Technology is moving so fast nowadays it's interesting to see how it impacts on the way you deal with your trade show leads. You do deal with your trades how leads don't you? A few companies I've known simply put them in a drawer or leave them as a single excel spreadsheet with NO actions.  OK, so leads may not be your primary objective for attending but surely you recognise that they could still be a gold mine.  Add these to your CRM system and you begin to build a better a picture of your clients from interest to purchase, and you are able to contact them with suitable offers in the future.

Bar Code Scanners

So do you invest in a bar code scanner at the trade show?  On the positive side, they allow you to do a quick scan to get key data which can be beneficial when you're overloaded with visitors or when you simply want to log everyone in and out of a theatre or demo session.  On the downside they're not cheap, and you’re reliant on the visitor entering correct data. How many times have you opened up the database to find a batch of half filled information and a tick in the box saying - do not contact.? 

Most standard exhibition lead scanning systems aren’t tailored to your needs.  Some will allow a simple adjustment to log answers to a few questions but they're not ideal.  How many times have you been to a tradeshow where you have to wait whilst the staff repeatedly try to scan and edit your data?  It’s not the best way to build a rapport with your visitors.

So could you develop your own system?  I've worked with companies who have had proprietary systems developed - these allowed immediate synchronization with their own CRM system and of course, personalised and specific questions.  A great solution but it’s not a cheap option for everyone.  With so many CRM systems in the Cloud  nowadays I’m sure there are solutions out there to allow you to use your iPad or iPhone to import directly.  Any system has to be quick and allow good sales staff to hone in on the key data they need and record this seamlessly.  I’m not sure we’re there yet.  Pen and Paper/Business Cards still have their role.

Quality vs Quantity

You do also have to think about how much time you want your sales staff entering leads.  Are you after quality leads or just a quantity of new contacts to deal with later?  Tradeshows are a big investment so it’s up to you to plan your objectives and analyse whether or not your team can divide and conquer - having a couple of people filtering visitors and passing on promising ones to other sales people. 

An alternative is to get bar code scanner data sent back to base each night for review and adding on to the CRM system.  Good office staff can refer back and make sure that immediate follow up is sent out.

Inbound Marketing

A more promising solution for new leads/contacts is to get them to log onto your website and enter their own data.  You may have to develop your Social Media systems around this but with a dedicated landing page on your website with an unrepeatable offer you could have a QR code on your stand literature or even the stand itself.  This way you’re starting a relationship and not just gathering data.

There are many solutions but as long as you have a plan which you follow through, exhibitions are a goldmine of contacts.

When you sign up for exhibition space the question always is - how much do you book and where do you book it?  It’s difficult to work out how much space you should book at an exhibition - well, it’s hard if you don’t know what you want to do on that space.  Often my role is to work with clients on the background to their events, as well as the actual planning.  This is where I really feel I can add value.  It’s so easy to book the same amount of space as last year or to just pick a nice looking space. Why waste your money if you don’t need so much or why push your design beyond it’s limits if you book a space too small?

As you often book space a year or more in advance it can be really hard to know what products/services you’ll have online at that time, and more crucially, how you want to demonstrate them.  However, we have to make some decisions so lets start with the basics.

Why are you exhibiting?

Are you there to promote your brand, to meet new clients/dealers or to sign deals and sell product off the stand?Each element requires a very different presence, and so a different space.  I urge you not to book space just to look good  - it’s easy to sign up for more space and create a very open, airy booth but is it really worth it?  Could you spend your marketing money better if you had a smaller space and had sponsorship or a secondary offsite meeting room?

There are so many considerations and each company is different - I’ll try and outline some questions in a future blog but for now, here’s a case study of what my client did at ISE 2012 this year.

ISE 2012

My client had a relatively small space on the show floor so we didn’t have too much flexibility.  They were at the exhibition to meet old and new dealers and distributors - to build relationships and show their latest products.  We all know that trade show floors are not the best places to show off video and audio so we have to compromise but that doesn’t mean we can’t give a good overview of products.

Traditionally, they had several small demonstration areas where sales staff could bring their visitors and explain how the products worked, we also had a table and chairs where we could hold informal (but often planned meetings). Lastly, we had a reception which enabled us to monitor the booth activity, act as a focus for meeting visitors, have a small demo area and track visitor presence.

