Hybrid – Live – Virtual…Wait Why

01 May 2021 Leave a comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait....WHAT?

Make your presentations visually epic!

Making the decision to host an event is a huge undertaking as is making the decision to spend budget dollars on events. With travel limited, venues under opening restrictions and lower percentages many things have to be taken into consideration to meet objectives and price points.

Hosting a hybrid evet seems like the most viable option, this will give the live version a chance to get back off the ground with the limited capacity and have live interaction. Adding in the streaming segment to reach the virtual attendees or participants can be a value add or a significant loss of money if it isn’t publicized enough to get Virtual attendance and draw in the live audience to give the event more engagement.

Some of what we found hosting Virtual events were the missing elements of interaction and physical energy that creates that feeling of excitement and show buzz.

Knowing what was missed helps define the issues, now to find the solutions.

Get your idea bag out this is going to call for creativity and skills in creating show buzz.

As a host it will be a collaborative effort with your sponsors/exhibitors. As an Exhibitor reach out to your show organizer.

Work together to create excitement with product launch announcements with games and contests. Send announcements, use social media with teasers for the event and new product launches. Free offers with sign-ups that will entice social media sharing.

Your live portion has to be exceptional in presentation skills. They have to be dynamic to garner the audience and create the excitement. Leaders in the industry or products that have everyone waiting to hear about. Keeping active in respective industries by presenting is always good, but in this environment you have to get the most skilled presenters in your groups.

At the live portion don’t skimp on presentation design, create an inviting atmosphere. Having a couple of chairs and a logo is just like every other Zoom meeting you attended this year. Create visuals behind each speaker that can change and give the viewer that wow factor. Add in audio that is unique before each presenter give an audio visual element that both attendee groups will remember. CES of course does fantastic with this just attend any of their shows and see where everyone congregates. The screen room with outstanding visuals. This is expensive but could be the main financial investment you make that can be used throughout the event. Work with AV teams and videographers who have those mad skills. For you smaller groups who are feeling left out – reach out to your colleges and see what they have available, some have graduating students with great ideas who would be able to meet your needs and price point.

Don’t forget to use your experienced staff too, many have seen and done many different styles of presentations and can contribute a skillset and ideas that may not come from the new kids on the team. Really, it will take a village to get the most out of your event.

Research a software that meets your needs for visibility and lead generation. There are quite a few now and many have upgraded to accommodate events with and without a show floor. Not all lead gen is created equal, make sure the stats gathered are useable and specific to your needs or can be tailored to what you are tracking.

Keep your positive show energy up! I just know that F2F shows will be back bigger and better than ever once we get past our unique situation. During this goooey time clean up those wagons, get rid of old emails and do research on hybrid events in all industries, that is a great way to be ready with ideas that you can adjust for your events. Be ready to add the hybrid element to your events or ready to launch full force into your live event. Keep your sills honed and your research up to date. Many are on furlough or have had to take jobs outside the events industry. If you love events like I do, don’t give up.

They can’t keep a good Tradeshowgypsy down!

We will go, VIRTUAL!…wait, HOW?

01 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait....WHAT? Tags: , ,

V I R T U A L EVENT !

When years pass and you haven’t written anything on your blog, maybe it is time for a regroup and refresh. Yes, that is definitely where my latest adventure in trade shows has taken me. Of course, not just me, but an entire global population and my beloved events industry! The miniscule invader known as #*!@#^&, (I will not give it the dignity of naming it on my Blog). You all know that invisible show wrecker! My heart definitely goes out to all who have suffered and lost lives over this attacker!

As an event industry professionals we have been seriously impacted, and are still in the war of safety and livelihoods. Being the toughest gypsies in the land of events, we get up and fight back! There are many societal and political things going on, but our enemy will not defeat us. We will go VIRTUAL!

Yes, darling gypsies it is time to skill-up and figure out how to keep our industries alive and keep from going insane without human interaction. Addressing the Virtual platforms has been an adventure for certain. Pitfalls of a variety of platforms who had to spin up so fast, that groups are purchasing them while they are still in development! The variety of options and connectivity is a firehose of information. For starters, determining what will work and still meet the needs of customers, attendees and purchasers and the ever needed tech support. Pricing can also be a wild ride of base+ modules and features and staffing. Due dillegence pays off in spades! Get your team together on a call before hosting representation from all aspects of your company, product marketing, sales, finance, design team. *If you are all of those like someone I know, get presentations from many and look at reviews, try to attend events they are hosting and write down, what worked well, what did not and give a review to these companies. You may need the super software platform of the world, or you might need a few web pages with some interaction capability. There are several groups, look at reviews and contact the people who used them, find out if there were any gotcha’s. Servers and bandwidth are a huge issue for all of them. So with chaos comes opportunity, virtual event developers are working round the clock and hiring like mad!

There are added elements to the Virtual platforms that are being missed. After attending too many events to count the Virtual show buzz is missing.

