Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

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Mix Your Marketing Media


2010
08.17

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Posted in Consulting | No Comments »

  Whether you are running a business or an association, it’s all about staying in touch with people.  And the more often we “reach out and touch someone” (sorry…borrowed from AT&T), the more we increase our chances that prospective clients/members will call on us for products or services, Just like nurturing a friendship, it’s good to stay in touch on a regular basis. 

So, how do we do stay in touch with people?  We get reminded it seems on a daily basis about the importance and prominence of social media as a marketing strategy for business.  And, while I believe social media (Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo…), texting, email blasts, web sites, blogs, etc., are wonderful and for the most part inexpensive marketing tools, I think many people may be drifting away from integrating their marketing mix with some of the older, proven tools…specifically direct mail and telephone solicitation.

When I say telephone solicitation, I need to be clear that I’m not referring to pre-recorded messages or any other type of pre-recorded telephone calls.  That type of “touching” is a big turn off and a waste of money, in my opinion.  Whether it was sent as an actual call, or put directly into my voicemail box (they can do this now without ringing your phone) I have never listened to one of these messages in its entirety.  In fact, they hit me as pompous.  I would strongly recommend against this type of “touching.”

Frankly, the best type of telephone “touch” is done with a personal call to current or prospective customers or members.  If you have the budget to hire an outside firm to make telephone calls to prospective attendees, exhibitors, members, or customers, you want to make sure it is done tastefully and professionally so as to not sound scripted.  I have a trade show client who hires a firm out of Washington, DC, (www.foundationmarketing.com) to encourage prospective attendees to come to their trade show and it seems to be work extremely well. There’s another company out of Toronto, Infolink Technologies, LTD (www.infolinkca.com), which looks to be pretty savvy too.  They have a fairly prestigious list of clients including the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Microsoft, and the American Heart Association.

In terms of direct mail, the days of printing multiple-page advance programs and exhibitor prospecti, and mailing them three times to past participants and prospects are pretty much over.  Although printing a small quantity may serve some purpose, producing large quantities is not only really expensive (and totally not green), but because of the availability of the previously mentioned marketing media, e.g., social media (Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo…), texting, email blasts, web sites, blogs, etc., it’s really unnecessary. 

Here’s an example of a cost-efficient method of incorporating direct mail into your marketing media mix.  Although I use social media via my blog, Facebook business page, and Linkedin to promote EXPOexpert, recently you probably received a little yellow postcard I mailed via USPS, titled, “Need a Hand?”  Printing and postage costs for me to “touch” approximately 700 meeting planners, trade show producers, association executives and supplier friends (never forget your supplier friends as they may refer business to you…as you should do for them) was less than $400.  It’s a no brainer.  Also, any postcards returned by USPS will help me clean up my database.  Obviously, postcards can be designed with many messages, for example, the ”Save the Date” version which has been around for some time. 

Even with all the social media and internet hype, don’t forget your old friend “direct mail” in your marketing mix.  And as importantly, if you can’t visit customers or prospects in person, instead of an email or text…pick up the telephone and make a personal call.  It will mean a lot more and go a lot further towards creating new, or nurturing existing relationships.  And it’s a lot closer to what we  all should be promoting…the value of “face-to-face” interaction and events.

Thanks for reading and I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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Marketing Opportunities Outside the Exhibit Booth


2010
06.15

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Posted in Consulting, Meeting Planning, Special Events, Tradeshow Management | 2 Comments »

Business is kind of slow these days, so in addition to doing some volunteer work at my kids school, I’ve been keeping myself up to speed on what’s going on in the world of meetings, tradeshow and special events by reading as many of the industry magazines, web sites and blogs as possible.   Not only do I enjoy the reading, but it helps me pick up on interesting trends.  One particular trend which I think is worthwhile to write about has to do with event producers creating additional marketing opportunities (other than the traditional means of sponsorship and advertising) for supplier partners outside of the traditional exhibit booth.

If you haven’t read Bob Dallmeyer’s interview with Karen Malone in Trade Show Executive Magazine’s May 2010 issue, titled; Shaking Up Tradition, I would strongly encourage you to do so (http://tradeshowexecutive.com/RecentIssues.asp). Karen is the vice president of meeting service for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) headquartered here in Chicago.  Karen and the team at HIMSS have been doing some great stuff in terms of creating new opportunities for supplier participation at HIMSS events.

