Two Best Practice Exhibitor Stories Reply

This post written by Nancy Drapeau, PRC, Research Director of CEIR

This year’s EXHIBITOR2013 was as much a learning opportunity for me as it was to promote CEIR studies and how they can help exhibitors and suppliers in the industry. I moderated a peer-to-peer roundtable discussion, and at this session I learned quickly that some of the executives are implementing best practices that are generating real results for their companies. Though the topic was exhibitor training, these executives focused on the overall picture of the process of defining goals that tie into company objectives, assuring staff know what the goals are and putting into place follow-up actions that generate real results.

Here are the stories I’d like to share:

• An executive for a software company is relentless in assuring every lead captured by her exhibit teams is tracked. Hot leads are sent to sales for immediate follow-up while other leads go into the company’s CRM system and are continued to be nurtured on an ongoing basis. Each lead is tagged to where it originated, and she reviews files to make sure that’s the case. Recently, she was informed that a lead captured by her team has culminated in a substantial piece of business. She said the lead was captured two years ago. At the time it was an unremarkable lead; a general request for information that had gone into the hopper and went through the system. Given her vigilance, her efforts to assure her teams are capturing information, assuring the data is properly stored in their systems and follow-up practices are executed properly, the end result is securing a major contract, a boon for her company and for her exhibit program.

• Another executive described his approach to winning sales staff commitment to achieving results at exhibitions. The beauty of this approach is that the sales teams are an integral part of setting measurable goals. The sales team is asked to provide the number of sales calls it takes to generate a sale and this data is used to set the goal of number of qualified sales leads that need to be generated at a given exhibition. They buy into the data because it is based on their numbers. The executive compares the costs to exhibit with the costs to close a sale to determine the number of qualified sales leads that need to be generated at an exhibition.  The outcome of exhibiting, whether they hit the goal, then determines whether the company will continue to exhibit, downsize, discontinue or upgrade their space. He notes that this approach has prompted intense commitment of sales staff to meet goals. It has changed their view of exhibiting, their approach and demeanor; it has become their tool for selling, they are motivated to succeed.

It is heartening to hear these stories firsthand, to hear from companies effectively using the exhibiting medium.

A CEIR report, Beyond ROI and ROO Using Measurement to Enhance Decisions & Improve Exhibit Results, is worth a read to reflect on how to position one’s exhibit program for success.  Exhibitor Sales Lead Capture and Follow-up Practice Trends is worth reviewing for those looking to learn the range of practices in this area.

Well-deserved Recognition! Reply

This post written by Cathy Breden, CAE, CMP, Executive Director of CEIR

It is nice when good people and companies are recognized for their work and for the difference they have made in this industry. This week, it will be announced that Galen Poss, former chair of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research is being recognized by IAEE as a Legend of the Industry. Each year, IAEE recognizes a person at the Krakoff Leadership Institute (KLI) 24-26 August, whose contributions, innovation and leadership have been remarkable. Galen will have dinner with the students at KLI and he will provide insights to his success, and the students will be able to discuss with him their questions.

Exhibit Surveys has announced that it is celebrating 50 years of providing research, measurement and consulting services to the exhibition and event industry. I have known Dick Swandby, the founder of Exhibit Surveys, for a number of years. I have admired his integrity and just the good person he is. Skip Cox, is a director on the CEIR board, and the Chair-Elect of IAEE, and I also admire him for his integrity, his professional approach in all of his communications, and just his bright mind. When he talks, I listen, and learn. Right there with him is Ian Sequeira, the EVP. Both are so willing to give their knowledge and time to initiatives carrying this industry forward.

Congratulations and well deserved!

Looking Forward to Session at EXHIBITOR2013 – A Conversation on Aligning Exhibit Face-to-Face Interaction with What Attendees Value Most Reply

Post written by Nancy Drapeau, PRC

It is a privilege to conduct a session with a core constituency, exhibitors; those who are on the front lines of engaging with attendees, to share some of these trends and to facilitate a discussion to generate ideas on how to assure exhibit strategies are in line with them.

