Direct from The Center: Social Media on the Show Floor

The International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (ICEEM) just added this post provided by Joyce McKee to its blog. As the official conference and expo of The Center, TS² would like to encourage you to respond to these questions about your use of social media on the show floor.

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Repost:

Social Media on the Show Floor

by Joyce on April 7, 2010

The buzz around Social Media continues and it is impacting the way exhibitors are creating their tactics for their participation at shows.  Twitter is being used to draw traffic to the booth and announcing various meet-ups, etc.  Facebook and LinkedIn are available to garner attention too.

IAEE has established a Social Media Task Force and it is being chaired by Mr. Social Media himself, Chris Brogan.  I am on the Task Force and heading up a sub-group with Michelle Bruno on creating a White Paper.  It is large task force and we all are attempting to ‘listen” to the various audiences surrounding an event.

Soooo, I want to use this blog to solicit feedback from you.  I can funnel your comments and suggestions to the appropriate sub-group so that your voice is heard.

With that in mind, I have a few questions for you:

• How have you used social media at your last trade show?  What did you do and was it effective?
• If you are considering using social media, what tools are you considering?
• What have you learned from your social media experiences and how has it improved your relationships with prospects and customers?
• Are they any “disasters” you would like to share so your fellow exhibitors can learn from you?

Please share your experiences with us!!

Network with an Agenda

We all know the importance of an agenda for meetings…without one, time is wasted and there is no way to evaluate if your goal was accomplished.

Well the same is true for networking. Networking is business…not pleasure (okay, not ALL business…it’s certainly more fun to conduct business at the bar than in a formal setting, but at the end of the day, it’s still work). After seven years in trade show management, I still don’t think my husband understands that when I say I can’t call him because I have to go to a party, late-night dinner or even the hotel lobby bar, it’s atually work!

So, if the networking events that are part of your next conference or trade show are part of the job you’ve been sent to do, how do you prepare an agenda to ensure you accomplish your goals?

1. Start by defining your goals. What do you hope to accomplish by attending a networking function?

2. Review the event attendee list (or look at who has RSVPed to the event through social media event listings such as LinkedIn and Facebook events). Identify the key people who will be attending the function who you would like to meet and do business with.

3. Review what you have in common with these people and why getting to know them would be mutually beneficial. Develop a quick elevator pitch to help you make the connection.

4. At the event, make a point of introducing yourself to these people (or get others who you know to help make the introduction). Use your elevator pitch to make a connection that leads to a next step, such as a business card to follow-up or an appointment to continue the conversation.

What other strategies do you use when attending networking functions (for business) to make sure the business doesn’t get lost in the networking?

Great Pick-up Lines

Recently, Paul & Partners, a direct marketing company, published some great direct marketing pick-up lines to help you “pick-up” your business. But direct mail pieces are not the only place for pick-up lines in business. Not only do you need to know what to say, but when the appropriate time to say it is. As outlined in Paul & Partners’ Blog Post, here are the best buisness pick-up lines:

1. Gift Certificate Enclosed
2. FREE Offer Inside
3. Open Immediately!
4. Call us Toll Free
5. New and Improved.
6. FREE Information

If these are the best business pick-up lines, then how could they be used for trade shows–an environment that obviously lends itslef to pick-up lines?

The question is really two-fold:

1. First, using one of the above-mentioned pick-up lines in direct mail marketing as a pre-show mailing or email is a great way to pick-up an attendee before the show even starts. By developing an offer that is specific to your exhibiting experience at the show, you have already piqued the attendee’s interest and put your company on their ‘must visit’ list.
2. Second, knowing that these offers are the most responded to and successful marketing campaigns in direct mail, you can capitalize on them when exhibiting at a trade show. Even if you didn’t send a pre-show offer, or the attendee walking past your booth did not receive it, you can still capture them with the offer of something of value in exchange for a few moments of their time.

Not sure how to go about engaging an attendee in conversation about your products and services? Why not try some of the recommended ‘great lines’ from the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA):

1. What’s important to you in the companies with whom you do business?
2. How would you do things differently?
3. How do you see the problem?
4. What end result would you like to see in…?
5. What are you trying to achieve in…?
6. What do you like best about…?
7. What do you like least about…?

So, what are your favorite exhibiting pick-up lines?

The Hidden Cost of “Free”

In today’s economy of tight budgets, the word ‘free’ is extremely enticing. However, my experience has been ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’ So, the question is: what does ‘free’ service actually cost you?

As outlined in Skyline’s Trade Show Tips, a free booth staffer who is uneffective, could be costing your company a lot more money than what you saved in not paying to send a more qualified staff member to the show.

So, what do you look for in good booth staff? Check out some of the suggestions offered by Susan Friedmann, CSP at TS² 2009:

1. Choose a team who want to be there.
2. Make it an honor.
3. Involve them in the exhibiting process.
4. Involve top management.
5. Know what constitutes a good quality lead.
6. Develop a script.
7. Prepare a questioning strategy.

For more exhibiting tips from Susan Friedmann, CSP, visit www.thetradeshowcoach.com or follow Susan on Twitter: @tradeshowcoach.

