Exhibits South

Experience Guru™ and Get the Edge!

In this tough economy, Event Managers are trying to accomplish much more in far less time. Whether you need to manage one show or 500, Exhibits South can give you the edge you need to make your trade show program a success.

Our Guru™ Online Exhibit Manager System provides you with 24/7/365 access to one of the most advanced, user-friendly event management tools on the market today. With Guru™, you can keep track of inventory, staffing, task management, budgeting and reporting – all online in real-time.

From high-end reporting to simple tasks to full measurement, Guru™ provides you with a holistic view of your company’s event marketing programs in a way that no Excel spreadsheet ever could. By streamlining information and inventory in our web-based application, you have the power to do more in less time while drastically increasing your productivity – saving you time and money.

We Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder

Guru™ can give you the edge you need to make your next trade show a success, with more efficiency, less effort and increased results!

This powerful 24/7/365 web-based solution can dramatically improve your company’s trade show and event programs. Our applications offer centralized management of trade show assets and streamlined processes – anytime, anywhere, with unlimited users – all in a secure environment.

The one-stop system allows you to quickly find what you need, saving you time, money and wasted man-hours. With just a few clicks, you can create a new event, locate available properties or even view all of your shows.

Key Benefits

• Your own custom company-branded Guru™ system

• Save time, money and manpower by quickly tapping into all event-related info in one application

• Access your data at the office, at home, or in a hotel – 24/7/365!

• Comprehensive real-time inventory management system

• Maintain and allocate budgets

• Control your corporate brand messaging and image

• Instantly generate reports for budgets, events and inventory usage

• Instantly communicate and exchange information, including strategic goals and objectives

• Password-protected, with various levels of security available

Want to know more? Click here for more information or schedule a personal demo of our Guru Exhibits Manager program today.

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A Solution for All Sizes

Would you like a custom-look exhibit without spending a fortune? Exhibits South offers a variety of modular displays — a cost-effective solution to custom trade show exhibits.

Modular displays allow you to manage exhibit expenses without having to compromise on quality or value. Compared to a custom-built trade show booth, which uses heavier materials, a modular display exhibit can save costs on production, storage, shipping and I&D. These displays are extremely versatile, easy to transport and assemble, and are scalable.

And you don’t have to sacrifice sophisticated design for cost savings. Not only do modular displays look stylish, you can also customize many features and add functionality, like storage areas, counters and flat-panel monitors.

Using a modular display is a great way to ensure that you are creating an exhibit that stands out from the crowd — while staying within budget.

From tabletops and kiosks to large island displays, Exhibits South has a size and shape for every company’s needs. Each of our modular exhibits can be customized and tailored to meet your unique marketing needs. Best of all, it’s easy to revitalize a modular exhibit with graphics to create a new marketing message or introduce a new product or service.

For more examples of our modular display solutions, click here.

Big or small, Exhibits South can provide you with the right modular exhibit solution that will exceed your expectations in every way. To find out more, please contact us today!

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Meet Jim Alberalla

We are pleased to announce that Jim Alberalla has joined our team as Exhibits South’s new Director of Creative Services.

Jim Alberalla was previously the President of Exhibit A Design, an independent creative firm specializing in the design of marketing environments. With 15 years of experience in this field, Jim has held design director and senior level design positions at several Atlanta exhibit companies.

Adding Jim to our team marks an exciting change for our company. As Director of Creative Services, he will lead our creative team in designing engaging environments that communicate brand identity and marketing messages as memorable experiences. Jim has a strong interest in sustainable exhibiting and is the driving force behind the development of Exhibits South’s Eco Exhibit line of “green” portable exhibits.

Throughout his career, Jim has worked with clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies across a diverse array of industries including consumer products, technology, pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, food & beverage, and home improvement. Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Mercedes Benz, Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems, and Philips are just a few of the many companies that he has designed exhibits for.

Jim holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing from Emory University. He also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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Show Me the Money

Some companies get excellent return-on-investment at marketing events, trade shows and conferences – while others pack up their booths and return defeated to the corporate office.

What makes the difference?