Fun, lightheartedness, pleasure of having some kind of connection that is visually appealing. Many groups are so concerned with getting their content out, staying on their roadmaps with product releases, and learning the new platforms; shows are falling flat.

Marketing and Sales teams have to develop together with Virtual platform managers to assure that there is more than just content videos streaming ad nauseum. Add in some pop up trivia quizzes (industry related or not) – treasure chest pop ups, pizza gift cards, coffee gift cards, happy hour networking opening night with a signature drink recipe! On the show floor people troll around for the giveaways (half the fun of shows) but are still in their professional capacity as buyers and suppliers. If you have an open to the public show, help lead generation with share giveaways for 10 friends who join in with verified registration, and you get a Unicorn (or gift of custom design, luggage tag with special 2020 Virtual design, something). Social Media us and we will give you a special event pass for such and such home concert. ( With many artists giving concerts from home, someone is surely available to perform for a select group for a much discounted price).

Nothing will replace the energy and networking that occurs in face-to-face events, I don’t care how global your reach is online. There are only so many Zoom face boxes you can see and interact with. The physical energy at any show builds and congregates when companies are showing their products. Show buzz is real, and is a physical and emotional reaction with excitement. No way to replicate online. So get creative gypsies, break out that crystal ball, it is going to take some real magic to make your event pop!

By the time we are all in the safe zone again, and go back to live shows, they are going to be magnificent. Humans need physical and social interaction, it is a necessity. The electronic visual does not exchange human energy. We need exposure to each other to build the strength to fight off all kinds of invaders, we can abide by the rules, but we also can be responsible for our own health. During our down time, reskill, prepare by getting our own health in order, keep an open mind to all the new, ask questions, and know our industry will thrive again!

Of course, this is all my personal OPINION, but hey it’s my Refreshed, blog.

Image Courtesy of Ivan Radic, Flickr Images

Extend Your Reach… Wait…How?

17 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait...HOW? Tags: , , , , ,

YES HelpSo many shows, so little time and worse yet, only ONE of YOU! Yes, this is a common ailment of Event Managers in every industry. Whether you are working with meetings or large trade shows and conferences, there is still only ONE of you. Extending your resources can mean doing a little research and certainly knowing you can ask for help and pay it forward. Having the type of expertise Tradeshowgypies have is a unique and extensive resource in of itself. Your management, organization, personal and communication skills are only a few of the key elements that can be shared with teammates/partners/vendors/suppliers to get more work done.

Gypsies have been known to barter on occasion and this is how you can extend your resources. You say, but I don’t want more work! No one does, but sharing the load with your internal teams and external resources will help everyone and often produce a better outcome and solution. From experience and observation Event Manager’s take on too much and are let down when they know things could have been done better. Large shows can have so many things going that you need help! If you do not ask, you will not get what you need.

Sales teams and product reps who are regional can be extremely helpful and valuable to reach out to local attendees. Work with your sales team to drum up a message that benefits them in their sales and lead generation. Quality and quantity gets all marks checked in the business model for shows. Cold-call emails from Event Manager’s get trashed or worse alienate potentials as junk mail offenders.  Offer a giveaway at the event for responses to your sales sent email.

Engage your partners or reps to get the show buzz going for each event with a participation nod to them at the event with a stand of their datasheets or a promo item relating to the partnership product/service. Limited to what you can handout? Turn it around and support them when they have an announcement. Find out if your team can add banner ads to their blog for a week or give them something that gives them social media visibility.

If you want to go New Technology, look into renting a BEAM at your show and travel around the show floor with someone from your office or your helpers can get people to your booth with follow-me messages as this is a REAL Person not an Avatar message.  My last show had an attendee from another country who could not make it to his speaking slot and used the Beam to give his presentation. Others showed up on the show floor too! C-Level staff can rotate in and out and be escorted to key customers. That helper may just be a robot! *Steve Ernst – Event Presence is the vendor at SCCC and is Awesome to work with! http://eventpresence.com/

Partners and suppliers are happy to help promote if they have a ready-made message or graphic. In your announcement of participation at the show-event, include a thank you to partners/suppliers who are a part of your product/service. If logo and promotion materials are on a restriction, send a letter of recognition for their support. Those things add up and it never hurts to include a social media shout-out for great service.

Extend your reach and get better results, get those bartering skills honed gypsies!

 

It Takes A Village…Wait…Where?

02 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait...WHERE? Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Village Road-Warriors!

Village Road-Warriors!

The world of shows has taken off! There are more shows than ever, as the streamlining of the “one-size-fits-all” type of show has branched out into many different market segments and technologies with their own events. The changes have set organizations into, ‘It’s Go Time!’ This requires a village of company teams to manage a show schedule effectively.

No matter what area of industry people are working in, from Medical to Wearable Technology products; shows and events have changed and added several new elements to the “just exhibiting at a show”! (Which those words are an understatement, in the word “Just”…way more to it than implied).

