Business, Events, Non-Profit, Trade Show
Event planning in general is not easy, our goal is to make everyone enjoy the event if not feel genuinely happy – and you can never make everyone happy. It is a constant dichotomy that is at play. So how do you manage everyone’s competing wishes?
I set people and their wishes into different tiers and use that as my hierarchy of event needs.
Tier One: The Client
The person who is hiring me is the person that I listen to the most. If I have been hired by an organization or committee, I have them appoint a point of contact and decision maker. I did an event recently where the CEO wanted to make some changes at the event (think 15 minutes before we started to serve food), and I still turned to my point of contact to approve those changes. I am happy to shift things on the fly and a good event planner can make miracles happen but I do not take direction from just anyone.
Tier Two: People with Major Allergies, Medical Accommodations, or Religious Restrictions
I always bring up food allergies and ask if anyone will need any special accommodations. I want to make every one who is attending feel welcome and to enjoy the event. Vegetarian options are easy but knowing about major food allergies and conveying that to the caterer is crucial. Also, do you need a sign language interpreter? Do we need to make sure that we have wheel chair accessible spaces? Do we have people who cannot eat certain food due to their religion? I want the host to tell me about their guests and how we can make sure they all enjoy the event. Learn to avoid Event Food Pitfalls here.
Tier Three: The VIP’s
Events often come with a VIP Tier and these people pay extra to be treated well. I am not changing the menu for them or having the caterer make special food, but I will bring out extra bread and ensure that they receive a higher level or service.
Tier Four: Everyone Else
The guests at the event are there to enjoy, but we cannot please everyone. If you are serving soda, people will complain about the type. The key is apologizing for the inconvenience and then offering alternatives. You also get very good at seeing who just wants to complain, who is trying to flirt with the servers, and who has a genuine concern.
Their tier system allows you to know when to make major changes and when to just move on. Knowing who your main client and stakeholders are is the key.
Remember that not even an ice cream shop can make everyone happy – some people don’t like ice cream, others will want a flavor that isn’t offered, and others will be angry about where the milk came from.
Your job when planning an event is to make the client happy and as many of the guests as possible.
Business, Events, Trade Show
A trade show is not done until everything is packed up and you are on your way home. If it is a multi day show, your job and marketing lasts long after the trade show floor hours. The hours after the trade show floor closes are precious and you need to use them. Here are the ways you can.
Breakfast Meetings
Grabbing a cup or coffee with a prospect or customers is an underused opportunity. 30 minutes can help to close a deal, understand pain points, or clear up a misunderstanding.
People often drop their guard more during a breakfast also. Breakfast is often a personal or family time so people are more relaxed. You need to use this time to your advantage.
Group Outings/ Activities
If you have a smaller budget, skip the expensive dinners and unlimited bar tabs. Consider taking a mixed group of prospects and customers to go carts, on an exclusive tour, or any other activities.
You will stand out from the crowd, mingle more than a sit down dinner, and save money. To learn more about help planning out of town events read here.
After Hours Party
If you have the budget and the team to work it. After hours parties for clients and prospects can have a great ROI. You keep people away from your competitors and your sales people can get to know your guests in a less formal environment.
Limiting the type and level of liquor can help keep you on budget. Offer signature cocktails to give the event a more branded feel.
Hang Out at the Bar
Those chance meetings while relaxing after the show in the bar can turn into great conversations and opportunities.
For the money you are spending at trade shows, you need to take advantage of every opportunity to talk to your customers and prospects.
Business, Events, Trade Show
Once your booth is packed up and you are safely back home from a trade show, it feels like a huge relief. But you are not done yet. Take a deep breath, get a good nights rest, and then finish off the trade show. Here is the after show checklist that I go through.
1. Unpack Trade Show Boxes and Restock
It is important to unpack between shows when possible. You can check your supplies, remove any trash, and restock as needed. I learned this the hard way. I didn’t unpack between shows and sent lead cards to another show – lead cards we needed to do give aways.
Also like to count the zip ties, pens, etc. to make sure that I have enough for the next show. See what you should keep in your trade show box here.
2. Follow Up with Leads
Following up with the people you spoke with is one of the most important steps you can take for a trade show. Send an email to the basic leads, call those that were hot. You can read about following up here.
3. Check Your Invoices
Trade shows are large operations and mistakes can happen. Double check your final invoices for any errors. Most show management and operators are more than happy to correct any issues that you bring to their attention if you do so respectfully.
Always check any hours that you have to pay for services and installs. This is where the biggest issues can happen – especially around over time and gold time.
4. Do a Wrap Up Meeting
Bring together the people from your company that were at the show. Talk about what went well, what could have gone better, and any ideas that can be used for the next show. Use the trade show survey.
