If you are hosting an event, WHERE can be influenced by the location of your guests, the location of your business or both. If you are hosting at your business premises, problem solved however if you will need to source a hired space you’ll need to consider the location of your guests and where they’ll be travelling from as well as the type of space you need to execute your event appropriately. Because you already thought through the WHY, WHO, WHEN and WHAT, possible locations and a list of appropriate venue types will probably be manageable. You may have a venue in mind, or may need to start a search. There are many venue finding services available if this something you prefer to outsource and likewise, if you are outsourcing the management of the event to a third party, they too will be able to help with venue finding. When sourcing venues consider not just the space but what’s included in the hire. Many venues provide furniture, AV, catering, staging etc and others don’t. If you are hosting an event yourself and for the very first time, it could be easier to find a venue which can cater for the majority of your needs internally rather than you having to source a different supplier for each service required. It’ll save you time if nothing else. The HOW question is so important. |
 | For participants the preparation task list is much more involved but probably the best investment of time you’ll make: Decide how to present yourself / your products / your company. If exhibiting at an exhibition, nothing is more off putting to an existing or prospective customer than a poorly presented, shoddy looking stand. Stand dressing doesn’t have to be expensive, be consistent with colours, be clear with messaging and present product well. Make sure there is space for boxes / stock out of sight and wear a smile from the moment the event opens until the moment it closes. |
Brainstorm every possible question a customer could ask you – pricing / lead times / packaging options / payment terms / shelf life / sale or return / guarantees etc etc... all of these questions need to be addressed and rehearsed before you present yourself and your products to the market.
Plan and execute pre event marketing – the open days of the event are the culmination of everything that comes before them. In an exhibition situation, your business could be one of hundreds of exhibitors. It’s your responsibility to SHOUT about the fact that you’re there. Draw attention to your new products. Invite relevant people from your network. Use social media platforms to reach out to existing and new customers. Advertise in industry magazines / online platforms. Ensure your website is up to date – don't forget those attending will be busy doing their research at this time too!
Event organisers have marketing and PR teams working on pre-show promotion to generate the visiting audience. They’re messaging includes exhibitor news, new products, seminar speakers, trends and more. Make sure you share as much as possible with the organisers marketing and PR teams. Most shows have a press office displaying exhibitor press packs for visiting journalists and many magazines will feature event previews too which is a great opportunity to generate some pre show coverage.
Take full advantage of all printed and digital promotional platforms provided as part of the cost to participate – event catalogue / listing on the event website / social media mentions / signage and planners.
Set up an appointment schedule and prepare for the pre-arranged meetings – you’ll be busy at the event, even just engaging with those passing by so don’t leave anything to the last minute – prep and no thinking on the hoof is needed.
Allocate sufficient resource – Whether you’re a one man band or a big company, working an event is hard work and a long day. Arrange some cover for breaks and for coping with multiple stand visitors at any one time / while meeting with clients and prospects. There are some really good agencies who specialise in providing event staff. It might add an extra couple of hundred pounds to the cost of participation but could be worth every penny because when the big potential customer comes by, someone will be able to speak with them.
Think through how you’ll capture data from and follow up with the people you meet – organisers generally offer a device you can hire but if you prefer to develop your own system, make sure it works and makes sense so you can record details and follow up swiftly and appropriately.
Plan and execute pre event marketing – the open days of the event are the culmination of everything that comes before them. In an exhibition situation, your business could be one of hundreds of exhibitors. It’s your responsibility to SHOUT about the fact that you’re there. Draw attention to your new products. Invite relevant people from your network. Use social media platforms to reach out to existing and new customers. Advertise in industry magazines / online platforms. Ensure your website is up to date – don't forget those attending will be busy doing their research at this time too!
Event organisers have marketing and PR teams working on pre-show promotion to generate the visiting audience. They’re messaging includes exhibitor news, new products, seminar speakers, trends and more. Make sure you share as much as possible with the organisers marketing and PR teams. Most shows have a press office displaying exhibitor press packs for visiting journalists and many magazines will feature event previews too which is a great opportunity to generate some pre show coverage.