This year they wanted to try something new to demonstrate their latest product.  This would involve putting a theatre onto the booth - not easy on the space we had.  In fact some designers we discussed this with, said it couldn’t be done. So we had to maximise our space.  To do this we took up much of the stand with an enclosed theatre. We then moved a product rack to an outside wall, allowing us to utilise aisle space effectively (and within regulations).  The reception was positioned to allow us to welcome oncoming visitors but also to manage entrance to the theatre (scanning every badge as they entered) and be a last resort demo station.  We then had a single product demo area and a separate museum case which gave us two more spaces to discuss products.  Lastly, we managed to squeeze in a table and chairs.

The design wasn’t roomy but it was effective, we gave sales people 3 areas to discuss products.  We had space for the development teams to sit informally for their pre-planned meetings and we had an enclosed theatre which demonstrated the latest product.  What’s more - as we had a booth by the aisle and catering concessions we could use their tables and chairs for further meetings when we were overrun.

All in all it worked really well - there were some things we’d change for next year but stands should evolve and we should always review how each aspect worked for sales, marketing and top management.  By adding in this feedback we will know how to amend the design for next year - whatever products we have at the event at that point!

Once again it was a real pleasure to work at ISE. It's the 3rd year I've been to this AV and Systems Integration tradeshow and I'm interested in the way it's growing, the quality of the exhibitors and the sheer number of visitors.  This year they surpassed expectations and increased visitor numbers by 17% to 40,869.  Pretty impressive figures for a very cold week at the end of January.

This year I was working with a client in the Residential systems area in Hall 1. They had a good presence and made full use of their space and surrounding areas.  But more of that in the next post, for now I want to concentrate on the positive ways that ISE attracted visitors to their show. 

Organisers can no longer assume that they’ll automatically get the footfall they, and their exhibitors need.  They need to engage their audience and really work to pull them in - not just to register but to actually turn up.

Encouraging exhibitors to market the event for them

The organisers engaged with the exhibitors on a personal level.  Even with 825 exhibitors at the event, every time I phoned to speak to sales or admin I was treated like a friend and colleague. I accept that my client has been part of the association and exhibited at ISE for years but they're not a major exhibitor, so it was good to know that I had the organiser’s ear when I needed it.  This was just the start of building a relationship that engaged the exhibitors and really them become part of the exhibition.  I really think this is key to how exhibitions should move forward - it’s about working together to promote your investments.

Marketing Plan

I’m sure the organisers had a comprehensive marketing plan to draw in visitors, both directly and via their exhibitors.  However, this is my take on the elements that I saw and felt were effective.

Exhibitor Newsletters: regular information to exhibitors outlining key information and deadlines.  It’s easy to forget deadlines when you’re caught up in many events or marketing projects so these newsletters were a bonus for many exhibitors.

Visitor Newsletters: this one was sent to registered visitors and previous attendees.  These newsletters built in frequency as the show approached but didn’t seem to push the “TOO MUCH” button.  Exhibitors could sign up for advertising slots on the newsletter and submit their press releases for inclusion.

Pre-show Magazine:  another opportunity for exhibitors to promote themselves via PR and advertising as the organisers produced and sent out this valuable and informative magazine.

Show Daily:  I’m never sure how useful these are as I see so many littering the bins but they’re always popular with exhibitors keen to get their latest information in and encourage people to visit their stand on the day.

Partners: A series of key partners built a good sponsorship marketing campaign enabling the partners to promote the event, their presence at it and show how important they feel the event is.

Customer Tickets: exhibitors could download free branded entrance tickets for their customers.  The exhibitors show goodwill by sharing these, help save the client some effort and money as well as using them as the basis for their own marketing campaign.

Banners and Logos: These were readily available, again enabling the client to incorporate the exhibition into all their current marketing plans.

Mark your Diary:  How simple!  A button on the home page of the show website which automatically put the dates into your diary - with one click the date is marked.

Connecting on LinkedIn: some of the key staff connected with their exhibitor contacts enabling them to be visible on their contacts profiles.

Show guide app:  This app was downloadable onto Smart Phones and enabled visitors (and exhibitors) to get basic info, find exhibitors and plan meetings.

Twitter: if there was one weak area then it might be Twitter.  I had to work hard to find their Twitter feed and they only had around 800 followers.  Twitter is a great way to communicate with your fans.

Looking back to last year's blogs on briefing a new stand designer I thought we should look how you choose between them and pick your new partner.