HIMSS is one of those cutting edge groups who view virtual events as an additional marketing opportunity for their supplier partners, as well as a way to generate revenue for the association.   Although virtual events have been around for years (I think I saw a presentation on virtual trade shows about 15 years ago when I was at SmithBucklin), they seem to be gaining traction now.  Perhaps it is because the technology has improved so much, and undoubtedly it’s because of the way Gen X and Y communicate nowadays.  Whatever the reason, many event producers now generate virtual events.  The real “buzz” word seems to be “hybrid” virtual events, meaning that the virtual event is meant to complement and/or promote a face-to-face event…not replace or compete with it.   Typically hybrid virtual events take place prior to or after the face-to-face event.  Many hybrid virtual events occur while the face-to-face event is being held in order to capture attendees who cannot travel to the physical event. 

HIMSS has also created other marketing opportunities for their supplier partners outside of the booth during their live face-to-face events.  One of those opportunities is what HIMSS calls, “The Meeting Place,” where exhibitors rent fully furnished meeting rooms away from the show floor to meet with customers, hold focus groups, or sales meetings.   These rooms come complete with a receptionist and refreshments, and exhibitors can rent them by the hour, day or week.  This initiative has been highly successful for HIMSS and is well received by both the exhibitors and attendees. 

Additionally, HIMSS works with its exhibitors to create other “outside the booth” targeted opportunities such as hosted “Lunch and Learn” programs, “Breakfast Briefings”, and “User Forums.”  Exhibitors select who they want to invite and provide the content.   HIMSS is an excellent example of a group who understands and listens to their customers (exhibitors and attendees) in order to create win-win ideas to accommodate everyone’s needs.  And if this openness to change and new ideas has also helped enhance the association’s bottom line, all the better!

   Another interesting trend I have been reading about, which is somewhat complementary to creating supplier marketing opportunities outside the exhibit booth, is that suppliers want year-round access to potential customers (see April 2010 issue of EXPO Magazine, “What Exhibitors Really Want” http://expoweb.com/article/what-exhibitors-really-want). 

Many organizations already have a select number of year-round “strategic business relationships” with suppliers (alliance partners, etc.).   I think this brings to the forefront a need for event producers to redesign their current “sponsorship” or “partner” models, which in the majority of cases provide sponsors with access prior to, or during the event.  For organizations that haven’t capitalized on this “year-round access” concept, I believe there’s an opportunity (especially now) to expand the “out of booth” supplier opportunities (and revenue opportunities for the event producer) on a year-round basis.  These opportunities allow suppliers to connect with potential customers more frequently without commercializing the event producer and/or the event itself.

The bottom line is this.  If exhibitors (customers) are asking for additional marketing opportunities outside of the exhibit booth, and year-round access to potential customers, then event producers must put on their thinking caps and come up with creative ideas to accommodate them.  After all, a happy customer is (almost) always a repeat customer.

Thanks for reading and I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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Asking Attendees and Exhibitors for Input


2010
05.05

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Posted in Consulting, Meeting Planning, Special Events, Tradeshow Management | 1 Comment »

My current career path allows me to work with several client events (both corporate and association) and my assignments vary.  Sometimes I’m involved with the advance planning, other times I’m hired to only to work on-site, and sometimes I’m just brought in to handle “one time” projects such as writing an exhibitor prospectus, or researching the feasibility of starting a new event.  In virtually every one of these business ventures, I’ve been extremely lucky and grateful to work with a lot of very talented and nice people.

Having said that, I have to admit that something has been bothering me.  I am continually surprised that several of my clients (past and present) don’t keep up-to-date with obtaining customer feedback from their face-to-face marketing events.    Whether an annual meeting, trade show or corporate event, I have seen situations where extremely valuable customer information (which could have/should have been used by the event producer to help make strategic business decisions moving forward) was not gathered. 

We all know that businesses in other industries (outside of the face-to-face event production arena) utilize market research, consultants, and obtain customer feedback via surveys, focus groups, telemarketing, etc.  So why do some event producers fail to communicate with their customers and gather business critical information?  Why don’t we ask our customers (because that’s what they are) what they need and want? 

