Trade show intelligence: the other side of the coin

Overview

Trade shows allow you, and your competitors, to promote your activities in a highly visible and concentrated fashion. They provide direct access to many potential customers who are there because they are interested in what you and others have to offer. At the same time a trade show represents an opportunity to gain access to a tightly focused collection of information sources that, if properly managed, can offer huge benefits to your organisation.

Without exception, exhibitors will be at trade shows to talk! Their employees will be eager to give away their trade literature and promotional material. Companies frequently use trade shows to announce major changes in their operations, such as acquisitions and mergers, new products or services, or significant new contracts. Many of these topics may not have been made public before the event. And, in their enthusiasm, exhibitors often forget - or disregard - the most elementary security precautions.

Hence, trade shows offer an ideal opportunity to not only see a wide range of competitor products but also to ask some revealing questions, and to conduct some highly concentrated research. Indeed, a properly organised, competent, and well-briefed team should be able to gather more significant and beneficial information in a few days than could be collected in a full year under any other set of circumstances. But, in order to do so, their focus and activities should be organised well in advance.

Before the event

Early preparation will allow more time for planning, and for briefing your intelligence team. Coincidentally, it may also help to reduce your costs through cheaper airfares and early-bird registration fees as well as providing a wider choice of suitable accommodation.

The intelligence team’s primary role will be to collect as much trade and promotional material as they can, to observe, and to obtain answers to predetermined questions. Collectively, team members should possess the necessary expertise to cover all aspects of your business (technical, financial, marketing, R&D, human resources, and so on).

Your first decision is to select those trade shows which will be the most profitable for your particular purposes. The potential presence at the show of various elements of your business environment (competitors, customers, suppliers, professional or trade associations, and relevant government agencies) will play an important part in that decision.

You should now be in a position to establish your critical information needs and to decide who would be the most appropriate individual to deal with each aspect to be covered. If you already have some sort of intelligence operation in place you will almost certainly be aware of the type of information that your decision makers regard as important.

Your intelligence team will be much more effective if you provide them with an information kit, the contents of which may include:

• details of competitors attending;
• an annotated map of the exhibition hall showing their location;
• anticipated new products or services;
• recent pertinent advertisements, promotional material, or news items;
• contact details of your own intelligence staff, as well as some means of communicating rapidly with your intelligence director (and the rest of your team);
• names and affiliations of attending media representatives.

Your preparation should also include details of related seminars, presentations, or speeches (particularly those given by your competitors), as well as of site visits to premises, plant, or installations (especially those of your competitors).

Make sure that you collect media items and promotional material describing the event. Make a note of any significant items, as well as the names and contact details of experts in your industry or business (including writers from trade magazines, academics, researchers, consultants, and representatives of industry or trade associations) for inclusion in your contacts database.

During the event

Your first step should be to carry out a reconnaissance sweep to obtain a general overview of the layout. You may then go ahead with intensive information gathering. Collect everything (including business cards), observe, listen to gossip, seek answers to your questions (using elicitation techniques), and make notes.

Very often, the most profitable people to interview are those who show obvious signs of having had limited experience at trade shows. If they happen to be technicians or engineers, so much the better; these are the very people who are there simply to answer technical questions. So ask some. Endeavour to interview people during the more quiet periods, such as when many are attending popular conference sessions, at meal breaks, or towards the end of the working day. The display stand is more likely to be the hands of novices at those times.

Certain individuals on your list of potential interviewees may be stressed, overworked, or overwhelmed by unfamiliar tasks. This can render them vulnerable to questions from anyone who expresses empathy and understanding for their circumstances - use such opportunities wisely.

Elicitation can be a very efficient, successful and low-risk means to acquire information that would not normally be revealed. It involves the use of a subtle, non-threatening, and conversational approach, one with a predetermined purpose.