Hopefully by now you’ve had in at least three different stand designs from different companies.  They all look great but how do you judge them and decide who to go with?  Here’s a few thoughts on the way I’d make a decision:

Stand / Brand Interpretation

It’s very easy to look at a stand design and rule it out because your logo has been placed in a way you don’t like.  I agree that it’d be great if any designer could view your website and any branding guidelines you have and be able to interpret them correctly.  However,  designers are designers because they’re good at extrapolating ideas and taking them further than you could.  Hence, I say don’t look at the design as fixed, look at it as a complex set of elements that can showcase what you want and be changed to fit your ideals better.  So look at the designs with an open mind.  View the overall impression, the way the tall elements bring attention to your brand from afar, the way the demonstration requirements have been designed and the way the look and feel of the quality fits your brand.

It’s easy to score points for design but make sure that you’ve given them the right information to start with.

Experience

What experience have you had whilst dealing with the designers?  Were they open to ideas?  Did you speak to the designer directly or were your briefs/opinions interpreted and past on by a sales (sorry, Business Development) Manager? Did their values sync with yours?  If you were able to visit their offices/view their website etc - how does that make you feel?  Do those feelings suit you and your brand?  ie don’t expect a basic pre-packed grated cheese if you are a cheese aficionado and hunt out specialist cheeses.

Response Time

Be honest now - are you a demanding customer?  Do you expect answers immediately and to speak to the manager whenever you want?  We all should expect that level of service so think back to how quickly and in detail you got responses to your questions?  If they can’t be bothered to respond quickly when they’re trying to win your business, how are they going to be when it’s contracted?

Price

Last but not least - price.  Do check the quote in details - what does it include and what is excluded?  How many graphics are shown?  What lighting is included?  Is it sufficient for your needs?  Be very careful here - you may change your mind and need more items afterwards and these could come in very expensive so let’s hope you know what you’re comparing.Can you re-use the stand for less cost next time?  What is the cost of storage?  How easy will it be to change for the next show?

You know how when you’re reading about marketing, they’re always telling you to think about "What’s in it for me"?  I’ve tried to bear that in mind but haven’t always had it as my main focus. However, today I had a reality check that really made the message sink in.

Picture the scene:

Child at school looking out at the rain.  They know that they forgot to take a coat, let alone an umbrella to school - well, they’re just not cool!

So instead of a lovely refreshing 20 minute walk home they're feeling a little delicate and text me asking me to pick them up in the car.  Now, I’m a bit of a mean eco mum - I try not to drive the car un-necessarily and I’m happy walking in the rain (although I do usually have the right gear).  Hence I sent a simple text back - "Why???"

As I waited for the response I was intrigued to think about how they might respond - would it be the appeal to my better nature or would it be a more skilful (and maybe manipulative response)?

It suddenly occurred to me that if they replied "it’s raining and I’d love to spend some time with you" I’d probably have taken the car.  Why?  Because they know that I value the time I spend with them and they would have channelled directly into my mind and found the one reason why I might have gone.  They’d have found out my motivator - my “What’s in it for me?

It really brought it home to me that any marketing/communication we send out simply has to have that hook.  If you relate to your customers and tell them how you can solve the problem they have problem they have then they’re much more likely to buy from you.

In the meantime, I’m still awaiting a response to the text...the rain has stopped and I’m not really a mean mum (honest).  I would drive to get them - if it was raining really hard and their shoes had spontaneously combusted! Ha ha!

Technology is moving on fast nowadays.  After all we can now talk to our phones and ask them to find a suitable meeting time, then email or text the people to invite them.  The only trouble is, we now seem happy to talk to a phone but not to actually contact the person and talk to them about the meeting.  OK, that’s taking it to extremes but I’ve had a few instances recently where I’ve been invited to meetings and yet not one person has tried to speak to me.  Hence - I haven’t gone along.

As a person I want to be engaged, encouraged and spoken to - emails just don’t always fit the bill.  So here’s 3 circumstances that may just make people think about how they invite people to events and meetings.

Case 1: I was invited to meet up with a new employee at a supplier.  I don’t use the supplier regularly but am willing to stay in touch.  However, I have now been sent 3 group emails inviting myself and other clients to contact them to set up a meeting.  This seems so lazy to me and as I’m not valuable enough to the supplier to warrant a phone call I’m just not going to use them any more.  