Technology has quite a bit to do with how shows and events have changed, because marketing has had a redesign, at least 500 times over in the past 10 years! Technology has driven the need of having many touch points to make an impact. Having immediate posting and video during real-time live events, with the availability to carry information at literally “warp” speed; companies have had to extend their physical reach to accommodate the competitive aspects of technology’s fast-paced immediate access. Watching the competition is just as important, to what is being said, or not said, to get the competitive edge. During shows this is immediate!

Making your mark in shows means an all-out blast of participation to maximize your return-of-investment. This can certainly be a strain on your resources and physical hours in a day!  Especially if your village consists of only you and family members and friends you can talk into helping you as a startup! Sometimes you just need an extra set of hands, someone who can tweet while you speak at an event, someone who can take pictures of your booth with customers in it to post in your tweets, take care of logistics and vendors, numerous how-to’s and do’s. Maybe you can use a little consulting or contracting help, ask TSG!

Extra effort in larger companies to make sure everyone is tweeting, blogging, posting and speaking done with little incentives can help. Generating show buzz and visibility where you are during events can bring in attendees you may miss with an email.

With all of this going on, getting a booth on the show floor brings it all together. This is where your home base is going to payoff. This is where your customers can see and experience your product/service, where you provide your differentiator and your value, where you make that face-to-face contact that you need to make the deal! This is where you can get media to get the in-depth view of what you are doing to get into articles/blogs in your industry with post-show ROI. The sales aspect is where your team takes on the competition and makes the “pitch” for your products/services with real-time information. This is where sales can shine instead of looking for the nearest chair! Energy matters! Put your feet in the attendees’ shoes, ooowiee! So make them want to stop and maybe have a place for them to take a load off for a few minutes, NO CAMPING!

Deciding on what sponsorship options may get the most visibility and attention is a huge decision. Many groups say, “whatever” pick something. This can pay off if you take the time to look at your option and find out if the napkins at the reception are really a big deal or if having a banner hanging from the stairs is the best option. This all depends on the show size and what kind of graphic you use to garner attention.

Tip: Getting the little cocktail napkins with your logo at the reception? Why not add more than your logo on the printing. Like a Notes List with numbers and lines on the napkin. Instead of all of them going in the waste bin, many will walk off with your logo/website and business notes. Add fun pens to the tables (Note: make sure your pens write on your napkin! Do a Test run.)

Hanging Banner – Get more than your Logo on it! Visual learners make up 65% of the population! Create visual graphics that people remember. How many banner signs do your remember? What did they have on them? What would you remember? I know many corporations have certain limitations to meet corporate guidelines, but if you are investing thousands of dollars on a sign, make it something ROI worthy! Get it going on Social Media by making it interesting enough to get pictures taken with or of it, and then it goes viral! Extra ROI with more marketing reach.

I cannot stress enough that it takes a village to make your money off of a show. Gathering leads and cards is not your show value; lead gen is web focused and financially tied to revenue generation. So the village needs to reach out with, pre-during-post promotion! Your organizers have a general view of attendee base, but your group has the direct line to who they want to see and who they want to see them! Send invites – notices – save the dates – meet-ups! Get a giveaway-raffle going, or special gift for people who come in with a code or an invite. Gather the invites that came in and get an automated thank you set up for after the show. Every touch-point counts.

All of the details of events can be overlooked and the results come back that the “show sucked”! Exact words I have heard, and said myself. But in retrospect of course, you get what you put effort into. Granted one person has only so many options, but knowing how to maximize what you have and what the options are can really make a big difference.

So gypsies, you are doing a phenomenal job and your businesses are working hard to keep up with the changes. See you out on the road – be happy, healthy, and remember something’s are out of our control (shipping) and we are the willow…we will bend not break! Watch out for that forklift!

Look out for what is happening here at Tradeshowgypsy (TSG)! The Business…

 

 

Three flavors of shows…Wait…Why?

23 Sep 2014 1 Comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait...WHY? Tags: , , ,

What Ice Cream? This is errr...fat free yogurt with fruit, no there wouldn't be 3 scoops in here!

What Ice Cream? This is errr…fat free yogurt with fruit! No there wouldn’t be 3 flavors – scoops in here!

Oh my goodness gypsies it has been a whirlwind trade show and customer event year. The trending element this year seems to be, “we are having our own event” and we are making it as big a deal as possible.

Flavor #1. Trust me, from a business standpoint I completely understand wanting to have targeted audiences and bring in high-level partners and customers. It makes all the sense in the world to drive the right decision-makers into your “encampment”.  This can get extremely costly and bust the budget in one day! Planning as early as you can, doing the odds and ends with your internal teams, and having a great rapport with your venue can help with costs.