There is a symbiotic relationship between all players in the exhibition industry.  An exhibition organizer needs to assure that it delivers the right attendees to an exhibition. When the organizer has done its job, then it falls to exhibitors to do theirs. When an attendee takes the time to come to one’s booth, especially one’s target prospect, what is the right face-to-face interaction approach that positions an exhibiting company’s chances for success, to make a connection that ultimately converts into a sale?  Does the company pull out all the bells and whistles with a theatre-styled presentation or does a one-on-one discussion with exhibit staff have the best chances for success?  This session will discuss relevant findings from recent CEIR trend studies and will involve peer-to-peer discussion on current practices and ideas on how to align an exhibiting approach effectively. If you are in Las Vegas for this event, come to the session: Align Your Exhibit Face-to-Face Interactions with What Attendees Value Most.

Another perennial challenge faced by exhibitors is exhibitor training.  I will be moderating a peer-to-peer roundtable discussion aimed at sharing ideas for Effective Exhibitor Training Programs, Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm in South Seas F. Come by and share your thoughts and experiences!

Analytical and Data Trends in the Marketer Buyer Decision Reply

This post written by Chris Valentine

The recent research report from CEIR titled, Marketers Find Exhibitions an Essential Marketing and Sales Tactic, provided some compelling statistics relating to the perspective of marketers as it pertains to the exhibition industry.

As we are well aware, exhibiting is a primary method of marketing for companies (in the survey it was second behind the omnipresent company website). This positioning is further strengthened by an earlier CEIR report done in 2011, The Spend Decision: Analyzing How Exhibits Fit into the Overall Marketing Budget which states nearly 40percent of B2B marketers’ budgets were spent on business-to-business exhibitions. None of this should come as news to any of us. The surprising part of the more recent survey was that within the methods used, 35 percent did not exist 20 years ago and 15 percent were created over the last decade!

A second trend that grabbed me was what methods marketers plan to emphasize in the future. Survey respondents using business-to-business exhibitions as a primary tactic revealed that 83 percent would increase or maintain their exhibit spend, while 15 percent would be decreasing it. In addition, a wide majority of the respondents currently engaging in technology-based initiatives planned to increase their spending in these areas (social media, mobile, online meetings, websites and online ads).

As vendors and event owners in this space, we must address this trend and identify the components of the alternative channels that potentially diminish the exhibit budget.

The Drivers – Technology Adoption, TONS of Data and a Willingness to Experiment

What is driving this growth is the rapid maturity of these new technologies. In fact this report addresses the duration of the use of the various marketing channels in which the respondents classified the longevity of use and virtually all classified these areas as “new”.

Another driver is the relative low risk/cost and large amount of data feedback as it pertains to views, engagement, duration and the like. These metrics have driven change all along the marketing and advertising spectrum.

A third component is the ever evolving desire of companies to incorporate more data to their marketing buying decisions. In 2012 Columbia Business School/NY Chapter of the American Marketing Association did a transition study “Marketing ROI in the Era of Big Data,” surveying more than 250 marketers from large corporations (90 percent with annual revenue of $50 million and 45 percent with annual revenue greater than $1 billion). Their responses were very interesting, really reflecting the increasing need to bring more and better analytical data into marketing decisions. Some of the highlights were:

• 91 percent stated that successful brands use customer data to drive marketing decisions
• 65 percent of marketers said that comparing the effectiveness of marketing across different digital media is a “major challenge” for their business
• 29 percent of marketers state that their departments have “too little or no customer/consumer data

 The Challenge is an Opportunity – Adapt Now and Fast

 These trends represent both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that digital marketing trends threaten to stagnate or reduce exhibiting within the total marketing budget.

The opportunity is that events have the ability to represent who is engaging, as opposed to social media which tells us how many and not necessarily who it is.

That being said, the exhibition industry needs to create and build methodologies that will allow it to gather data that parallels digital networks i.e. engagement and duration.  This will enable marketers to view a more complete data picture and compare the various data points of digital versus events.

