Are you a hunter or a fisher?

What is the difference between a hunter and a fisher?

A hunter knows ahead of time what they are chasing—be it 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 edible and quite tasty, but there will also be lots of things that simply get thrown back. The result for the fisher is 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 and are seeking said quarry with precise and targeted strategies. If you are a fisher, you are probably just 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 ideal customer’s profile requires time and skill, but once you have defined your customer, that definition should affect every part of your exhibit plan, from choosing the right show to post-show follow-up. The greater the depth of your profiles, the easier it is to focus your exhibit plans. Here are four typical tools that exhibit managers use to define their customers.

Using demographics to define your customer. Some examples of information in this category include industry, gender, marital status, geography, age, profession, wealth, and lifestyle.

Using psychographics to define your customer: what do they do? Some examples of information in this category include social responsibility, business style, position, affiliations, management style, family stage, and hobbies or leisure activities

Using behavioral analysis and asking: 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 a purchase was made, and how a purchase was transacted

Causation analysis is a final tool; why do they do what they do? The best way to develop this category is to focus on the benefits of your products and services and understand which of these benefits is of most importance to your specific customer profile.

While you are developing your customer profile, it’s not uncommon to unearth more than one ideal customer. That doesn’t present a problem, as long as you are able to articulate the difference between one customer and the next.

Once you have a strong profile(s), your next task is to use this information in your exhibit plan. Ensure that profile information is clearly communicated to all the people on your exhibit team, including your 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 decisions should fall into place faster and easier.