Flavor #2 -The industry vertical shows and events, which may be mid-range in numbers; will attract the worker-bees, design teams,  and those planning teams who will develop products over the coming years.  Here is where you can find out how the current industry/markets  are moving and help shape the industry as a whole.  A critical part to the marketing plan and an industry centric venue to garner the right people who are in the development and deployment roles. It is a fight to that leadership role, and everyone can add LEADER to their signage, but the proof is in the pudding. Who wants to see you, and are they willing to come to a show to see your products/services or your CEO? Costs are generally mid-range and keep in mind leads can be varied from C-level executives all the way through to the engineering implementation staff.  This in no way means from high-to-low; but it gives a large range of levels who participates, so you may be engaging with a wide variety of cross-functional teams who can be the ultimate influencers if they are the ones who will be working with your product/service.

Flavor #3 -The elaborate “we are the world” shows, are those that are inclusive of a full-industry, have great visibility, and are the glitz and bling of your show year. Those feather-in-our cap, type of events that prove to the world, my booth is bigger than yours; my speakers are more fun and louder than yours; and yes, our promo item, well what can I say … (car vs tee shirt)! These events accomplish different things for different groups that memorable interaction with a big player who really did give you their real business card. Mid-level companies can shine too by having that key product launch or partnership announcement.  Start-ups in a small booth under the stairs in the dark,  it is all about networking and meeting the mid-level groups and the big guys too. Getting the picture of where you can go as a new company by gathering industry knowledge (the scoop) PUN!. You can always reference, “ we were by ….mongo humongous booth with King Kong! Yes, I am so glad we had a place to get away from that crazy display and chat.” 😉 Wink! Get them out of there they won’t remember you!

So with all of these versions of tradeshows and events, what is a gypsy to do with a less than full coffer! Those gold coins are not worth what they used to be; and the trading is not as fruitful, as costs have gone up for organizers in significant amounts and they are also in the rungs of cost overwhelm. There are still some things to be had with the barter, but I am afraid it is up to cost-cutting and assuring you send the right people at the right level to each event and invite the customers/press/partners you want to see.

For those individual company events, make sure your attendees are the high-level staff plus-one. The plus-one talks tech at a high-level and can determine if the department can buy or sell with this company. Your high-level staff can play in the sand box and talk corporate initiatives that will establish hierarchy and leadership in the industry through visionary discussions and strategic positioning. Sometimes, you are lucky enough to have one individual who can cover both roles, but if possible send both to cover as much of the targeted network at the event as possible. Save money managing travel costs, if they can fly in and fly out with a minimal stay; or for over night stays incorporate customer visits to extend ROI of the trip. Also, take note if your individual company is planning an event to get feedback on how the attended event was; and include what they liked/didn’t like about the venue. Call ahead and ask for a package noting you will have attendees at …..event, and you are going to get feedback from them for a possible hosted event you may be having.  This might even garner your C-Level staff a little VIP treatment or a discount if there is an overnight stay (A+ for tradeshowgypsy!).

The middle-ground tradeshow or event is the kind of work-horse event; in that your field engineers, sales, marketing, and business development teams should be prepared to participate at every level they can get into if they are in attendance. Speaking (keynote if you can), panelist, sales pitch promotions, show floor demos, time with any press/analysts for product marketing. Get them engaged as much as possible and try to watch the dollars in how many people go. Cut costs on any of the services and shipping with early-bird submissions or ask for multi-show discounts where applicable.  Put your best technical foot forward and make your statements clear enough for a 5th grader to know what you do, so people walking the aisles STOP; and do not bypass because your messaging is unclear or there is too much to read in a quick glance.  Make sure your team is not waiting for people to come into the booth to get them; or they portray that demeanor of importance by standing with their cell phone behind the main counter, and are perceived as unapproachable.

Get the team the materials and information they need to support the show and make sure they are out in the aisles and the corners of the booth to bring people in, “Hello” and a welcoming presence gets them into your booth. Help promote your presence at the show through as many mediums as you generally use for a product launch. You are pitching your external presence in a venue that can accommodate many customers/partners/press and analysts. Get people you want to see there with a special invitation from your company, get as many as you can to RSVP (Bribe with gift)…wait…did I type that? I mean offer them a nice promotional item or a conference pass for coming to see your presentation.

Show organizers have many ways to target attendees, but often they are not as fulfilling as companies would like just because organizers are not out in the trenches selling and in the daily interaction with industry and market directions. They have an industry broad knowledge and interest, not a Tradeshowgypsy specific customer network. Keep your eyes open for ways you can use other department money, such as training or certifications and ask for a multi-attendee discount.