There are many ways to elicit information. In the first place, it helps to make a list of the people you expect to meet, together with their titles, major responsibilities, the names of any mutual acquaintances (particularly helpful in establishing a level of trust), and specific personal details (to use as disarmers).

Probably the most popular and widely recognised elicitation techniques are the use of flattery or disarmers. Both methods call for some familiarity with the person concerned. Almost as effective, however, is to imply that you need help, or that you know little or nothing about the topic. People will often go out of their way to give you appropriate advice, or refer you to someone who is an acknowledged expert.

Reiteration (sometimes referred to as restatement) can be a highly profitable elicitation technique. A typical exchange may take the following form:

A: You must have sold heaps of those new miniwidgets of yours.

B: Yes, quite a lot.

A: A lot?

B: More than a million.

A: More than a million?

B: One-point-three million, actually.

Note well that, having contributed the initial statement, you are simply repeating the significant part of your correspondent’s reply. This invariably stimulates clarification.

Criticism may also be used with success. Before the event, try to identify unfavourable reports about your competitors or their products and use these as a basis for any conversation. You may be surprised at how much information people impart in order to refute adverse criticism. But use this with care.

Whatever your approach, try to sound enthusiastic and interested. Be patient and flexible throughout the conversation, but never make a nuisance of yourself by becoming overly persistent - there’ll always be someone else to talk with.

Aim to attend any speeches, seminars, or presentations relating to your information needs. Speakers can usually be persuaded to elaborate or expand on their chosen subject or related areas. Be aware, too, that some attendees may reveal much more than they should simply because they are overly eager to make a contribution to any discussion.

Observe your competitors' displays, making particular note of:

• their location, size, and attractiveness;
• the numbers of staff employed, their areas of expertise, their status in the company, and their levels of efficiency;
• the range and types of products, any unusual or outstanding features, and the nature and level of technology used;
• the standard, quality, and adequacy of any trade literature;
• any specific promotional themes or marketing techniques employed.

Take advantage of any scheduled site visits to competitors' premises, especially when they are programmed as part of the trade show. This may give you an opportunity to learn about your competitors' operations, processes, stage of product development, type of technology, state of morale, or the existence of major management problems.

A site visit may also give you an opportunity to observe, to collect additional trade literature or newsletters, or to identify suppliers and customers. Particularly telling information includes: the number (and comparative value) of vehicles in the car parks, the frequency and status of visitors, the volume of goods moving in and out of the premises, whether or not construction work is being undertaken, the nature of any training programs, and the identities of the trainers.

Your team should meet frequently throughout the trade show to compare notes, identify gaps, re-allocate priorities, and change tactics. At this stage, you will rarely be in a position to thoroughly analyse the information you have gathered. Nevertheless, you should be able to carry out an initial assessment and evaluation.

After the event

While the information is still fresh in your mind, make notes and reduce them to key points that relate to your decision makers’ information needs, your critical success factors, your current or proposed activities or projects, or any other topics of interest.

Check all associated media items and other material for significance. This may offer a different perspective (perhaps based on a reporter's discussions with senior executives or experts), or reveal some vital information that you may have missed during the event. Record all contact details in your contacts database for future use.

There are many available analytical techniques and it calls for in-depth knowledge to be able to select and employ the appropriate one. Nevertheless, some very simple and effective analysis may be conducted by a group of smart people using a whiteboard. This may be achieved by answering three very simple questions: What?, So what?, Now what?. Or, in other words:

• What has happened or is about to happen?
• What will it mean to us, or how will it affect us?
• What can, or should, we do about it?

Having done that, write brief, clear, action-oriented reports, each related to the needs of a particular decision maker. These should describe your results, what your team (and your advisors or experts) think they mean, and what action you suggest or recommend. Stick to the facts, but by all means include your opinion concerning those facts - just make sure that it is clearly described as such. Reduce the volume of each report to the absolute minimum and refer to any supporting material for additional information.

You should now be well prepared for your next trade show, and will have a much better idea of how to turn it into a competitive advantage.