Take full advantage of all printed and digital promotional platforms provided as part of the cost to participate – event catalogue / listing on the event website / social media mentions / signage and planners.
Set up an appointment schedule and prepare for the pre-arranged meetings – you’ll be busy at the event, even just engaging with those passing by so don’t leave anything to the last minute – prep and no thinking on the hoof is needed.
Allocate sufficient resource – Whether you’re a one man band or a big company, working an event is hard work and a long day. Arrange some cover for breaks and for coping with multiple stand visitors at any one time / while meeting with clients and prospects. There are some really good agencies who specialise in providing event staff. It might add an extra couple of hundred pounds to the cost of participation but could be worth every penny because when the big potential customer comes by, someone will be able to speak with them.
Think through how you’ll capture data from and follow up with the people you meet – organisers generally offer a device you can hire but if you prefer to develop your own system, make sure it works and makes sense so you can record details and follow up swiftly and appropriately.
The critical message here is never to arrange to participate at an event and simply turn up and expect it to go well. I promise you’ll be disappointed and it’ll be a total waste of time and money. If you’re going to do it, do it properly.
HOW for hosting...
My top 3 tips are, be organised, remember your objectives and be creative.
The 'doing' part of hosting your own event is great fun and super rewarding. You'll be juggling lots of balls and keeping them all in the air is going to be a challenge.
Categorising all of the necessary tasks into pre-event, during the event and post-event will help you focus on the priorities. When you have decided on a venue and you know what's included, you'll also have a list of suppliers / services to source. Create a master plan and figure out when everything needs to be actioned so that it all comes together on the day - lead times differ and as you make calls and secure suppliers, you'll end up with a schedule of tasks and deadlines. You'll also need to create a schedule for any associated marketing which can be included in the master plan or in a plan of it's own. And, don't forget the budget you set - keep a record of every penny spent and review it regularly to ensure you'll be able to deliver the event within your financial constraints. Finally, remember your objectives. Every part of your event delivery should work towards achieving the objectives originally set so check regularly to ensure you haven't lost sight of why you're hosting this event in the first place.
With each and every element of the event, ask yourself HOW for example:
Invitations: How will guests be invited / How will the replies be managed / What information do we need to collect etc
Attendees: How will you know who arrived and who didn't? Will name badges be necessary - if so how will they be produced?
Signage: How will guests know where to go on arrival? What messaging needs to be displayed? How will it be produced?
Entertainment: How will we entertain guests? How will we find the right supplier?
Health & Safety: How will we ensure we are H&S compliant? How will we prepare a risk assessment?
These are just a few examples. Your plan will be specific to your event and much, much longer!
The internet is a huge asset - google your how question and take a peek at what others have done. You don't have to start with a blank sheet of paper and if you are stuck for ideas and can't afford to outsource the management of your event, the internet will be a valuable resource.
If hiring a venue, seek advice from them. You'll need to comply with certain rules imposed by the venue which will direct your decisions to a degree but explain what you need to achieve and ask them what has worked well in the past - ask to attend an upcoming event and take a look at how it works in the space. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
The 'doing' part of hosting your own event is great fun and super rewarding. You'll be juggling lots of balls and keeping them all in the air is going to be a challenge.
Categorising all of the necessary tasks into pre-event, during the event and post-event will help you focus on the priorities. When you have decided on a venue and you know what's included, you'll also have a list of suppliers / services to source. Create a master plan and figure out when everything needs to be actioned so that it all comes together on the day - lead times differ and as you make calls and secure suppliers, you'll end up with a schedule of tasks and deadlines. You'll also need to create a schedule for any associated marketing which can be included in the master plan or in a plan of it's own. And, don't forget the budget you set - keep a record of every penny spent and review it regularly to ensure you'll be able to deliver the event within your financial constraints. Finally, remember your objectives. Every part of your event delivery should work towards achieving the objectives originally set so check regularly to ensure you haven't lost sight of why you're hosting this event in the first place.