Flavor #3 – The FLASHY show! Now these are a blast generally, and I mean that from the sense that everything is going off at once and they are a lot of work! They can be fun too, but generally as a tradeshowgypsy you are more concerned with that hanging sign, the new and improved lighting system that is flashing in all the wrong places, and carpet padding that will hold-up the staff during the entire show. Your VIPs are running amuck as keynoters and high-level press are there and your immediate bosses are on edge and expecting you to provide them with all the comforts of the office in this little fake city that was set up in 3 days! I am here to tell you, BREATH!  No matter you have what it takes, you are a tradeshowgypsy with magic on your side. You have done all the work to get the people you want to see into your booth because you have sent secret by invitation only cards to those key purchasers prior to the show for their (Pitch and Promo) – and everyone else gets the tee-shirt (cool design of course)! Plus your execs are happy because you secured them a private meeting space that allows them to relax in conversation and have catering that is not show floor pizza and internet access (which in a comparative in cost for the entire show, paid for the external meeting room plus individual meal room service catering or restaurant meal!) How much did you spend on that?

These events generally  have some great workshops or certifications; allowing you to take advantage of the HR training budgets and have extra staff on hand covered under a different coin coffer!

Now that we are ¾ of the way through the show season, just know there are more popping up in December than ever before, don’t be surprised with new invitations as they will go to your C-Level staff who will want to attend! We tradeshowgypsies are a creative, tough, and a tenacious lot; and we will not give up or go over budget! We have our ways!

If you are lost in the quagmire of costs or overtaken with managing the sheer numbers of events/shows – there are a number of resources to help.  Check out social media sights, LinkedIn has some good ones, Exhibit – Display companies, groups in various networks. Talk to your fellow gypsies, and of course ask me. If I don’t know, I will ask my network and find an answer! Where there is a will gypsies, there is certainly a way!

Safe travels and remember to pack for variable weather and set your clocks as some are getting ready to Fall Back!

The Best-of-the-Best! Wait…Who?

14 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait....WHO? Tags: , , , ,

Best-of-the-Best on the Show Circuit!

Best-of-the-Best on the Show Circuit!

Kind of a long post but filled with my Tradeshowgypsy pearls of wisdom!

Well gypsies we are in full-swing Spring show season! Shows have been phenomenal this year thus far. Industries are buzzing with new innovative technologies and products; and have a moving target market segment thing going on. Organizations from the Enterprise groups to Start-ups are engaging with everyone they can get their hands on to determine what the next steps will be and in what market segment. Watch out; here come the magic words! “Research & Development” (R&D). Yes, I said it, the words that have been put on the back burner for so long that everyone thought it was just an obscure part of the stove!

Research and development, future planning with those hit or miss ideas that are worked on behind the scenes and schedule of immediate products. For the first time in a long-time I heard the R&D phrase used by several larger organizations that are now speaking to the fact that teams are now formed, and working on not only the latest in technology but those long-shot ideas that may or may not pan out. Companies are looking to jump into markets no one ever thought they would be in, but investors and growth cycles are screaming for NEW ideas, not just NextGen products.

The NEW-R&D model is also being done through solicitations on social media. I am sure you have seen them on a variety of sites and blogs. Such and such company wants to hear from you, they want to know what you think about a specific issue or in general on certain technologies, projects or future needs. They offer all kinds of things for contributing viable ideas. Data mining online is in fast and frenzy mode, and why? You guessed it, one way it is used, is for R&D planning!

Shows are now adding a bit of extension to this by hosting Hackathons and Hands-On Labs to display working products or developed solutions generating that right on the show floor solutions excitement. The value-add is huge when you can display a great application of working product or solution and have qualified staff to answer questions! Shows are the perfect venue to get a demo out to larger groups and provide answers by qualified customer service staff. Get your participation off to the press to garner even more promotion. Some products/services do not lend themselves to this type of display, but a video trailer of working product and an appointment calendar do great! Check out your Hackathon teams to find the bright stars to bring into your company.

Though I am an occasional card reader/clairvoyant; ok most of the time they are business cards and “oh man here they come, I&D with that – your freight is lost look”!  I do know one thing for certain, people want to work and are creators at heart, and nothing can stop that from happening. Where there is a will there is a way, and in most cases, several ways; and by encouraging the best-of-the-best of those hardworking internal staff to contribute their ideas and reward them for them, is innovative and keeps the best staff working for your organization long-term and the wheels turning for growth. Companies know this; they just get caught up in the tangles of projected quarterly revenue and forget that taking the next step/next gen is only one way to keep moving forward. Taking the brainstorm sessions seriously with a variety of options is the way to go beyond having just the next step into discovering new directions and spinning up with continued growth momentum. Shows often are huge brainstorming sessions if you listen closely!

On the gypsy side attending/hosting/managing/working shows; getting to see and hear about all of this is exciting! Thus validating our tradeshowgypsy contribution to the world! Assisting companies to get the word out, and find the right people, products, services and customers to drive this creativity, and really put it into practice or on the shelves. The show floor is not only a great medium to “market” but to learn, so here are the other ways the best-of-the-best can bring more value to their organizations through shows.

Sales and Business Development staff, who really pay attention and make a show more than just sore feet and the “same old thing” can bring in new dollars and growth information. Often sales and BD go to a show because they are sent, or feel they “have” to go because it is within their territory. They attend with no real incentive to add any extra effort to just being there as a body in the booth. Unless, they are some of the few who know the secret to really taking advantage of the magic that occurs on a show floor!