Trade Shows are not done when you walk off the floor with your packed boxes. You need to complete the four steps above to make sure you get the greatest return on your investment.
Business, Events, Trade Show
Trade shows are about how many peoples you can see if a very short amount of time. You have 4 – 8 seconds for your booth design to grab people attention and make them stop to speak with you. So how do you bring people to your booth?
Traffic Starts Before the Show
Bringing traffic to your booth starts with your pre-show marketing. Emails, social media, and direct mailers are all great ways to drive up interest.
A great way that a company did this was that they sent everyone a dollar and if you brought that dollar by their booth to match it with the serial number, you then got $100. Another time, I was sent a chemical test strip, if it turned a certain color you won a prize and were entered into the grand prize.
For the larger shows, work on finding your target market. You can set up appointments ahead of time, or offer a giveaway that will draw in that target market.
Traffic In Your Booth
First thing to do in your booth is smile and look at the passing crowd. Do not spend money on your booth and then sit behind a table and look at your phone or laptop. I ban phones and any computers not being used for demos in my booths. I also remove chairs. You can read about that here.
One of my favorite designs is a business that could do small batch runs for bottling and they put up a big banner in their booth that stated the exact run size they could do. This was a huge show, after they left, they had contracts to run for the next two months with leads that would book them out of the year. They had their larger competitors sending people to them and they sent larger orders to their competitors – ensuring the customer received the service that they needed.
Tying your booth design, major offerings, and marketing together, will bring people to your booth.
People are here to engage, so you need to show your willingness to be engaged.
The second part of engaging is knowing when someone is not a good fit for your company and how to move them on so you can talk to those who are a good fit. This needs to be done with tact and each person will require different approaches. Practice makes perfect with this.
You cannot speak with everyone at a trade show – and you don’t want to. Bring the right people to your booth and drive the ROI of your trade shows through the roof.
Business, Trade Show
Trade show set up is stressful enough without running into the show floor authorities. It can be surprisingly easy to run afoul of the “floor cops” if you don’t know the rules. So here are the three main rules you need to watch out for.
1. Tool Usage
Some facilities do not allow you to use tools to set up your booth. Now tools can mean power tools or it can mean anything more than an allen wrench. When you are designing your booth, make sure you read your show rules to know what you can use to build your booth.
2. Load In Requirements
You can run up against facilities that will only allow you to hand carry items onto the show floor. Others say that you can use a hand cart one time. If you are going to need to haul items in, make sure you know what the rules are and if you need to ship items to the facility or to pay for them to haul items onto the show floor.
If you do have to ship, understand that you will pay to have it shipped to the facility, for storage, and then for them to move it from storage to your booth. You will also pay for them to store your boxes/ crates and then for them to move the boxes back to your booth, back to storage and to ship them again. Make sure you have these costs budgeted into your booth.
3. Set Up Hours
Some shows require that you are set up before a certain time, they do not want to open the show floor and have you scrambling to set up when attendees are arriving. They can even bar you from set up if you are not set up at the right hours.
This biggest thing you need to know is to read the rules.
Yes, they are often 5 – 10 pages long, but read them and know what you can and cannot do. If you run up against something you do not understand or if something isn’t in the rules but you feel like it is a gray area, ask show management before planning on it.
Business, Trade Show
What will 2022 bring for trade shows?
Honestly, that is up in the air and changes constantly. With mandates changing on a daily basis, new variants of the sickness that shall not be named, and budgets still being tight, the predictions are all over the place.
Here are a few of the major things that I do predict.
Businesses will be much more intentional about their trade show spend.
Unfortunately, this may mean fewer vendors and sponsors at the local and regional shows. That does leave the door open for the local companies, or the companies that have the budget to attend the national shows and the regional ones to grab a larger market share.
It will also mean more targeted messages and after events. Many companies are limiting the people who will attend the shows as well. I would always be ready to go to a hybrid or totally virtual event until the end of 2022.
It can not be just about the trade show floor
You need to be exhibiting, speaking, and setting up client and prospect meetings while at trade shows. You also need to use social media and your website to extend the life and reach of your booth.
Follow up will become more important than ever with smaller numbers of vendors being able to target and personalize messages to their ideal client.
A table cloth and pop up banner probably won’t cut it.
As technology advances and it becomes harder to gain peoples attention, booth design must evolve as well. Interactive booths, augmented reality, and immersive experiences – even in a 10 x 10 will become the norm.
Be flexible
Anyone that tells you that they know 2022 will turn out like x is crazy. The world we live in is very fast paced and can change in the course of two days. Be flexible as you go about planning your 2022 trade shows, know when to roll with the punches and when to pull the plug.
What are your plans and goals for the 2022 trade show season? I am excited to hear about your plans.