With each and every element of the event, ask yourself HOW for example:
Invitations: How will guests be invited / How will the replies be managed / What information do we need to collect etc
Attendees: How will you know who arrived and who didn't? Will name badges be necessary - if so how will they be produced?
Signage: How will guests know where to go on arrival? What messaging needs to be displayed? How will it be produced?
Entertainment: How will we entertain guests? How will we find the right supplier?
Health & Safety: How will we ensure we are H&S compliant? How will we prepare a risk assessment?
These are just a few examples. Your plan will be specific to your event and much, much longer!
The internet is a huge asset - google your how question and take a peek at what others have done. You don't have to start with a blank sheet of paper and if you are stuck for ideas and can't afford to outsource the management of your event, the internet will be a valuable resource.
If hiring a venue, seek advice from them. You'll need to comply with certain rules imposed by the venue which will direct your decisions to a degree but explain what you need to achieve and ask them what has worked well in the past - ask to attend an upcoming event and take a look at how it works in the space. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Events require a significant investment of time and it’s so important to invest that time because this unique opportunity to meet and interact with suppliers, staff, customers and prospects face to face can be incredible for your business.
Even more to think about! This edition was much longer than I wanted it to be so apologies. I hope the advice is valuable and helping you with your planning.
Until next week...
Syreeta
Even more to think about! This edition was much longer than I wanted it to be so apologies. I hope the advice is valuable and helping you with your planning.
Until next week...
Syreeta
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Now you’ve had a chance to think about WHY and WHO, the WHAT question should be quite straight forward. What type of event will best allow you reach your objectives? This stage of the process requires evaluation of the merits of possible event formats and some creativity. Of course, budget will be an important factor too and we’ll come to that but first let’s look at it from a host / participant / attendee perspective.
Hosting an event
 | What you need achieve (WHY) and your guests (WHO) will determine the type of event you host. Is it an informal social gathering, a conference, a series of workshops, an exhibition, a party, an awards ceremony, an installation, an opening? Evaluate which format provides the opportunity to meet most if not all of your objectives, and also consider how well you’d be able to achieve them. As highlighted in the first article, trying to achieve too much may result in an event with no focus, confused messaging, a team run ragged and a poor return on investment. Evaluate against WHY every step of the way and if you’ve been set on an elaborate Black Tie dinner at the Natural History Museum but now realise it’s not going to deliver results or your budget won’t stretch, accept it and park that idea for another time!. Think broadly about the type of event before focussing on the nitty gritty and finer details. The more creative organising side to event planning is lots of fun granted but take it one step at a time. It may also be worth sourcing some event specific help at this stage. As well as approaching an event management company, ask around, see what your colleagues, friends and peers have done in the past and of course, check the internet for some inspiration. |
Participating at an event:
The same rule applies in this scenario. Evaluate your objectives against the events that exist in the market you are trying to reach. Conferences, exhibitions, installations, open days, awards ceremonies all provide opportunities and selecting the right platform to invest in will depend on how well your objectives match what the event organiser will deliver in terms of audience.
You’ll recognise the synergies easily because you have done your homework and already decided WHO it is you need to meet. As mentioned before, data collected by the majority of event organisers is incredibly valuable in ensuring the event is appropriate for YOUR BUSINESS. Organisers will never disclose contact details but should willingly provide a detailed profile of historical event attendees. They may even be able to provide a profile based on those registered to attend the upcoming event. There is certainly no harm in asking.
You’ll recognise the synergies easily because you have done your homework and already decided WHO it is you need to meet. As mentioned before, data collected by the majority of event organisers is incredibly valuable in ensuring the event is appropriate for YOUR BUSINESS. Organisers will never disclose contact details but should willingly provide a detailed profile of historical event attendees. They may even be able to provide a profile based on those registered to attend the upcoming event. There is certainly no harm in asking.
