What if I told you there were ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐?
You probably would tell me “what the heck man?” ๐ค
Well, stay with me for a minute; I’ll explain…
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐?
I mean, why not stay at the office and ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ instead of going to these big hangars?
Think about it, it’s ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, and you’ll get manipulated by marketers in the same way. ๐ผ๐ป๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ
So why go? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ the… ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ you might have!
Kind of like when you open presents at Christmas. Or like Forrest Gump with his box of chocolates. ๐๐ซ
Because ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ (๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ) ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
Whether you’re hunting a mammoth, a dress in a shopping mall, or mustard in the alley of your supermarket, human brains have a special reward for (good) surprises; it’s called dopamine. ๐ง ๐ฅ
And this is why trade shows are… complicated. ๐ฌ
As an ๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, but make sure you surprise them positively and not negatively which will cause a reduction in dopamine (like I see too many exhibitors do on trade show floors). ๐๐ ๏ธ
But How?
And on what specific elements of your trade show strategy should you introduce the element of surprise?
We’ll go into specifics in another post. ๐๐ข
More than a tip, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ to prepare ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐, ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ. โจ
This “emotion” is at the heart of the event, tourism, hotel, and restaurant industries. It’s also how social media companies keep you hooked. ๐ผ๐จ๐๐ฑ
Surprises convey a sense of creativity and innovation
In a sense, it’s a form of… hope! (You’ll think about it next time you vote for someone). ๐๐ณ๏ธ
So when you catch attendees off guard with surprises, it ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ’๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. It also ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ that you’re not just another exhibitor but a ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ in your industry, that you stand out from the pack, which means you’re ๐ฎ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐๐
The key is to ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด “๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ” (more on that in another post). ๐ผ๐ค๐ฉ
Now I’ve got a question for you: Have you experienced the magic of surprise at a trade show? Was it a good or a bad one, and why? ๐๐ค
Feel free to share your experience in the comments below and spark up the discussion. ๐ฌ๐
0 Comments