The Consumer Electronics Show (known as CES) is the world’s largest trade show for the consumer electronics industry. Each year, over 170,000 attendees make the trek to Las Vegas during the second week of January to see the latest and greatest in tech.
I have been attending CES, whether as a manufacturer, a retail merchant, or as a retail management consultant for over 2 decades. Over the years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to product brands exhibiting at the show.
You’d be surprised to learn that a lot of businesses really struggle to make their name known at these trade shows. They show up with displays that don’t describe their businesses or show what sort of business they are. There’s an easy way around that. By ensuring you have some Custom Business Signs made, people should be able to see your stand and want to come over. Be sure to get your name printed on them, so they know which stall is yours. That way, you should be more likely to gain more potential customers coming over to your stand. There are a lot of other things to think about, of course. Here are 10 time-honored tips for product brands exhibiting at CES, whether it’s their first time or their thirteenth time, to make the show a good investment.
10) Prepare your CES Pitch
It’s important that everybody who is working your booth are “singing from the same hymn book”. Too many times I have heard inconsistent pitches at the various booths. Create your CES pitch well in advance and make sure your teammates are using it in front of attendees. Also, your pitch or conversation with an attendee should include a call to action such as “I will email you a PDF sales sheet when I get back in the office”.
9) Send Enough Staff to the Show
You are spending a lot of money to exhibit at CES. Don’t skimp by just sending yourself. Having enough people on your team to cover the booth is important for many reasons. You hate to leave the booth unmanned in order to grab a bite to eat and find out that an important retailer showed up and you were not there. For your associates that will be joining you in the booth, stress the value of friendly greetings, polite manners, and appropriate body language.
8) Set Appointments
For years, I have arranged CES appointments for our clients. Start reaching out to potential retailers as well as the media to nail down important meetings on your CES calendar. That way you will be able to make the most of CES and guarantee success before you even arrive to Las Vegas. As a reminder, you want to confirm your appointments prior to the show. Inevitably, there will be meetings that will be missed. You can always reschedule for phone calls or face-to-face meetings after the show.
7) Check out the Competition
CES offers you an ideal opportunity to see not only who your competitors are most aggressively targeting, but the methods they are using to entice these prospects. Find time in your schedule to walk the show and set a goal of coming away with notes on each of your competitors to see not only what they are selling, but how they are doing it.
6) Make your Booth a Fun Place to Visit
CES attendees spend much of their time meeting with exhibitors and attending workshops. By the end of the day, they are likely to be tired overwhelmed by the amount of information they have been given, and easily bored by standard presentations and sales talk. That is why making your booth a fun place to visit can help you stand out from your competition. A laid-back atmosphere will almost surely be a welcome change from the typical CES trade show display. Check out the next two tips to make your booth the place to visit.
5) Offer a Product Demonstration
Product demonstrations are a great way to draw a crowd inside your booth. Make sure your team knows how to give an effective and engaging presentation. Don’t forget to collect those business cards!
4) Have the Perfect Booth Giveaway
Besides product demonstrations, offer a product giveaway is another great way to get people to stop in front of your booth. We have had our clients, when it’s feasible, offer booth visitors a chance to win one of their new products in exchange for a business card. If you cannot offer one of your products as a giveaway, offer mints or something small in your booth.
3) Don’t forget those product sales sheets
Many times, attendees will grab a product sales sheet if (a) they don’t have the time right now to stop in your booth or (b) your booth is crowded. Having product literature with your contact info that attendees can pick up at your booth is a must have. If you have the budget, put all your product sell sheets on a jump-drive to hand out to attendees in order to save room in their bag.
2) Create a Media Kit
Often, members of the press will stop by your booth. Have a jump-drive with your media kit, which should include company information, industry awards, product information, etc….that you can hand out to select members of the press.
1) Have a Follow-Up Protocol in Place
One of the most frustrating things that happens a lot is when exhibitors forgot to follow up on hot leads, promising prospects, or likely customers. When I was a large retail buyer, I would hand my business card to exhibitors that I wanted more information from. Many did not follow up. What a waste of money for those exhibitors who spent thousands of dollars to be at CES!
Cheers to kicking off the new year at CES 2020! Retailbound can’t wait to get a sneak peek of the latest in tech innovation. If you’re interested in meeting with our retail channel management experts at the show, we would love to meet up with you. Book a meeting at CES with our team today by contacting [email protected]. Good luck and good selling!!!
