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Nomadic
Display MD Laura Moody looks at how you put marketing thinking
into exhibition practice.
We all know about the Four P’s of marketing, which in recent years have expanded to the Seven P’s (sometimes even more). Understanding how they apply to your company is a powerful way of thinking about your exhibition presence.
The Seven P’s of marketing are the principals you need to consider when you are selling a product or service. The Seven P’s are made up of the commonly known Four P’s: price, product, promotion and place, plus the additional Three P’s: people, physical environment and process. In order to determine your business plan and marketing strategy you have to completely define the Seven P’s in relation to your business.
Price is the only revenue generating element of the Seven P’s, the rest are cost centres. Fixing the right price in relation to what your competitors charge is vital. There are broadly two possible pricing techniques: pricing high, but selling fewer or pricing lower to secure a higher volume of sales.
Product (or
service) is about making sure your proposition is appropriate
and relevant for the market sector you are |
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targeting.
It’s not about having something good to sell, it’s about having something your customers want to buy.
Promotion is choosing the right promotional activity to sell your product.
Place is deciding how the product/service should be delivered, with the aim of reducing your lead times to the shortest possible.
People is the human element that can be most important. Clients will make assumptions about your business based on the quality of your staff and how they are dealt with, so you have to ensure you have the right people, with the right skills in place.
Physical environment refers to making the physical environment related to your product or service as reflective of your business as possible.
Process is your end-to-end process - from sale to delivery and the systems you put in place to deliver your product or service. This is another area where your customers will make judgements on your company based on quality of delivery. |
Knowing
which of the Seven P’s apply to the exhibition environmentwill
help you define your exhibiting strategy and objectives.
Four out of the Seven
P’s partially apply to |
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the
exhibition environment: promotion,
people, physical environment and process.
Promotion within an exhibition environment applies to what stand activity you put in place to attract visitors to your stand. Exhibitions give you the opportunity to interact with your prospects and experience their immediate reactions and feedback.
Statistics show that 80 percent of the success of your show is down to your own stand staff, so arguably People is the most important P to get right when exhibiting. Visitors will make immediate assumptions about your company based on their interaction with your staff. If your stand team look great and really impress visitors, this will give you an immediate competitive advantage.
Physical
Environment at a show is your exhibition stand. It has to completely reflect the personality of your business. It should be both the shop window for your company and the window to your world.
Finally Process. This is the process you apply when dealing with visitorsduring the show, post show and beyond. You need to consider the customer touch points throughout your dealings with them - from the first minute you meet, to how you will develop lasting client relationships. Slick, professional and impressive service will promote customer loyalty and, yes, this means follow up. |
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