Visiting an event:
Same rules apply here too. Evaluate the potential events in the sector you are targeting against your objectives and WHO and hey presto you’ll soon have a very short list of events to attend. Some may require registering to attend, some may charge an entry fee and some may involve requesting an invitation via a PR agent or industry association. Some events offer one to one appointments, a kind of speed dating for businesses – check out what buyer/supplier facilitating the organisers offer. It’s also worth identifying whether a VIP club exists. Additional benefits may be available to certain buyers including private views, hospitality and appointment setting services.
When? Are you ready for this?
Are you ready for this?
I’ve combined WHAT & WHEN because in the case of participating at or attending an event, the WHEN may very well be determined by the organisers rather than you. If you are preparing to launch a product at a third party event you may need to factor the WHEN into your production timeframes. Likewise, if attending an event is required for the successful delivery of a project, the WHEN needs to be considered ample time ahead of setting deadlines.
If you are hosting an event you may have a little more freedom in choosing WHEN it’ll take place. Your event date could be affected by datelines of other events taking place in the market, seasonal / national / religious holidays, buying cycles, budget cycles, venue availability and even the weather!
I’ve combined WHAT & WHEN because in the case of participating at or attending an event, the WHEN may very well be determined by the organisers rather than you. If you are preparing to launch a product at a third party event you may need to factor the WHEN into your production timeframes. Likewise, if attending an event is required for the successful delivery of a project, the WHEN needs to be considered ample time ahead of setting deadlines.
If you are hosting an event you may have a little more freedom in choosing WHEN it’ll take place. Your event date could be affected by datelines of other events taking place in the market, seasonal / national / religious holidays, buying cycles, budget cycles, venue availability and even the weather!
So, on to budgets....
| We’ll talk in more detail about the budget process in the HOW blog however it makes sense to get a feel for what’s going to be realistically possible within your financial constraints. If your budget is tight, you’ll need time to shop around and, even if money is no object, I recommend establishing a budget for your event. Not only will this allow you to use the finances as a measure of success, you’ll also have a benchmark for future events AND it’ll avoid unnecessary waste. Small budgets may require some creative thinking where hosting is concerned but never underestimate what can be achieved even on a shoestring. Some costs to consider when hosting are shown in the graphic. |  |
When participating at an event, the cost to be present is more often than not the tip of the iceberg. Other costs to account for include;
Visiting an event if on home soil will impact the budget the least and if you’ve done the research, you are likely to make exceptional use of the time away from the office! Still, be aware of the costs associated with attending the event including:
That’s all for now, I hope this blog post has been useful. I’d be happy to answer specific questions so please do post below or call / email me directly.
Happy Planning!
Syreeta
- Stand build / Power / WIFI / Dressing if exhibiting
- Marketing material for the event
- Pre event marketing and PR
- Accommodation / travel / expenses
- Insurance
- Product to display / samples
- Data collection devices
- Resource for the event itself and afterwards for follow up
- Entertaining
Visiting an event if on home soil will impact the budget the least and if you’ve done the research, you are likely to make exceptional use of the time away from the office! Still, be aware of the costs associated with attending the event including:
- Travel expenses
- Accommodation
- Entry fee
That’s all for now, I hope this blog post has been useful. I’d be happy to answer specific questions so please do post below or call / email me directly.
Happy Planning!
Syreeta
Welcome back! I hope last weeks’ blog gave you plenty to think about and enabled you to make a productive start with your event planning process.
Now you have decided why you’re engaging with an event, this time, we are focussing on WHO.
Who the event is for is very important and being absolutely clear about the WHO will enable you to answer many of the questions that follow including When, Where, What and How.
An event, be it a product launch, private view, party, festival or international trade show is all about getting people together, being in the same room and networking, discovery, having conversations and connecting.
I expect your answer to Why you are engaging with an event involved who you'd engage with – stakeholders, staff, clients, prospects, media, supporters, investors...the list goes on. If you are struggling when it comes to who – make sure you understand WHY and it’ll make this part of the process easier.