  Is it because the event producers are too busy?  Is it that they get too tied up in managing event logistics, that they can’t see the forest through the trees?  Are they afraid talking to customers will add more work to their already full plates?  Some of these reasons may play a part, but I think the real culprit is “fear of change.”

Let’s face it; most people don’t like change.  We get into our day-to-day (or should I say, event-to-event) routines and it’s easy to say, “This is how we’ve always done it”, or “the board, committee or executive director would never approve that.”  However, in today’s high-speed, super technological environment, being open and able to change quickly based on customer wants and needs is a prerequisite for any successful business.  So, event producers beware:  Albert Einstein defines insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

We should be asking our customers (attendees and exhibitors) what they want and need…on an ongoing basis. What I mean by “ongoing” is before, during and after each event.  For example, I remember reading about an event producer who, prior to their event, created an interactive environment between registered attendees and speakers.   Registered attendees were able to supply questions to the speaker in advance of the event so the speaker could address the questions during the session.  And this interaction was “live” right up until the session.  What a great way to keep the session cutting edge and to provide the speaker with information so he or she could deliver the most pertinent up-to-date information in a session.

In terms of obtaining on-site feedback, many of you have probably read about the use of Twitter during educational sessions to provide live feedback between the audience, the speaker, the event producer…and even other interested people not attending the conference.  It’s here, it’s being done now and it’s a successful way to obtain feedback.

Another commonly used method for obtaining customer feedback on-site is to have small “by invitation” feedback lunches with attendees and/or exhibitors to talk about their impressions.  Most people are very receptive to these as long as they’re not too long and a skilled staff member or facilitator keeps things moving.  Also, it’s a nice way to say thank you to participants.

  There’s always the most traditional method for obtaining customer feedback: the survey.  Surveys can (and should) be done before, during and after every event.  I have found the best way to obtain a large response rate is to offer some type of personal incentive for completing a survey (a chance to win an iPad, a trip to some nice location, etc.). The free conference registration typically offered just doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.

What’s also great now is the variety of inexpensive survey tools on the internet, for example, Survey Monkey.  In addition to being cost-effective, these services have nice templates that can be emailed, and can handle some basic tabulation for you.  One important thing to keep in mind when developing survey questionnaires is to hire someone with market research experience.   Most event producers do not have the market research experience and knowledge to write non-leading, objective, unbiased survey questions.  So, budget some dollars and hire a market research professional to help.  It will be well worth your money if your questionnaire is more precise and to the point, and you will achieve definitive results.  Exhibit Surveys is a well-known market research company with a great reputation for solid work.  And there are other smaller firms, like Premier Research Solutions, founded and run by my long-time friend, Linda Wing with whom I worked at SmithBucklin.

The bottom line is this.  We all need to stay in better touch with our customers so that we don’t lose sight of why they are participating in our events.  The customer you never hear from after an event…and who never comes back…is the worst possible scenario.  But that doesn’t need to happen.  Reach out, stay in touch and ask the customers (attendees and exhibitors) what they want and need from your event in order for them be successful in their businesses.  And then…be sure to deliver it…and you and your event will be successful as well.

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Greening Your Events


2010
03.17

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Posted in Consulting, Meeting Planning, Special Events, Tradeshow Management | No Comments »

  In the spirit of Saint Patrick’s day, I wanted to share some thoughts about why…even in an environment of budget cuts and job scarcity in our industry…we should work hard to continue to support and implement sustainable practices and the “greening” of meetings, tradeshows and special events.

The concept of environmental responsibility and sustainability have been around for some time now, but we have a long way to go in terms of 100% participation by the meetings/tradeshow and special events industry.  But with that said, there are lots of great sustainability initiatives going on, and I’m sure you’ve read numerous articles in the industry trade journals about what some association and corporate groups are doing.   But rather than rehash those, I’ll share with you some recent personal experiences. 

  While attending the PCMA Midwestern Chapter March Educational event at the Chicago Hilton, I noticed a couple of simple, yet important things related to sustainability in the meetings environment.  During the educational sessions, the hotel provided water stations with eco-friendly plastic like cups made out of some type of corn based product. 

Apparently, these cups can be thrown out and will disintegrate quickly in a land-fill…as opposed to regular plastic cups which I think take like 90+ years to disintegrate…if ever.    Additionally, the hotel had recycle bins throughout the public areas and in the meeting rooms.  These are small things, and there may have been more I overlooked, but obviously the Chicago Hilton is making an effort by implementing sustainable practices and being environmentally responsible with their group meeting business. 