We should also engage the digital methods to enhance the data model within our events.  A prime example of this is the use of Twitter by American Express as social currency (AMEX Sync). In 2012 American Express partnered with Whole Foods to allow its customer to add their Twitter handle to their profile and opt in a promotion which provided a $25 coupon for engagement.

While the purchasing process is much different than B2B sales, the use of a channel to augment the existing data model and develop likes/dislikes would prove very powerful for any trade exhibition and subsequent exhibit marketer.

What Does It All Mean?

I feel very strongly that exhibiting can grow within the context of the marketing budget, but we must adapt to the changing demands within the buying decisions.

The one component that the exhibition industry has that almost every other channel cannot provide is we know who is attending the event. This is and will continue to be a powerful motivator for marketers when making an exhibit buying decision. But we cannot become overly reliant on this metric as the analytical appetite of the marketers grows in the ever present need for them to prove the value of their marketing budget. 

Chris Valentine, owner and managing member of T3 Expo, has continuously listened to stakeholders and challenged the status quo since his start in the exhibitions and events industry with Champion Exposition Services in 1994. At T3, Chris, along with his partners, built a general contracting company that is positioned to address the economic, technical and branding demands of today’s  business-to-business exhibition market.  His unique perspective on customer service is based upon his experience developing solutions while serving in C-level positions, and he realized that building strong relationships always outperforms trying to micro manage the bottom line.

Reflections on Obama’s Use of Technology for His State of the Union Address Reply

This post written by Nancy Drapeau, PRC

This blog is not about the content of President Obama’s speech, so whether you are for or against the current administration, this blog is still relevant. I am writing to share my experiences on ‘how’ I listened last night. I think it provides insight into the importance of exhibition organizers to leverage what the Internet offers for extending the reach of one’s event to audiences who are very interested though who are unable to attend or participate via conventional methods. It also highlights an opportunity on how to obtain immediate feedback from one’s audiences via social media.

Given that I am a mother of an 11 year-old attempting to juggle one million things, as things would have it, instead of being at home when the speech began, I was shopping at Walmart. It’s important to me to tune in to what the president is advocating, given the substantial impact government can have on the health of the U.S. and the global economies. Thank goodness for my iPhone. As I shopped, I listened to the live stream via the White House’s website. They offered an option for those who may be experiencing difficulty, which was inevitable walking through a big box store. It worked. Of course there were a couple of glitches as my iPhone shuffled in my pocket, though that was me, not the phone!

What impressed me further was what happened after the session. The live stream shifted to a session with a panel of the administration’s experts on key issue areas, speaking to a room full of what appeared to be supporters, individuals with titles suggesting they are opinion leaders in their spheres of influence.  This session was yet again a powerful method to communicate their messaging, deepening the understanding of what they want to accomplish.

Even better, during this session, they encouraged those who were tuning in to go to a functionality they had available where one could highlight text of the speech that resonated with the person and a chance to explain why it resonated. They also encouraged folks to tweet their sentiments. So in this chance to interact, the White House received immediate feedback on the most powerful aspects of the President’s speech among what is likely the administration’s core supporters or watchers and a chance to have them ‘share’ these sentiments with others, pretty brilliant.

I am sure there are some rich opportunities in this experience for exhibition organizers to reflect upon. Some exhibitions are already leveraging the power of the Internet. For those who are not, start thinking! For organizers reading the blog, what about this experience triggers ideas to explore? How can you leverage your event’s content real-time to reach a broader audience who have an affinity for your event though, for whatever reason, they are unable to come, this time.

CEIR has conducted research on the use of digital marketing tactics by both exhibition organizers and exhibitors. To obtain a copy of the report, visit http://www.ceir.org. CEIR is planning to update this report this year. So stay tuned for more on this topic in the coming year….