We’ll look at this question from your perspective of host, participant or attendee;
Now you have decided why you’re engaging with an event, this time, we are focussing on WHO.
Who the event is for is very important and being absolutely clear about the WHO will enable you to answer many of the questions that follow including When, Where, What and How.
An event, be it a product launch, private view, party, festival or international trade show is all about getting people together, being in the same room and networking, discovery, having conversations and connecting.
I expect your answer to Why you are engaging with an event involved who you'd engage with – stakeholders, staff, clients, prospects, media, supporters, investors...the list goes on. If you are struggling when it comes to who – make sure you understand WHY and it’ll make this part of the process easier.
We’ll look at this question from your perspective of host, participant or attendee;
 | I expect your answer to Why you are engaging with an event involved who you'd engage with – stakeholders, staff, clients, prospects, media, supporters, investors...the list goes on. If you are struggling when it comes to who – make sure you understand WHY and it’ll make this part of the process easier. We’ll look at this question from your perspective of host, participant or attendee; |
If you are hosting an event – who will you invite?
For example; You want to launch a new product. You have an established client base as well as many stakeholders and a list of potential clients appropriate to the new product so it’s decision time… Will you invite them all? Are they all relevant? How about your internal staff including sales agents potentially located elsewhere – will they benefit from attending too? Who from the media / influencer community should be added to the guest list? What kind of numbers are you looking at and what kind of conversion from invited guest to attendee would you anticipate?
How will each group of guests benefit from attending the event you are hosting? Thinking about this against WHY you are doing it in the first place will ensure your guests are on the list for good reason and that your investment is worthwhile.
How will each group of guests benefit from attending the event you are hosting? Thinking about this against WHY you are doing it in the first place will ensure your guests are on the list for good reason and that your investment is worthwhile.
If you are considering participating at an event - who do you expect / want to meet?
For example; You want to raise awareness of your brand in your core market sector. Research the attendee profile of the events in the sector – in basic terms who attends? Is there a good mix of existing and potential new clients? Does the profile match your requirements?
Where possible, identify the visitor product interest and main reason for the attendee visiting the event. Organisers will have this information and should be willing to share it. Is the visitor interest aligned with your offering / reason for participating?
Does the event provide opportunities to meet representatives from companies you’d otherwise struggle to connect with? And coming back to the WHY – in this case raising awareness, in addition to customers, who from the media will be there, who is contributing to the content programme? Are potential influencers, partners and industry bodies signed up? Are your competitors participating? If not, why not – is that an opportunity or a red flag?
It may take some time but do your research and take the time to compare events against eachother. Score them, rank them, draft a list of pro’s and cons. This information will help you to decide which event(s) are best to invest in and most likely to help you achieve your objectives.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Event organisers capture a wealth of information about their attendees – ask for as much detail as possible in order to enable you to make an informed decision.
Where possible, identify the visitor product interest and main reason for the attendee visiting the event. Organisers will have this information and should be willing to share it. Is the visitor interest aligned with your offering / reason for participating?
Does the event provide opportunities to meet representatives from companies you’d otherwise struggle to connect with? And coming back to the WHY – in this case raising awareness, in addition to customers, who from the media will be there, who is contributing to the content programme? Are potential influencers, partners and industry bodies signed up? Are your competitors participating? If not, why not – is that an opportunity or a red flag?
It may take some time but do your research and take the time to compare events against eachother. Score them, rank them, draft a list of pro’s and cons. This information will help you to decide which event(s) are best to invest in and most likely to help you achieve your objectives.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Event organisers capture a wealth of information about their attendees – ask for as much detail as possible in order to enable you to make an informed decision.
If you are visiting an event – who do you want to focus your attention on?
For example; You’re looking for a new supplier. There are few industry events you could attend but it’s a whole day, possibly two, maybe even a week out of the office so it’s a big commitment. It’s time to be selective.
