections know it’s there.

As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats.

What’s next?

I’d love to have your comments. Please feel free to ask questions as well. I’m just one guy out of 930 million with my own ideas and opinions, and I’ll happily give you my answers. And feel free to visit my personal LinkedIn account.

Important Parts of an Advertisement

Advertisements are a ubiquitous part of our lives. They’re on TV, on the radio, in newspapers and magazines, and online. But what makes an advertisement effective? What are the key elements that make an ad stand out from the crowd?

There are many different elements that can contribute to the success of an advertisement. But some of the most important include:

  • A catchy headline: The headline is the first thing people will see, so it’s important to make it count. The headline should be attention-grabbing and should give people a reason to read the rest of the ad.
  • A strong image: Images can be incredibly powerful in advertising. They can help to convey the message of the ad and can also help to make it more memorable. When choosing images for an ad, it’s important to select ones that are relevant to the product or service being advertised and that are also eye-catching.
  • Clear and concise copy: The copy is the text that appears in the ad. It’s important to make sure that the copy is clear, concise, and easy to understand. The copy should also be persuasive and should make people want to take the desired action, such as buying the product or service being advertised.
  • A call to action: The call to action is the final element of an advertisement. It tells people what you want them to do, such as visit your website or call your phone number. The call to action should be clear and easy to follow.

By incorporating these key elements into your advertisements, you can increase your chances of success and reach your target audience.

In addition to these key elements, there are a few other things you can do to make your advertisements more effective:

  • Target your audience: It’s important to make sure that your advertisements are targeted to the right audience. If you’re not sure who your target audience is, you can conduct market research or use social media to find out what people are interested in.
  • Use social media: Social media is a great way to reach a large audience with your advertisements. You can use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your ads and to connect with potential customers.
  • Use video: Video is a powerful tool that can help to grab attention and convey your message. You can use video to create commercials, explainer videos, or even product demos.
  • Use influencers: Influencers are people who have a large following on social media. You can partner with influencers to promote your products or services. Influencers can help to reach a wider audience and can also help to build trust and credibility for your brand.

By following these tips, you can create advertisements that are effective and that help you to reach your target audience.