What is the difference between a hunter and a fisher?
A hunter knows ahead of time what he is chasing; deer, pheasant or rabbits. A fisher, on the other hand casts a large net hoping that what is caught is of use. When the net is pulled in there may be some fish that are eatable and quite tasty but there will also be lots of things that simply get thrown back. The result for the fisher is lots of wasted resources and lost opportunities.
The same analysis holds true for your exhibit program. If you are a hunter you have carefully determined the profile of your quarry. If you are a fisher you end up simply hoping for the best.
Turning your program from fishing to hunting requires careful attention. You want to properly focus on the show visitors who will most likely help you achieve your exhibiting objectives. Rarely will you want to talk to every visitor who walks past your booth. The trick is to clearly identify who you want to spend your time with.
Defining your customer’s profile requires time and skill but once you have it, it will affect every part of your exhibit plan from choosing the right show to post show follow-up. The greater depth you put into your profiles the easier it is to focus your exhibit plans. Here are four typical tools that exhibit managers use to define their customers.
- Demographics answer the question: Who is my customer? Some examples of information in this category include: Industry, Gender, Marital status, Geography, Age, Profession, Wealth or Lifestyle.
- Psychographics answers the question: What do they do? Some examples of information in this category include: Social responsibility, Business style, Position, Affiliations, Management Style, Family stage, Hobbies or Leisure time activities.
- Behavioral analysis answers the question; How do they do it? Examples in this category include such things as; Number of times they purchase, Amount of product used, Decision making cycle, Where purchase was made or How purchase was transacted.
- Causation analysis answers the question; Why do they do what they do? The best way to develop this category is to focus on the benefits of your products and service and understand which of these benefits is of most importance to your specific customer profile.
While you are developing your profile it’s not uncommon to unearth more than one. That doesn’t present a problem as long as your able to articulate the difference between one customer and the next. Now that you have a strong profile(s) your next task is to use this information in your exhibit plan. Ensure that this information is clearly communicated to all the people on your exhibit team including; administrative staff , sales and marketing staff, display builder, show/event manager and anyone else who will be involved in your program.
With a clear focus on the right people, all other decision should fall into place faster and easier.