Which event has the widest range of businesses that could potentially help you? Which event has the companies with a proven track record and a good reputation? Find out which companies the potential suppliers are currently working with. Are there any synergies in the services they are providing already and what you need? In addition to who is exhibiting, who is speaking, hosting workshops, running drop in clinics or interactive features that could be of interest? Is an industry association or governing body present who can offer some impartial advice?
Which event has the widest range of businesses that could potentially help you? Which event has the companies with a proven track record and a good reputation? Find out which companies the potential suppliers are currently working with. Are there any synergies in the services they are providing already and what you need? In addition to who is exhibiting, who is speaking, hosting workshops, running drop in clinics or interactive features that could be of interest? Is an industry association or governing body present who can offer some impartial advice?
| Create a shortlist of companies you’d like to target during your visit and be realistic about how many participants you could reach in a day at the event. In 4.5hrs, allowing just 20 mins per company, leaving 10 mins between each would yield just 9 interactions. You may have to be more ruthless with your target list or allow more time at the event. |  |
This all sounds quite obvious but you’d be amazed at the amount of companies who say they went to an event (as a visitor or participant) and didn’t meet anyone relevant, or said it was a waste of time and money. This situation is completely avoidable. I truly believe these people just can’t have done the right research and as a result their experience hasn’t been a good one.
So, before I start droning on about the perils of poor planning I’ll sign off. I hope this article has given some food for thought and will improve your approach to engagement with events moving forward.
Happy planning!
Syreeta
So, before I start droning on about the perils of poor planning I’ll sign off. I hope this article has given some food for thought and will improve your approach to engagement with events moving forward.
Happy planning!
Syreeta
I’m Syreeta. I’ve worked in events for my entire professional career. I’m fortunate to have chosen to work in an industry that I thoroughly enjoy being part of, satisfies my sense of purpose is challenging in a good way and super rewarding. I suppose you could say I have a passion for events and what’s more, I truly believe in the value of the face to face opportunity events provide.
After 20 years of working for the world largest event organiser on domestic, international, large, small, trade and consumer events, I’ve set up on my own and I’d like to take this opportunity to share what I’ve learned along the way.
I’m not claiming to be the oracle by any stretch, but I am willing to share what I know for the benefit of non-event-based businesses involved with hosting, participating at and visiting events.
I’ve created a short series of blogs to support your event planning process. It’s not rocket science but I hope it’ll provide some useful pointers and help you get the most out of your time and financial investment.
After 20 years of working for the world largest event organiser on domestic, international, large, small, trade and consumer events, I’ve set up on my own and I’d like to take this opportunity to share what I’ve learned along the way.
I’m not claiming to be the oracle by any stretch, but I am willing to share what I know for the benefit of non-event-based businesses involved with hosting, participating at and visiting events.
I’ve created a short series of blogs to support your event planning process. It’s not rocket science but I hope it’ll provide some useful pointers and help you get the most out of your time and financial investment.
So let’s get started……
Like many things in life, Who, What, Why, Where, When and How are applicable to events whether you are hosting, participating or visiting an event. Asking these questions of yourself or brainstorming with your team is a great staring point for the planning process.
Like many things in life, Who, What, Why, Where, When and How are applicable to events whether you are hosting, participating or visiting an event. Asking these questions of yourself or brainstorming with your team is a great staring point for the planning process.
 | Let’s start with WHY. I’m going to assume that you are considering an event because by doing so, there will be a benefit to the business you’re involved with. As with any marketing strategy, being clear of the objectives from the outset is critical. Let’s take a look from the various perspectives: |
If you are hosting an event or considering participating in an event – ask yourself WHY this event is needed?
What’s the primary objective? What do you want to achieve? To get you started, try putting these possible objectives in order of priority:
For example, let’s say the primary objective is R&D. You’ve got a product that needs to be enhanced / upgraded but want to conduct some research to support decision making on the best enhancements to implement. You could take prototypes of the enhanced model to an event and canvas for feedback. The event provides an opportunity to get detailed direct feedback from your customer base in a relatively short period. At the same time, your presence at the show could allow you time to manage customer relationships, keep up to date with industry trends and maintain profile in the sector.
