Often, marketing and sales people tear out their hair trying to figure out what customers and prospects are thinking.
Are they coming to a show?
Are they thinking about purchasing at the show?
Did they like last year’s show? How far did they travel?
What do they look for in a booth?
So here’s a radical idea: Ask them.
Survey tools today are cheap, simple to implement, and sophisticated enough to gather some incredibly helpful information. There’s a really helpful article at idealware.org that outlines some of tools available to you that are free or cheap. The article also outlines a few features to look for: Read the full story
Life Science Leader recently ran an article on Franklin & Seidelmann’s work with The Rogers Company to design an effective booth for its tradeshows — the RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) show in particular. The article focuses on the F&S need to create a space to build relationships. Since the company’s main business is teleradiology, it doesn’t have the chance for face to face branding or even to build relationships with its own physicians. The article outlines how the need to build relationships was built into the design.
As more and more companies, once traditional, move to online services, it’s possible that the need for face-to-face relationship building will become more important. In the past, meeting the people you already know at a tradeshow was a secondary goal. It may become or may already be a primary goal if it’s the only chance to connect a human being to your brand.
Part II of Jeffrey Blackwell, president of The Rogers Company and B.J. Enright, president of TradeshowLogistics offering tips and strategies for saving money exhibiting at a tradeshow. They also speak about ways the industry can work together to make live events more effective selling and marketing opportunities. They also answer the age old question “What exactly is drayage and why does it cost so much?”
Jeffrey Blackwell, president of The Rogers Company and B.J. Enright, president of TradeshowLogistics offer tips and strategies for saving money exhibiting at a tradeshow. They also speak about ways the industry can work together to make live events more effective selling and marketing opportunities. They also answer the age old question “What exactly is drayage and why does it cost so much?” This is part I of II.
You decide. The website twitterhandbook.com thinks that it is, but they would, wouldn’t they? Twitter is, indeed, a fast, cheap way to communicate and it may just be email 2.0, but you also have to consider your audience. Some industries are slow to adapt technologies and others are on the cutting edge. joycemckee writes about how she uses Twitter to research an upcoming event and also to promote her presence at a tradeshow through give aways: Read the full story
About 5 years ago a colleague sent me an invitation to join LinkedIn. It seemed like an OK idea kind of based on the 6 Degrees of Seperation concept. My account kind of sat there for a long time based on the idea that only a few people I knew were actually on the site. Over time, however, it’s grown into something very big. It can be a good way to stay in touch with colleagues past and present but it can also be a very good way to build business. Read the full story
Your next booth staff addition may save you on hotel and airfare and never have to take a lunch break. She may also be a flat, electronic representation of a human being…but no one’s perfect, right? Avatars are being used to greet booth visitors, give presentations, and recite detailed information specific products and even about the person they are talking to.
We interviewed an avatar, Sarah, created by a company called LogicJunction on what she does at tradeshows, the benefits of avatars, and what the future holds for her and LogicJunction. From their website:
LogicJunction supplies products on a variety of platforms ranging from individual kiosks to complete online deployments. Our patented software engine incorporates digital characters, artificial intelligence, media players, advanced logic control and a flexible plug-in system to interface with third party software and hardware.
Virtual Employees (or vPloyees), the name given to our digital characters, use emotion, animation, speech, and intelligence to help personalize and direct the experience for each client, and provide a high impact interface to many of our implementations. For customers wishing to extend our products or create their own, LogicJunction offers an SDK.
Clients use LogicJunction software to assist with sales, conduct surveys, drive booth attendance, reduce personnel costs, and help users navigate complex processes. Please look around and see what LogicJunction might do for you.
We’ve all heard about Twitter and there’s been a lot of head scratching as to how it will be used in business. At searchenginewatch.com they are covering The Search Engine Strategies (SES) New York 2009 Conference and Expo. They’re top story is about Twitter and it gives some clues as to how this will be useful at live events like tradeshows:
The opening keynote was by Guy Kawasaki, a founding partner and entrepreneur-in-residence at Garage Technology Ventures, who spoke about “Twitter as a Tool for Social Media.”
Sukki Jahnke of the Rogers Company speaks at Event Expo in Cleveland on exhibit design and how Rogers helps its clients build business. There are a whole slew of videos from the event hosted on New Image Media’s website. Read the full story
LED technology has been with us a long time. But the use of it to create brilliant effects far surpasses those scrolling red and black signs we’ve all seen. Creating brilliant effects that catch the eye and are ever changing. Read the full story