Inquiry Generation and Follow-up

Recently, in doing some research for a client, I found a web site that appeared to provide the products I was looking for. When I clicked on the “contact us” page, I was taken to an inquiry form.  This is fine with me. I don’t mind the inquiry form. It allows the company to receive my request for information, gather that information and contact me back with exactly what I want to know. So, I filled out the form including my questions about the product and its pricing.

This is where the inquiry form can go all wrong. After a week, I began to wonder if my inquiry had fallen into a black hole, rather than reaching the inbox of a customer service representative at this company. In this situation, you are left deciding how much you care about tracking down actually contact information for the company (i.e., a phone number). I would think that in today’s economnic climate, nobody can afford to lose potential business, so initially I was surprised that it took so long to hear from anyone.

Finally, I did hear from this company. I received a voice mail stating that they were following-up on my inquiry and left a phone number. When I returned the call (less than 30-minutes after the voice mail was left for me), I reached a receptionist who was able to transfer me directly to the person who had left the voicemail. I began with a statement of my name and organization, which received the reply:

“I have no idea who you are.”

Needless to say, I was taken aback. I stumbled and replied with, “ok, well I was just returning the voicemail you left for me.” Which quickly received the response:

“I’m just kidding.”

Well, now I’m just confused, and still surprised that this company is being so cavalier with my potential business. I paused to let this person collect their thoughts and begin with a response to my inquiry, but instead I was asked what I wanted to know. Really!?! Hadn’t I taken the time to fill out the inquiry form and ask specific questions in the form so that the person receiving it would know what it was I wanted to know? Well, I had. After a frustrating recitation of my needs, I received a brief overview with the conclusion that my contact would email me the details I had asked for.

So, what went wrong?

Perhaps this company is not alone in its mis-use of online inquiry generating forms and their follow-up, so let’s discuss the correct way to utlize these potentially valuable forms.

1. Always provide multiple ways for prospective customers to reach you. Provide phone numbers and email addresses in addition to the inquiry form. While many people find it easiest to fill out a form and leave the burden to the company to contact them, others want to talk to someone…now.

2. Make sure someone actually receives incoming inquiry forms. Ensure that person is capable of either contacting the inquirer back immediately or distributing the inquiries to those who can. For those people who do not fill out the comments or details sections of these forms, have someone contact them immediately with generic info and ask how they can further assist them. For those forms received that to ask for specific information, provide it when contacting them back.

3. Remember, inquiry forms are designed to capture those people interested in your products or services. That means they are prospective customers!!!

Anyone else encountering a terrifying lack of customer service these days? Stories of the good the bad and the ugly, as well as suggestions to make sure this isn’t your company are all welcome here.

Engaging Gen Y at Events

In the December 2009 issue of Meetings & Conventions Magazine, Hunter Slaton wrote an article about engaging Gen Y at conferences. As a member of Generation-Y (born between the late 1970s and mid-1990s) myself, I decided to offer my thoughts and comments on the recommendations in this article…

“We don’t expect to stay in one industry for our entire career,” 31-year-old Dorsey says. As such, corporate meetings should emphasize the myriad ways in which a skill can be used, rather than its application just for one company.

I definitely agree that Generation-Y does not expect to have a career in one company or industry and therefore the ability to translate our skills from one job or industry to the next is extremely important and interesting to our generation. In fact, if conferences and events operate as interest groups rather than industry-specific education, more Gen-Y-ers might be interested in participating. The challenge in this case is to ensure the business use of the topics addressed in events so that our boss will still send us to the event.

Get a Gen Y member to evaluate your event’s online presence, Davidson recommends. “They judge an event by the quality of its web site – and they don’t like anything that looks clunky or dull,” he notes.

Personally I think this applies to more than just the Gen Y audience. As professionals spend more time online, we quickly become acquainted with “good web sites” and “bad web sites”. Finding tech-savvy people to evaluate yours is very important. Ease of use and finding the information your audience is looking for is extremely important.

Regarding site selection, Dorsey says Gen Y is very lifestyle-driven. “For us to go to an off-site meeting,” he explains, “we expect it to have something to experience while we are there. Gen Y is not satisfied with flying in, doing business and flying out again – and they’re right: That’s a terrible way to live.”

No brainer. Wouldn’t we all rather attend an event in a location that we can then turn into a mini-vacation after? The trick is making sure the event is valuable enough that your audience won’t decide to skip it for the other local attractions.

Corporate social responsibility is a big motivator for Gen Y, Davidson asserts. “They are not happy with the slightly elitist approach of previous generations. They want to do something to make a difference.”

Older generations shouldn’t be surprised by this…they’re the ones who taught us.

So what do you think of these recommendations for engaging Gen Y at your events? And what are some other keys to working across the generation gap?

2009 Recap

With 2009 drawing to a close, we’d like to take this opportunity to recap the year and begin looking forward to 2010. Here are some of the highlights TS² – Total Solutions Marketing for the Exhibit and Event Professional experienced over the last 12 months (in spite of or maybe even because of the difficult economy):

1. Social Media — One cannot look back of 2009 and not note the important role that social media has played in the exhibition and event space. We have gone from frightened of the consequences to recognizing that social media will  not drive events out of business but rather has a place alongside events as a way to extend the experience and further build community.

