Strengthen Marketing Administration to Get More Bang for Your Buck (Part Two)

In our last mailer we looked at increasing access to and improving the effectiveness of literature by employing more rigorous administration tools and processes. Now let’s look at trade show materials, which are often abused, lost or underutilized…all significant costly problems.

Get Control

How many times have you lent trade show materials to a salesman or distributor only to lose them in a black hole? Do you struggle to keep display materials in a single location, so you know what you have? If so, try these two simple steps to get better control.

Centralize Your Warehousing

Whether you store materials in-house or off-site, your best bet is to keep display materials in one location. This will enable you to effectively compile the right combination of booths, graphics and audio-visual equipment most appropriate for each event. Moreover, consolidating in one location gives you the ability to continuously review materials for brand consistency.

Charge for Outgoing Freight

Many companies loan their materials to their sales channels for regional trade events and sales meetings. Meeting deadlines for events never seems to be a problem, but getting materials returned in a timely manner is often an administrative nightmare. Make an agreement with your sales channels that they pay outgoing freight while you pay return freight. To hit their event deadline, they’ll be motivated to pay promptly. And since they don’t have to pay to return the items, you’ve removed a barrier that often results in materials being returned late, shipped to another party or simply left in their warehouse.

Increase access to increase ROI

Getting mind share from your distributors and reps is often difficult. Providing the tools they need to succeed can lead them to focus more on your products and achieve better sales results. Put your exhibit marketing materials on-line and provide your sales channels with secure access to your inventory of exhibit materials. Let them see what you have, make it easy for them to requisition and let them promote your products at their own selling events. Cataloging your materials on-line may not be as difficult as you think. Web-based tools can be built in-house or you can take advantage of third-party systems that increase visibility while helping you manage these valuable assets. It’s the best way to maximize ROI and control these assets.