Strategic planning
Right from the start, Exhibits South approaches your trade show project from a strategic point of view. We understand that what happens at the trade show is obviously important. However, what is equally important to your success is what happens before – and after – the show itself.

Working with our marketing partner, Hothead Studios, we have created a communication process that will ensure you get the full value from your trade show participation – each and every time.

Before the Show
Trade show managers are often so preoccupied with designing and building their booths that they forget to drive qualified traffic to their event. A study by Deloitte & Touche shows exhibitors that conducted a pre-show campaign raised their “attraction efficiency” — the quality of the audience they attracted to their booths — by 46%. Similarly, the conversion of booth visitors to qualified leads rose 50% when a pre-show promotion was used.

Nevertheless, don’t just randomly drive any warm body into your booth. You need qualified prospects to front-load your sales process. Here are some simple tips that can help drive qualified traffic to your booth:

• Invite your own customers, inquirers and prospects to the show – they’re already interested in doing business with you.
• Send targeted communications to registered attendees.
• When you can’t target the list as narrowly as you’d like, the best solution is to craft your message to only attract qualified targets and eliminate the rest.
• Send targeted follow-up email reminders including links to a landing page which describes plans for your event in detail.
• Arrange meetings with your key customers.
• Advertise in pre-show issues of your industry’s trade publications.
• Offer a time-limited incentive to create a sense of urgency.
• Use testimonials from last year’s attendees.
• Stress the benefit. Don’t just say “Visit us at booth number 123.” Tell them why they should take the time to visit you.

At the Show …

Communications vs. Promotions
Don’t blow your budget on trinkets like custom-printed pens, mouse pads and tote bags. Half the time these items end up gathering dust on someone’s desk, given to someone’s kid or worse – tossed in the trash! While it’s fine to have some promotional giveaways on hand, your marketing budget is better spent on an attractive informational piece that gives tips, techniques and strategies related to your products and services. Giving away information signifies that you are interested in pursuing a business relationship. We aren’t exactly sure what giving away a singing coffee mug signifies.

Lead Gathering
Your average sales person loves to talk about their product. Your typical trade show attendee wants to find out about your product. Match made in heaven, right? Not necessarily. You need a list of qualified leads – not a list of names and addresses.

The problem: most booth reps mistakenly view each attendee as a “buyer” without qualifying them. If you ask them “was that person a decision maker” or “does he have a budget” – you might get a blank stare. To avoid this, train your sales people to qualify all leads. Create a simple lead form of qualifying questions – before the show – and make sure reps ask these questions while pitching your product. Make sure this qualified information is properly captured so that leads can be properly followed up on after the show.

After the Show…

Did you know… 80% of leads gathered at trade shows are never followed up on?

Why? Show leads have a reputation for having no substance – just bare bone business cards dumped in a fish bowl in your booth. Busy sales people often feel there’s nothing there. So why bother with a follow-up phone call?

To avoid this follow-up fallout, it is crucial to identify what types of information should be gathered on your lead cards. This information needs to be defined before the trade show even starts. Your team should know from the outset what results your company wants to achieve. Use these goals as benchmarks to evaluate and measure your marketing efforts at the various trade shows you attend.

Time is of the essence with all leads, not just the “hot” ones. It is vital to send some form of communication, whether it’s a letter, email or phone call. Thank everyone who came by your booth – and let them know when they can expect to hear from your company again. You should follow-up within the week after the show. Remember, if you don’t follow-up, your competitors will!

Measuring Results
Bottom-line, your company wants to know their money was well spent.
Keeping track of leads allows you to measure sales directly attributable to your trade show. Recording this data enables you to provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of your show. With a little forethought and planning, the end results will speak for themselves.

We hope you’ll use some of the information we’ve provided to help you get started. To find out more, please contact us today!

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Exhibits South received the Women’s Business Enterprises National Council's 2005 Business Star award for Business Excellence.

Exhibits South was voted the Exhibit Company recipient of Atlanta’s Consumer’s Choice Award for Excellent Customer Service for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008

Exhibits South received The Coca-Cola Partners in the Promise Award for 2006.

Exhibits South was honored at the WBENC National Conference by The Home Depot as one of their Women’s Business Enterprise Star Suppliers for 2007 and 2008.