Case 2: A venue finding client wanted to host a small seminar in London and they had met a collection of potential attendees.  This seminar did incur a small cost but the Return on Investment on attending was huge - so it should have been an easy sell.  However, the client refused to call the interested parties and get them to sign up.  They were trying to be more subtle and didn’t want to appear to pressurise people. Emails are great but they can be ignored (see Case 1!).  If you really want to get people to sign up you need to do more than just blast them with social media.  Try the old-fashioned picking up of the phone - especially for a small event where you have already got agreement of interest.  It may take more time but I am sure it will get you the sign ups you need.

Case 3: I was invited to visit a local venue recently - the emailed flyer was once again sent to a large group of recipients. Emails such as these are almost junk to me - with so many arriving they have to stand out to get my attention.  So I didn’t pick up on the first email but was surprised to receive another mail, marked urgent, which asked why I hadn’t responded and was I attending.  Again, it’s not a venue that was essential to my business so I put the email to one side to consider and a few days received another mail, once again demanding I let them know if I was attending.  I can’t believe that this small venue had invited more than 100 people so wouldn’t it have been so much more impressive to call me and invite me personally.  I’m not someone who goes to the opening of an envelope but I am someone who has serious business clients who might use the venue.  Group emails may get you some numbers but do they actually get you the quality atttendees that you need?So this may all seem like a rant but hopefully  you can all see that each scenario would have been so much better by the organiser knowing their mailing list, what motivates and engages them and then making sure that they use a variety of communication, especially a phone call to encourage attendance.  Please PICK UP THE PHONE!

I keep confessing to you all and I really have to stop this but then what value would a blog be if it didn’t reveal a little more about me and my thoughts each time?  That’s just my view though - I don’t feel I can write a regular blog without outlining my thoughts and values.  Many other people do write very plain, business like blogs and have enormous success with them.  I’m not aiming for a huge blog following but am still happy that it’s growing gradually.  So why do I do this?

Writing a blog each week can be a challenge - how to come up with ideas and how to allocate the time to post and promote it?  However, I’ve been surprised at the range of people who read it.  These range from local business people that I network with, to old clients who I’ve worked with for years and not forgetting the people I just don’t know but have found me via Twitter or SEO. So given that range of readers how do I make sure that I keep you all entertained, even if just for a 5 minute read?

I wonder how many people really have a good blog strategy and how many just write week after week?  My strategy - to keep my clients and prospects informed of my activity, my thoughts and my business values.  It’s the personal touch to my website that is hopefully, the inviting and more intimate element of my company.  But now I have these other followers should I focus solely on running a small business or go for hard core events tips? That’s my challenge -  to keep evolving the blog and keep you all interested - do let me know what you’d like to read.

So many companies outsource their social marketing to a specialist.  I’m sure this works really well to ensure it gets done and that it’s promoted effectively but is it really the right strategy for your company?  As a small business owner I’m very protective (over-protective?) of my brand and even when I employed staff I still had to oversee the use of the brand.  As such I just can’t see how anyone else could encapsulate and extoll the heart of Nutmeg.  For those that outsource I would really recommend that you use the agency as an alarm and a formatter but come up with the text, the message yourself.  Only the brand owner (be it company director or marketing manager) can really speak of the values of the brand so don’t give that away lightly.

I always find it a challenge to explain what I do.  So many people have their own vision of event management that as soon as I mention those words the listener disappears into their memory and assumes that what I do is what they think I do.  They activate their human listening filter. From art galleries filling their spaces with exquisite works of art, to the organisers of music festivals dealing with crowd control and highly strung band members, event management covers many areas and I have to bring clarity to explain my own particular niches.  This presents it’s own challenges as I want to come up with a snappy description of my business - encompassing all I do whilst inspiring the listeners.

It’s not easy to describe what you do - in fact I’d even say that you can’t do this effectively whilst your listeners have their own minds. They take the words you utter and filter them through their own memories and values.  The end result is a mismatch based on prejudices (good and bad).  Hence we need to work really hard to describe our roles and business in the clearest terms possible.

The first role I had to describe was one of sales and marketing trainee at Access, the credit card company.  Just mention who you worked with and suddenly you were inundated with views, opinions and issues.  The sales and marketing trainee aspect just got ignored.  As far as everyone else was concerned I could help them resolve their credit card statement issues, despite the fact that I was actually involved in market research and sales training for the terminals (no wireless electronic equipment in those days!)