And here’s the beauty of this example at the Chicago Hilton and why it’s is win-win for everyone.  As a meeting planner who decides or influences where meetings are Chicago booked, obviously I noticed the eco-friendly plastic like cups.  And, it made me feel good that the Chicago Hilton was using them.  If I noticed them, you can bet that many other planners in attendance at the PCMA meeting did too.  So, even though the eco-friendly plastic like cups may cost the hotel a little more money than regular plastic cups, the Chicago Hilton, by branding itself as practicing sustainability and being environmentally responsible (which a lot of people care about and think highly of these days), may in fact influence me or other planners in our decision to select them versus another hotel to place a meeting.  And, as affirmed by the age old adage, “people buy from people they like.”  So, not only is what the Chicago Hilton is doing great for the environment, but it’s also smart business. 

I also recently attended a session sponsored by the Association Forum of Chicagoland, “Pushing Your Vendors: How to Get Affordable, Local, Organic Foods for Your Meetings and Events.”  The presenter was Greg Christian from gregchristianconsulting.com.   Recognized as “Chicago’s Conscious Caterer™,” Greg is a professional chef, caterer and entrepreneur, author (he has a new book, Food and Forgiveness) and a pioneer in the foodservice industry’s zero-impact movement.   His message is very moving and inspiring.   Because of a variety of reasons, including unsustainable farming practices, and creating a tremendous amount of waste, Greg feels that the food service industry has been a destructive force and has been using up a lot of the earth’s non-renewable resources at an alarming rate. 

Greg believes that the meeting, tradeshow and special event industry (especially because over 5 billion dollars is spent annually on catering) can have a tremendous positive impact on the environment by selecting foodservice providers that use seasonal, and locally grown organic foods.  And, that if event producers begin this requirement process early on, i.e., at the request for proposal (RFP) stage, with suppliers (hotels, convention center, caterers, etc), the requirements and process will be easier to implement.  And most importantly, the positive impact event planners and suppliers can make on our community, and our environment.   

Additionally, Greg has been instrumental in working with the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), an initiative of the Convention Liaison Council (CIC), to write policy and procedure focused on bringing together best practices and standards related to food and beverage for green meeting and events, including sample RFPs.  For more information about APEX, visit http://conventionindustry.org/apex/inprogress.htm

Here’s a  video of Greg talking about his journey and message.

        

And last, but certainly not least, I recently received an invitation to join and participate in a relatively new (6 year old) membership-based professional organization, the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC).   As described on their web site, www.greenmeetings.info, “The Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) is the premier global community solely dedicated to sustainability in the meetings and events industry, not only through education but also by spearheading research, policy and standards.”

GMIC’s membership dues are very reasonable ($185 per year for individual membership, and varying levels of participation for supporting business memberships) and a good friend of mine, Barbara Connell with the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), is going to be heading up the Chicago chapter as president.   

Following are the organization’s mission and vision statements, and a short video from the organization’s founders.  If you’re interested in getting involved and doing more in terms of implementing sustainable practices and “Greening your Event”, it might be a really good idea for you to join GMIC. 

       
 

GMIC Mission:
The Council seeks to transform the global meetings industry through sustainable practices which incorporate environmental considerations throughout all stages of a meeting in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment. The Council will promote environmentally responsible strategies through the collaborative efforts of meeting industry stakeholders, balancing economic, environmental, and community objectives. Your support is an integral component of our success.

GMIC Vision:
According to the Green Meeting Industry Council , a green meeting incorporates environmental considerations throughout all stages of the meeting in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment.

In conclusion, if you’re not doing so already, there’s lots of easy ways to start implementing sustainable practices in your meetings, tradeshows, and special events.  For example, event organizers can utilize eco-friendly name badge holders, and reducing printed promotional and on-site materials.  Additionally, organizers can request that their supplier partners utilize things like sustainable carpet at trade shows, recyclable trash liners, and that food service suppliers use water stations with the aforementioned eco-friendly plastic like cups, recycle, and compost.

It’s all good and helps the planet too. Take care and I welcome your thoughts, comments and ideas.