EXHIBIT-HOUSE REFERENCES
 I’m shopping around for a new exhibit house, and I know I need to check each firm’s references. But what should I ask each one?
 Checking references is a critical step in your selection process, and a few yes-or-no questions won’t cut it. To obtain the information you need without turning your inquiry into an interrogation, ask each reference the same key questions. Depending on your individual exhibit needs, choose from the Following nine questions to get you started.
1. How long have you worked with this exhibit house, and do you see a future with it two to five years down the road? Answers to this question will provide you with a general sense of the quality of service an exhibit house provides over the long haul, not just in the honeymoon period that immediately follows your new contract. If all of your references are new to the exhibit house, this might also signal its inability to retain long-term clients.
2. How many shows do you exhibit in each year, and what size exhibits do you use? If the reference has a drastically different schedule or budget than you, his or her relationship with the exhibit house may be different than what you’re likely to experience. Try to find references that can offer an apples-to-apples comparison.
3. How accessible is your exhibit-house account executive (AE) after hours and on the weekends? Disaster strikes when you least expect it, not between the hours of eight and five.
4. How accurate is the exhibit house in terms of pricing and job quotes? Has it often gone over budget, and if so, how has it explained or rectified the situation? A budget overrun now and then isn’t cause for alarm, but a history of continual problems should make you think twice.
5. Who is on your service team? Do you work with an AE or account manager, and how accessible are other members of the staff, such as designers, graphics fabricators, promotions specialists, etc.? While you don’t need a team of 100 at your beckon call, some circumstances require that you have direct access to specialists.
6. Have you had disputes or disagreements with your AE or the company as a whole? If so, how was the problem resolved, and was this resolution satisfactory? Problems happen, and people disagree. It’s how the exhibit house deals with them — and learns from them — that’s important.
7. What is the typical response/turn-around time for services, such as new designs, quotes for upcoming shows, and even return phone calls? Everybody’s busy these days, but if the exhibit house is too busy to complete jobs on time or your AE is too harried to return your calls within a reasonable amount of time, you and your program will suffer.
8. In terms of the company and your relationship with it, what would you change? Answers to this question can provide insight into lurking problems.
9. What made you choose this exhibit house over others? Answers here should provide you with a basic understanding of the firm’s selling points from the perspective of a client — rather than that of the exhibit house.
Select five or six of these questions to hone in on the type of information most pertinent to your particular program. You should also ask your peers or chat with people at industry conferences to identify and question a few clients not on the official list for second opinions.
Also, try to get each reference’s answers in writing. Once you’ve questioned each source, you can analyze answers in a side-by-side comparison rather than having to rely on your memory bank for detailed information.
— Jeannine Swan, president, Global Exhibit Management, Fort Worth, TX
BOOTH-LOCATION CHANGES
After years of exhibiting in the same area at our industry’s largest show, we are renting a larger space in a different part of the hall to better position our brand. How can I communicate the new exhibit location so customers familiar with the previous location can find us?
Communicating your location change is similar to communicating marketing or branding messages, as you’ll use many of the same tactics. However, your “we’ve moved” message is far more important than typical messages, as lost customers can mean lost business, especially if they wander into the open arms of your competitors.
To ensure attendees receive the message, include a show-floor map indicating your new location in all of your communications, and use as many of the following pre-show and at-show tactics as your budget allows.
 Advertising. Pair your “We’ve moved!” announcement with an ad in trade publications. While you can design a new ad highlighting the message, you can also add a starburst explaining your new location to an existing ad. Also place a window or banner on your company’s Web site informing customers about the move and providing them with a pop-up map of the show floor.
Telemarketing. Ask your customer-service department to mention your move to all callers, saying something as simple as, “Don’t forget to visit us in our new location at the XYZ show.”
Direct/E-mail Marketing. Select a proven direct- or e-mail-marketing method, but also be sure your “We’ve moved!” message stands out. Include information about how attendees will benefit from finding you in your subject line or on the outside of the envelope.
Public Relations. Send a press release about the new location. Explain why you’re moving and why this move is relevant to the customer and the press. Is your move to better serve the industry? Is it to accommodate new products and services that could more effectively benefit the customer? Do you have a new product requiring more space?
Informal Communication. Make sure your salespeople call key customers to set meetings and explain the location change. Also provide salespeople with a generic e-mail announcing the move that they can send to customers they haven’t spoken with directly. Suggest that each rep customize the e-mail to create a personal invitation, which will improve your chances of attendees following your move.
On-site Signage. Venue, hotel, and exhibit-hall signs effectively direct attendees to your new location, especially if you’re in an area or product grouping that your attendees don’t typically visit at the show.
Airport Signs, Taxis, Billboards. Despite your best efforts, even those attendees aware of your move will forget to visit you on the show floor. So remind them while they are on their way to the venue.
Partner Booths. Consider giving partners a special “We’ve moved!” reminder card or gift to hand out to attendees on the show floor. You can also try a traffic-building program, such as a punch card or passport program, to drive attendee traffic between your booth and your partners’ exhibits at the show.
The most important message to deliver with all of these options is the benefit you can offer attendees. Don’t just explain that you’ve moved; explain why attendees should want to find you. Once attendees understand what’s in it for them, they’ll be more likely to seek you out.
— Katharine Chester, CTSM, director of research and measurement, Derse Exhibits, Boulder, CO
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