I then went on to work for a company called Atex who made proprietary newspaper equipment.  As part of the Kodak group I was astounded when some visitors to a focused industry exhibition came up to me and asked if I could process their film.  Nowhere on the stand did we mention film, cameras or anything photography related but the Kodak brand was so strong in their mind that a small 20cm logo had attracted their attention.  So not only do we need to watch our words but also think about how your image is perceived through the human filter.

We can’t change the human filter - we all have it built in.  It enables us to pick up conversations from afar when someone mentions our clients or our favourite films.  It does that amazing thing where, once we buy a car we suddenly see 100s of them on the roads.  As a result I’m striving to come up with an objective but interesting description for my business so that I can automatically appeal to the interested parties and make the non-interested at least think about how events can improve their bottom line.  It’s an ongoing process and a fascinating one but one which means that I always try to tune my filters effectively when I’m talking to clients and prospects.  I’ve got to hear their needs and be able to respond and I can’t do that if my human filters aren’t fine tuned.

As you probably know if you’ve been reading my blogs, I’m on a mission to get out and about and meet and chat to as many interesting business people as I can.  I’ve found over the past few months that if I plan carefully I’ve always come away with something useful.  It may not be a sales opportunity but it can be some clarity or business inspiration.  However, I also have to confess that I’ve rushed into a few meetings where I was unprepared and without focus and have really found that I lost much of the potential value.

It is essential to think about why you want to meet each person before you set up a meeting. I’m not advocating a full time seat reservation at Costa Coffee but focused meetings that meet one of your outlined needs.  These needs may not all be sales focussed but may be about building your contact list, or they may fulfil your desire to help and support the community.  So, don’t set up meetings with anyone but do make a list of your requirements and consider if each person can meet that in some way. If they don’t meet those requirements, is it really worth your time? One last thought before you scrap the meeting - do they know anyone who can help you?  People buy from people so maybe the more people you know the more you’ll sell?

As you know, I work on my own now so one of my needs is to meet up with kindred spirits and just talk about my plans for my business.  As a result I’ve been lucky enough to find a small group of ladies who meet up once a month and discuss our business progress.  It’s a great pleasure to meet with them, and it gives me a chance to talk about my current business issues and what’s sometimes better, I get to support their businesses and help them grow.

Even in such a friendly regular meeting I go along with a list of what I want to cover and get out of the meeting.  I set out my issues and goals and make sure I cover them.  Even for new contact meetings I suggest you do this.  Conversations do have a tendancy to wander so it’s great to have focus and something to return too.  If it’s a sales call, not only do you look prepared and interested in them but you’ve got an agenda that makes sure that you don’t leave without the information/tip/contract you need.

As a small business in tough times I’m looking at every opportunity to grow my business and find new avenues.  In the process I’ve spent some time getting trained up on government procurement processes, entering my details on their websites and looking at tenders.  It all looks very interesting and quite promising but is it worth the effort?

I have to confess that I hit a brick wall as I downloaded and started to complete a tender offer.  The level of information required and the time commitment I’d have to put in did seem excessive for the possibility of being included in a short list. It also goes against my core beliefs and ignores my strengths. Simply put, how can I get the quality of my service across in paper?  I can dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’.  I can make sure there are no errors and that my text is compelling but I truly don’t believe that I can sell my service without being in front of someone and explaining my way of doing business and show my passion and commitment.

The strange thing is - I’m a systems person - I love creating and managing systems and so I should love the objective simplicity of a form or two.  But there is something about the lack of personality, the dryness of it all that just made me give up and not take it any further.  

Personally I think you need to be committed to that way of working - it’s not something you can dabble at or do alongside another way of working.  Or of course, you could have extra staff and so allocate one person to tenders - getting them trained up on the processes and minutiae of the forms, so they know how to make you stand out.  As a one-woman company I simply don’t have the time to dedicate to it.  Having said that, if you complete these forms regularly then I’m sure they will become much easier and so the time taken up to complete them reduces.

Maybe it’s the mountain that is in front of me that puts me off - I certainly recognise the need to give equal objective opportunities to every supplier and maybe these forms do that. However, I’m not convinced when I see small businesses ruled out on the basis that their turnover is not high enough, even if they are planning to join together with associates to fulfil the project and have proven in the past that they are more than capable of managing the size of project.

No, all in all I think I’ll look for business elsewhere - after all, I want to do business with people, not with paperwork so I’m going to look for people who want to talk to me.