Identify what success looks like and again be realistic. Think about the number of attendees expected at the event. Not all attendees will visit you (we'll talk about pre show promotion in a later blog) so decide what is an acceptable level of engagement in order to make the time and financial investment worthwhile? Set some targets that will help you measure success against your objectives, for instance:
X customers met
X prototype feedback from customers
X prototype feedback from prospects
X new business leads etc etc.
X interest from the media
If you are visiting an event – quite simply ask yourself why you should go?
What do you hope to get out of attending an event? Why will attending an event help you to achieve your objectives? And why is one event preferable to another? As above, set some clear objectives which will not only become your business case for the company investing the time and money for you to attend but will help you to focus on what’s important when you are planning your visit – which companies to meet, which education sessions to attend, which media and industry bodies to connect with etc.
Remember, times flies when you are visiting an event. To spend 20 minutes with 9 companies will take approx. 4.5hrs and that excludes travel time, breaks, bumping into an old colleague etc. Do you need some support from a team member to ensure you see every company you are interested in?
And, when visiting an event consider how many relevant exhibitors or existing suppliers will be there in addition the valuable content you might want to take advantage of. Your targets may look something like this;
X exhibitors met offering the product/service you need
X existing suppliers met
X seminars attended – notes taken to share back in the office
X meeting with journalist / industry association
Understanding WHY you are engaging with an event will help make all the decisions that follow. Make sure you and your team define, agree and stay focussed on WHY.
Next week, I’ll go into more detail about WHO.
Good luck with your planning!
Syreeta
What’s the primary objective? What do you want to achieve? To get you started, try putting these possible objectives in order of priority:
- Raise the profile of your business
- Raise awareness of your brand / products
- Conduct some market research / test your product
- Launch your business / a new product
- Generate new business
- Maintain relationships with existing clients
- Increase sales
- Test a new market
- A celebration / thank you
- Generate PR
For example, let’s say the primary objective is R&D. You’ve got a product that needs to be enhanced / upgraded but want to conduct some research to support decision making on the best enhancements to implement. You could take prototypes of the enhanced model to an event and canvas for feedback. The event provides an opportunity to get detailed direct feedback from your customer base in a relatively short period. At the same time, your presence at the show could allow you time to manage customer relationships, keep up to date with industry trends and maintain profile in the sector.
Identify what success looks like and again be realistic. Think about the number of attendees expected at the event. Not all attendees will visit you (we'll talk about pre show promotion in a later blog) so decide what is an acceptable level of engagement in order to make the time and financial investment worthwhile? Set some targets that will help you measure success against your objectives, for instance:
X customers met
X prototype feedback from customers
X prototype feedback from prospects
X new business leads etc etc.
X interest from the media
If you are visiting an event – quite simply ask yourself why you should go?
What do you hope to get out of attending an event? Why will attending an event help you to achieve your objectives? And why is one event preferable to another? As above, set some clear objectives which will not only become your business case for the company investing the time and money for you to attend but will help you to focus on what’s important when you are planning your visit – which companies to meet, which education sessions to attend, which media and industry bodies to connect with etc.
Remember, times flies when you are visiting an event. To spend 20 minutes with 9 companies will take approx. 4.5hrs and that excludes travel time, breaks, bumping into an old colleague etc. Do you need some support from a team member to ensure you see every company you are interested in?
And, when visiting an event consider how many relevant exhibitors or existing suppliers will be there in addition the valuable content you might want to take advantage of. Your targets may look something like this;
X exhibitors met offering the product/service you need
X existing suppliers met
X seminars attended – notes taken to share back in the office
X meeting with journalist / industry association
Understanding WHY you are engaging with an event will help make all the decisions that follow. Make sure you and your team define, agree and stay focussed on WHY.
Next week, I’ll go into more detail about WHO.
Good luck with your planning!
Syreeta