Our Takeaway: TS² is working diligently to incorporate social media into our marketing campaign as we plan our conference and expo for 2010. We will be engaging our audience and potential audience through many social opportunities to find our where exhibit and event professionals are spending their time, what your top concerns are, and how we can help you in addressing them. Have any ideas? Feel free to let us know: speters@ntpshow.com.

2. Sustainability of the Industry — In a year when every penny spent has been closely scrutinized, questions of costs in the exhibition and event industry have been raised. TS² applauds the newly formed Exhibit Industry Council for its role in taking on the development of industry best practices to ensure a sustainable future for all the players in the industry.

Our Takeaway: TS² is eagerly awaiting the best practices put forth by the EIC and looks forward to implementing them into our event. We also plan to leverage our partnerships with multiple industry players to continue the conversation at TS² in Boston.

3. TS² Intensive — We took the first step in launching a a secondary face-to-face educational event, co-located with IAEE’s Expo! Expo! Our inaugural event was extremely well recieved, and offered four sessions as a ‘best of TS²‘ based on our most popular sessions of 2009.

Our Takeaway: Start planning now for TS² Intensive 2010, co-located with IAEE’s Expo! Expo, December 7-9, 2010 in New Orleans. This bonus opportunity to take advantage of exhibitor and event marketer-focused education will provide quick, intensive education on the more timely topics you face today.

We’d love to hear from you: What were some of your biggest hot button issues of 2009? Have a wonderful holiday season and we look forward to continuing the discussion of everything pertaining to face-to-face marketing in 2010!

First Annual TS2 Intensive is Next Week in Atlanta

(co-located with IAEE’s Expo! Expo!)

It’s not too late to register for the first annual TS² Intensive — a full day of education on December 10 for only $250.

The TS² 2009 Intensive will deliver a forum where top exhibit and event marketing professionals learn, talk shop and network. Veteran marketers and solution providers on the cutting-edge will show you how to make your marketing green, stand out from the crowd and deliver ROI.

Register today:

1. Go to: https://www.compusystems.com/jsp/AttendeeReg/IAEE09/index.html.

2. Select “Registering as Attendee”.

3. Select ‘Exhibit and Event Marketer’ for badge type

4. Fill out all contact information including promotional code: NTPONE

We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta! 

‘Thank You’ The Most Powerful Words of the Year?

After reading the Go-To-Market Strategies article “When Did You Last Say ‘Thank You’ to a Customer?“, I started thinking about the power of the words: ‘thank you’, and given that we are about a weeky away from Thanksgiving, it seemed like a timely topic.

Personally, I’ve always been a “mail geek.” I love receiving letters, notes, cards, etc. in the mail and have therefore enjoyed the art of written correspondance for a number of years (my high school French teacher and I are still pen pals!).

Professionally, however, I must admit that all too often, ‘thank you’ gets forgotten. But when you do remember those two powerful little words, boy do they go a long way:

Example #1
A couple of years ago, the TS² team sent hand-written thank you notes to all of our exhibitors post-show. The response we received was amazing and made us realize that a hand-written note, especially one of thanks, really does go a long way…and we’ve been doing it ever since.

Example #2
I have been doing business with a vendor for a little over a year now and each time they complete a project for me, I receive a phone call from their VP following up to say ‘thank you.’ The first time I received this call, I was surprised and almost didn’t know what to say. But I have to admit, this simple act has gone a long way to secure me as a loyal customer.

So, at this time, I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to everyone reading this and would love to hear your ‘thank you’ success stories.

ROI/ROO/ROE…Oh My!

The first annual TS² Intensive, a one-day education program packed with the most relevant issues facing exhibit and event marketing professionals today is taking place Thursday, December 10, 2009 in Atlanta, GA. Ian Sequiera, Executive Vice President, Exhibit Surveys, Inc. will be presenting the session “ROI/ROO/ROE: Assessing and Delivering Value Requires a Synergistic Approach” in Room B312 at 10:45am EST.

Below is an interview with Ian providing insights into the valuable information he will be presenting on December 10:

What is the difference between ROI, ROO and ROE?

ROI is ‘return on investment’ and is the CFO’s yardstick for revenue generated from investment made. It is a strict quantitative measure. ROO is ‘return on objectives’ and is probably more widely used in the event space. I look at the two as being complimentary. The former is lot more difficult to measure at events. ROE is ‘return on engagement’ and is an extremely powerful metric for events. Tradeshows and events are face to face opportunities and the engagement factor as it relates to future purchase is significant.

In your opinion, why have ROI and measurement become such big buzz words these days?

I think they have been buzz words for some time now. However in a down economy, ROI becomes the number one priority regardless of how it is defined.

Why do you think it’s important to measure return on your trade show investment?

Apart from accountability and justification of your program, it’s important to measure because trade shows do show positive return on objectives, investment and engagement.

Register today to participate in Ian’s session at the TS² 2009 Intensive: www.ts2show.com/2009intensive. Use priority code: NTPONE to get a full day of education, plus lunch and the IAEE closing party all for only $250!