When marketing meets execution and direct customer engagement, you know that you are creating a brand community rather than a customer base. Brand activation techniques are extremely useful to build that community and foster a long-lasting relationship with your customers that helps them remember you, recommend you and keep buying from you. Make your brand not only top of mind, but top of heart.
Have you ever been to a supermarket and been blindsided by the amazing smell of grilled hot dogs? Brands are all about the senses. Some companies even have olfactory brand identity, audio logos, and patented recipes. So you follow the smell to find a basic table with a sampling tray. What a lost opportunity! An appealing demonstration counter can do wonders for your brand. If instead of a regular table or boring wooden counter, you include a functional station with full color graphics and extra storage space, you will be making sure those leads not only remember what brought them to your stand, but remember an experience. First impressions definitely count. What is present to the eye is present to the mind.
When it comes to conferences and conventions it can get a little trickier. We have competition to take into account and several other stands, pop-ups, banners and backdrops right next to yours selling what you sell. That is why your display has to make your brand shine. When your brand is the leading role in the movie that is a specialized convention, you ensure connecting the whole experience with your company and creating a bond with your leads, so they become loyal customers. But brands are nothing without a value proposition, and your value proposition is more than a strapline. Make sure your brand speaks loudly about what makes you special, different and unique. A great message combined with flawless, alluring graphics can bring people in and your staff can make them stay. Your brand, image, added value, and esthetic presence must come across clearly through a well-trained staff with an interesting sales pitch. Your staff must understand the ins and outs of your business so well that they feel part of the company so they can transfer that connection onto the potential customer and start building that loyal community we all long for.
On the other hand, trade shows, fairs and outdoor events just make a lot of sense in terms of return of investment. Now that summer has just begun and people are all for experiences and interactions, there are events surfacing everywhere! Whether you decide to have an awesome tent to engage with your leads out in the gorgeous sun or to have an amazing booth at a fair or trade show indoors, these types of events are made to save you money on client acquisition. While it takes your sales team 4.5 calls to close a sale without that exposition to a fair or event, it takes them 3.5 calls when leads have interacted directly with your brand. Brand activation at fairs and events is the best bet since your marketing efforts are boosted in every way possible. This type of brand activation not only saves times and money, but increases your chances of engaging potential clients that are already interested in what you have to offer. If you can additionally set yourself apart
from the competition with what was mentioned earlier concerning added value and a well-trained staff, you have a winning combination that will probably help your leads make a better decision right then and there. Not only do you get to see your competition in action which serves as a marketing tool, but face-to-face time with leads is just the best way to go!
Make sure to make the most out of your brand activation by investing on a home away from home that is inviting, welcoming and very attractive. Study the audience that will participate at the convention, trade show, outdoor event and get the ball rolling even before the event begins. Engage with different audiences online so at least some of them know what you are about before even arriving at the fair. That will also save you time and money by bringing in leads that already have a reason to visit you and compare you with the competition. Invest on creating an environment that conveys what your brand is all about with a correct use of fonts, colors, materials, virtual interactions and videos, merchandising, marketing material, and a great sales team that is trained to be the brand. This will ensure you leave a lasting impression, so closing sales becomes a light summer breeze.