What Does YOUR Company Do?
by Hiett Ives
At networking events I’m usually asked, “What do you do?” It’s more common than, “What company are you with?” It’s not that different with trade shows.
As a delegate walking a show where there are lots of vendors, what’s more important to you:
What a company does?
or
Who they are?
Most would answer the former, yet what do the vast majority of exhibitors have on their header or at the top of their booth?
THEIR COMPANY NAME. – Usually in BOLD – Often repeated multiple times
Which of these tells you more?
Orange Research of Texas
or
Differential Pressure Control Equipment
by Orange Research of TexasANI-Mate
or
Atomatic Pet Feeders
by Ani-Mate
The first example is a Houston company exhibiting at the Instrument Society of America (ISA) show. Their second header literally stopped delegates in their tracks, with comments like “Do YOU do THAT?” or “I’ve been looking for someone like YOU for days!!” They chose to tell delegates what they before telling them who they are.
The second example is a British company attending an independent hardware stores owners show with a new product – An Automatic Pet Feeder. Using their company name header at a previous show brought them little interest (who or what is an ANI-Mate?!?!?!). Telling delegates WHAT THEY SOLD had lines waiting to place orders for their unique pet feeders.
The moral of all this is – People don’t care what you know until they know that you care. What better way to tell your trade show prospects you care than to let them know what you can do for them? Make your trade show booth WORK FOR YOU by having it tell delegates WHAT YOU DO.