Companies rarely train staff in this area, and feel it should be intuitive, or a part of the J.O.B. Errr…guess what? You are wasting your money sending people to shows who don’t want to be there; who would rather talk about the internal company issues to their co-workers than to engage with the customers walking by their booth; who complain they could be more effective making calls or back in the office; and often rely on a few leads from people they already know. Big surprise here, staff who think this way are probably right, they have set their expectations and their level of effort so the results are what they expect.

However, best-of-the-best staff who know how to work shows, know the more people they talk with, the more NEW business they can generate! The diamond leads at a show are often in camouflage of a general badge – yes they do that! When you engage with them and give them your full attention, they will fess up and pass on a real card with genuine contact information.

Encouraging sales teams with rewards to get a sale off the show floor; or see who gets the highest number of quality leads; or certain product leads; any of these ideas can be a great way to spark that competitive spirit and generate some excitement in your booth. Sounds silly or non-professional? Watch two sales staff go after a game (darts, checkers, cards, video anything, doesn’t matter) they are a competitive lot! This is a skill! Encourage it and incentivize with a reward and watch your shows become much more effective. This will help keep sales staff from just showing up for booth duty like a death sentence! This also generates what I call “Booth Buzz” that feeling of enthusiasm when you walk up to the booth and you know the people there are not only welcoming but happy you walked in and are ready to find out what you do and tell you what they do! This creates a viral effect, people congregate where they see more people, just a natural state of human tradeshow behavior “show sheepness” (yes I know, not a real word, but you know what I mean!)…it just happens.

The people who represent your company at the shows should be your best – the kind of people who can form a TAG-TEAM and go after everyone who walks past the booth, having people who are technical in nature, who are sales and know a real-customer, who are qualified to talk to analysts/investors/press; who can work with and respond to the general requests and marketing inquiries. Sending BD or product marketing to the talks and listen closely to the opposing perspectives, take notes, talk to speakers, and take into consideration what is going on internally for your organization. This may require show staff to take turns because it can be grueling, especially if the speakers are bad.

The key is to gather as much information as the show has to offer. This can be 2 people; they just have to want to be there and do a little due diligence and be ready to switch off to make the most out of the show. Not saying it is easy but it certainly is easier when staff know why they are there and want to be there.

A RED FLAG issue – SEND SPEAKERS WHO ARE DYNAMIC – if the speaker is your boss and they are let’s just say a little on the lessor side of dynamic – help them out! Send them YouTube videos of competitors who might be good speakers and let them know they will be there; or find a motivational speaker encouraging good speaking habits. If you feel weird about doing that and think they may be offended. Send them a video of a Customer who might be there who may have a video giving a talk (hopefully a good one) and let them see the energy of the person in action. All of this can be found on the web either on YouTube or often on Company sites! Let your high-level speakers know who their peers will be on the stage so they are prepared and ask organizers for stats on attendance for speakers so there are comparable numbers you can provide.

Video their presentation too, so they have something to work with the next time! This is just a good way of planting the seeds to get a little enthusiasm going before their presentation and gives them a little background for the show and the presentation. This can become a standard practice of doing a little extra for them so they have something to generate interest and energy for their presentation. This also helps keep them from having to watch the hall clear when it is their turn to speak as they pull out their 30 slides of 20 bullet points each! Also keeps your gypsy head intact!

Pull the team together at the end of the show (get away days are notorious for everyone bailing before the end of the show, if this is the case do it the night before), preferably in a group as you get a lot more feedback than through an after the show meeting as people rarely take notes and will provide minimal information. This feedback is crucial to making the decision to not only invest and return to that particular event, but to check into new possibilities of product development, pricing, promotion, product release planning; you name it, the information is valuable if it doesn’t just go by the way side or in a folder called; yes we attended this show; or, this show sucked!

Don’t let staff skate by on generalities, find out why, if they say we didn’t see new customers; find out what they did to invite people they wanted to see; or if they scheduled a side meeting. Who did they meet at the show that they didn’t know prior? Could anyone they may have met be a partner/supplier? What are attendees doing in their businesses and could it be a new area we should be looking into? Some of this can be programmed into lead machines but rarely do teams take the time to get real details entered? Let staff know this is going to happen and to keep track of who and what was said. Get the goods before you leave the show; this also helps generate ROI for the event and value for the company.

The key to making this all work is to spread the lessons-learned throughout the organization; generate a show report and bring it up for group discussion and real consideration with all levels in all departments. Often organizations just want the numbers of leads to go into the funnel of lead generation after a show – there is more value to a show, you just have to do the work to make it viable and not rely solely on the leads. Shows are costly and having real participation and engagement with all the best company resources is the way to make those dollars work for the company. Get the staff inspired and send people who enjoy working the shows creating a win-win for everyone. Then spread the word, often there are many value driven connections that occur and really do tie back to a financial conversion through a conversation at a show.