Exhibitions in 2013 … After Avoiding the “Cliff” What is Next? Reply

This post written by Doug Ducate, CEM, CMP, President and CEO, CEIR

The economic good news continues to thrive despite bad news cycles. First we avoid the fiscal cliff but certain tax increases survive. Then while employment numbers and other economic data are disappointing, the stock market stages an incredible rally. Finally the first of three GDP estimates for 2012 Q4 are released. Not only do they not reach the terrific 3.1% Q3 number, it actually comes in at -.1%. And as this is written, the market, reacting to a number of domestic issues and the rising concern for the economic situation in Europe, especially in Spain and Italy where it started, begins to tumble. Some analysts suggest we may have reached the high for the year on February 1, 2013.

So it now appears 2012 will mirror 2011. Good performance that fostered high hopes early in the year slumped in the end, and the growth we believed would finally be realized didn’t happen. U.S GDP is now expected to come in at about 2.3% for 2012 - the original forecast number. It is unlikely the exhibition industry will reach the projected 2.9% for the year after reaching 2.7% in 2011.

As we look at 2013, while we cleared one hurdle early, the fiscal cliff, we see many more hurdles ahead. First is likely to be the debt ceiling in March which may be as politically charged as the cliff debate. Beyond that it is the budget, immigration and continued implications of the Health Care Reform Act. Posturing for the 2014 mid-term elections has already begun.

In the meantime the exhibition industry continues to move forward. Early first-quarter, anecdotal data suggests it may be as strong as Q1 2011 which grew 3.9% YoY. A large number of building and constructions exhibitions are held in Q1 and all reported improving numbers as both residential and commercial building continue to recover. Whatever the outcome it is likely to be positive and the question will be can we continue the momentum?

The key for most companies today is profits. They dictate expenditures and availability of discretionary marketing dollars. And given the uncertainty of the economy, it is likely companies will continue to sit on cash and wait for a sustained recovery before they resume business expansion. Organizers should capitalize on the situation pointing out the value and advantages offered by face-to-face and providing additional marketing opportunities for companies to meet and reach clients and prospective clients at their events.

Keep a watch for the release of Q4 2012 CEIR Index results. They will be released soon

A Perspective on the Value of Face-to-Face 2

Blog Post Written by Barry Siskind

The recent CEIR report entitled Exhibition Staff Practices focuses on
an issue that I have been dealing with for the thirty years I have been in
the exhibition business – Exhibit training.

The first finding in the report unveils a difference between attendee
preferences of the booth staff they would like to meet with a strong exhibitor reliance on
staffing their booth with primarily sales folks.

What may have been quite acceptable in the past needs to be re-examined in
light of the previous CEIR reports which have shown how the changing
demographics of those who attend will affect the type of information they
want. Today’s attendee and those of the near future are less interested in being
sold. They would rather engage in the process of finding solutions to the
problems they face. Yet, exhibitors continue to staff their booths with
sales people.

The second part of this report looks at the issue of staff training. Fifty
two percent of exhibitors rarely or never provide staff training while
eighteen percent only provide training at major shows.
So, the issue is why? One reason is a mistaken belief that sales people are
best able to handle exhibit traffic without the need for the specialized
training that would be required with non-sales people.

I believe there is another more important reason. The majority of companies
who participate in exhibitions have never taken specialized training
seriously. Lots of resources are put into the look and feel of their exhibit
but ensuring that staff understands their role in the exhibit has been left
to chance.

I’m not pointing to all exhibitors when I say this. Those companies who
produce great results are the first to take advantage of training. The rest
look at it as an unjustified expense.

So, whose responsibility is it to train? The answer here is that each of the
stakeholders (exhibitors, exhibitions managers and suppliers) has a role to play in
the training of companies who participate in trade exhibitions.

Exhibitions managers and suppliers have a unique vantage point. They often can see
crucial mistakes before they become evident to the exhibitors. The result of
their inaction is a disgruntled company that ultimately reduces its
investment because the results they receive are lackluster at best.

After thirty years and mountains of research, I am still left scratching my
head. What can we as an industry do to ensure that trade exhibitions are
understood and used to create the results they were meant to?

Barry Siskind is President and Founder of ITMC. He is a trade show consultant, trainer, speaker and internationally recognized expert in trade and consumer shows.