Well gypsies, back home to the wagon circle to regroup and sort through my own notes, leads, and do laundry! But get ready this is not only spring show season but spring break for traveling families and college students! Lots more folks in airports and hotels, give yourself the gifts of leaving early, a little bit more patience, and maybe some noise cancelling headphones!  Travel safely gypsies!

Monkey Innovators! Wait…What?

15 Jan 2014 1 Comment

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait....WHAT? Tags: , , ,

Get ready to get your Innovation On!

Get ready to get your Innovation On!

Are we running or flying in 2014! The afterglow of the holidays did not even get a chance to occur before I was flying to the first show of the season. I hit a smaller show which was as well attended as ever even with all the weather delays and cancellations. Next on to the big decider for the year!

Yes attending CES for 7 years in a row has proven my theory! Tradeshowgypsies are great watchers and purveyors of the show scene and energy, even with the said, 150,000 in attendance. All the hustle and bustle and booth antics come to a stop when that eagle eye of tradeshowgypsy takes over, to not only see what is going on but feel the energy! Yup, it was buzzing at a high-frequency and in vivid HD-3D-with voice commands! WOW! What a great start to the year!

What does this mean? It means hold on to your magic bag gypsies it is going to be a wild year of “innovation” new 2014 buzz word! There are so many great start-ups who have grown and are now in the running with everything they can get their hands on to either be a part of or support the large food chain of electronics. Granted this is one show and it has an international appeal and maybe your market is not quite there. It doesn’t matter, the fact is that once innovation hits, it is like wild-fire, everyone gets inspired and the energy changes and companies who have had R&D back in the depths of your trade show equipment closet, are now asking you to move your stuff, they need the space to “innovate” or get left behind.

If you get into the 100th Monkey Effect; which some say is a false set of data, etc. etc., and can be found on Wikipedia (such a valuable resource of somewhat correct information) with several people cited as saying, yes or no if you have not heard the theory. Basically the gist of it is, one day said monkey washes his sweet potato and after a time monkeys on an island start washing their sweet potato too. How does this happen? I think that when innovation and inspiration spark it lights more than one candle! But as a gypsy, what can I say, I am with the Monkeys! As an observant tradeshowgypsy, watching one company design a (whatseewhoozit); and traveling to Europe to see a similar (whatseewhatsit) sitting on a counter of a start-up; well could be copying, could be the nature of the product and the industry next step; could be anything, but no matter what that innovation is moving!

That is how my year began! This week is still moving at warp speed – this time it is me who is in the innovators position!

I wish you health, happiness, luck, and a GREAT, GREAT, GREAT trade show and event year!

(Image used in this post is from http://www.hundredthmonkey.org/)

2013 Is Really the New 2014!…Wait…what?

22 Nov 2013 4 Comments

by tradeshowgypsy in Wait....WHAT? Tags: , , , , , ,

Are You Kidding ME!

Are You Kidding ME!

The show season is not winding down contrary to popular perception. More events are moving into the November/December timeframe as it seems there is a surge in “let’s get ahead” mentality. As the holidays all get shifted earlier and earlier and overlapping all over the place, the same thing has happened with tradeshows!

Organizers have figured out that hosting events November/December are no longer for that particular year – they are giving their sponsors and exhibitors the jump on the next year! Exhibitors and sponsors alike are using that platform to promote the next year’s “available soon” products; or announcing the new product taking orders NOW! The end of Q4 which tended to be the lagging month for some has now become the Q1 intro to business revenue! Garnering clients who they can get to before the first of the year!

Your booth is hanging on by its last bit of floral wire and duct tape and now you have to make it look new with little to no budget left; and make the best out of products that have been packed and repacked 20 times over and handled like unpacked toys on the toy aisle! Now we have to make things look like we are progressing to the next year with a fresh look!

Yup, can’t get engineering to give you one more thing, budgets are on lock down, and you will be using whatever you have left even if chewing gum and super glue are in the mix!

Well, here is one little idea that might help get you through this year with the shift already taking place – generate show buzz! Take a little note from all the movies that are promoted – send out short snippets through social media channels to get those teasers out there for Q1 products. Get your most dynamic speakers on that platform whether it be in actual speaking sponsorships or in your booth with scheduled meet the expert time invitations! PR needs to step it up here and get those press appointments on the show floor! Lead generation can be significant if you are targeted with your invites and promotions. Your ROI will be much more direct with this kind of promotion than if you leave it to the organizer to draw in target clients who you would like to see in the coming year.

With all of this shifting around of product promotion/placement/pricing – many will say, “yeah this has been around for years”. Well, not in every industry and market segment and certainly not as aggressively as it is right now in 2013, check out the show line-up for the end of the year in whatever industry you are in and you will find many more events in those last 2 months than ever before. 2014 is definitely already aligning with even more fever; just ask any organizer working to get a venue!

How to work with this little nuance “wrench in the ringer”? Well gypsies here we go, AGAIN! Need a new potion for this one. So we will throw in a little “new” into the mix to kindle the fires for next year until we can rearrange the graphics, budgets, new booth, marketing campaigns and that little thing we call a marketing plan! Sit down with your management, sales, BD, engineering, and marketing teams and get the word out the tides have turned and let them know that you need something to feed the restless early adopters as the holidays are not the only dates that are jumping way ahead to gather business early!

Oh, and keep track of how you make your miracle because end-of-year reviews will want to know how you made the company money! By saving them money of course!

You can do it gypsies – you are the magic-makers of the company!

Giving It All You’ve Got! Wait….How?

24 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

One month – 15 shows
4 people Instead of 2
… We Got This!

Well Gypsies it has been awhile since I have posted my pearls of … trade show cents! This has been a very busy show season with many new shows that have come up. An interesting trend is taking place in that many larger companies have developed new industry supporting organizations that are now hosting their own meetings/events. This is in competition to the already established larger events and it seems everyone is converging in various parts of the country at the same time on the same topic.

However, the interesting and great thing about this is that the audience groups are different in many cases because there are different levels of staff going/participating in events and a whole host of partners who are coming that may not have been able to attend the larger events due to cost. The leads can be much more focused and the quality vs. quantity is taking place.

This new trend is creating a new challenge for groups, with recourse allocation. After pondering this, I have decided that there are a few ways to manage this effort, as I am hearing this so often on the show circuits; “We just don’t have enough physical resources to cover a show”. Well, here are a couple of ideas that might help in extending your reach wherever you may need to be globally. Come in as a non-exhibiting sponsor to set your brand and let the industry and major customers know you are involved, if you can get a speaker for a session if you don’t have anyone to speak, get your BRAND out there and get a link posted on the show site to a video of your product/services/company. Get your show organizers to publish your press releases and do one specifically for each show. Keep the ball rolling until show time by doing a virtual giveaway for attendees of the session. With social media being the name of the game, do your giveaway through Twitter or Facebook.

Would you really like to have a presence on the show floor so that you can also display your solution/service/product or just keep your competitor from talking you down! Hire help, there are enough contractors out there (speaking from personal experience – tradeshow gypsy for hire!), that work in these industries and are well-versed in technology or any industry service who can staff a booth for you, even if it is to run a “short video of your CEO talking the talk, Engineering Wizard talking tech, or latest in Visual Eye candy of your product line/industry (you know the fun stuff – fashion, real candy, travel, health, fitness…the list goes on and on!)” and take real leads and these people know enough about the industry to be able to get the leads to you in time to follow-up as a show specific hot lead. Don’t miss out just because your arms don’t reach and you don’t want to hire models or gimmicky presenters.

Take a look around at all the consultants or people out of work in your industry. These people want to work, and if there is a show for a week they can cover you can definitely generate an ROI with an industry experienced individual that knows how to speak the language and be responsible enough to work a booth. Worried you won’t get your monies worth? How many contractors would take the gig to mess up a possible long-term opportunity or recommendation from you? They are going to give you their best! How about adding in a hiring event! Show organizers love when companies are hiring and having this in your booth has so many benefits and you can possibly share internal costs between divisions!

What about booth costs and setup – get a small booth that your contractor can setup a few banner bugs a table some pens and a monitor (most expensive part) and voila booth; don’t feel like you have to shoot-the-moon or don’t show up.

These days being there is key and making sure your staff is not all gathered like cattle talking amongst themselves and saying how bad the show was! Get the staff that go out into the aisle and stand in front of your product and bring up your speaker. You know the, “Hi, how are you doing? What do you do? Let me show you what we do” the sales conversation starters. If you can supply a technical person that is helpful of course, but if you don’t have the resources, get a good contractor and your territory sales person to commit at least a few hours. You will get your speaker some traction (or be able to get on the speaker list for next year by supporting this year), your brand leveraged, sales leads and get a good feel for the show. This will help determine this is a great vertical for us, or a genuine lead grabber, or it could be an industry innovation venue where the industry really comes together and ideas are shared and new products are developed.

Don’t miss out just because you don’t have the direct hires for your company.
Let’s face it everyone is trying to sell to everyone in one capacity or another when you are on the show floor. Be helpful to everyone, you never know who talks to who and the whirlwind of company buyouts and staff changes and media/analyst chats! Make the show what you want it to be; get people engaged and excited about your participation with or at this event!

If you hire contract staff make sure you give them a prep talk even if it is through online briefing of the what and what not too’s – and send them plenty of business cards and materials. Make sure they have what they need to put your best information forward.

Well onward gypsies, fall show season is in full-swing! Pack an extra sweater and short sleeve seems the weather is a bit fickle this time of year; and of course your magic, and a pumpkin (bread) just in case the plane is delayed!

Image by tradeshowgypsy

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