Cranmore Park Blog
Cranmore Park Blog
Are you benefiting from trade shows once they have ended?
If you're exhibiting at a trade show, you need to find ways of maximising your investment - not just on the day of the event but in the weeks and months that follow. You've met new prospects and generated new leads at the trade show, but now you've got to drive home the advantage and turn potential into profits.
According to Timothy Carter, digital marketing manager for Nimlok, there are a number of different ways to achieve this goal. In a recent article for Small Business Trends, he explained some of the ways companies can continue to benefit from trade shows after they have taken place.
Read more: Are you benefiting from trade shows once they have ended?
Exhibitions industry 'is continuing to grow'
An increasing number of businesses around the world are recognising the value in marketing their activities via trade shows, exhibitions and events. They understand the potential, in terms of generating new leads, networking with industry contacts, and learning about new technologies, techniques and processes from industry thought leaders.
As such, it should come as little surprise to see continued growth in the exhibitions sector, particularly with the economy on an upwards curve. More businesses are choosing to allocate funds to this form of marketing, as they aim to generate interest in their goods and services and improve their brand positioning.
Exercise restraint in business meetings, professionals urged
How active should you be in business meetings? Is it important to have an opinion on every issue, or should you wait until you have a valuable point to make?
According to Cary Cooper, professor of organisational management at Lancaster University Management School, it's all too easy to spend an hour in a meeting where people drone on without saying anything.
Read more: Exercise restraint in business meetings, professionals urged
8 ways to engage a training audience
As an employer, you fully understand the importance of training, and of delivering key information to employees in order to improve their knowledge and understanding.
But sometimes it seems as if your staff members simply aren't engaged with your learning and development exercises. And given that you've invested time and money preparing training, with a view to boosting employee performance, this simply won't do.
How to talk to important people
Conferences and trade shows can offer a multitude of opportunities from a networking perspective. If you're willing and able to put yourself about, and track down the important people in the room, you can add some valuable names to your address book. It could be the leaders of another business involved in your industry, or somebody you'd like to invest in your enterprise. It might be a thought leader, whose insight can add value to your business and help you take it to the next level.
But what you have to remember is that important people also tend to be busy people. You won't, by any means, be the only person who wants to network with them. As such, if you do manage to pin such individuals down for a conversation, you've got to make it count. And this means making a great first impression.
Training can help keep employees onboard
Delivering employee training not only helps upskill workers, enabling them to do their jobs properly, but it also assists organisations with talent retention.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that employees stay longer with their employers when they feel like they are developing professionally and their goals are being supported.
Does your venue have adequate connectivity?
Hosting a Wi-Fi hotspot at your conference or trade show can make for a more successful event for all concerned.
With so many people reliant on their smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, people expect to be able to get online wherever they are.
Trade shows 'have fixed and flexible costs'
Working out the costs of trade show marketing is crucial for any business, one industry figure has claimed.
Charles Beshears, the president of National Trade Show Displays, told TSNN that these events "can be a very positive and lucrative experience" for many companies.
Securing a sponsor for your trade show
Organising a trade show costs money, and sometimes significant amounts of it, depending on the size and scale of the event.
As an organiser, you may well make the original investment back with relative ease - and turn over a profit - but it's important to ensure costs are covered as soon as possible.
Can you be a speaker at a trade show?
What can you do to make a real splash at trade shows and stand out from the crowd? One way to increase your visibility - and that of your business - is to become a speaker, rather than simply an exhibitor.
Imagine the possibilities if you are able to hold the floor for a few minutes, with hundreds - or even thousands - of eyes on you. Daunting as this might be, it's one of the best ways to raise awareness of your brand.
Ensure you can customise training and meeting rooms
If you're staging a meeting or a training session, you'll welcome the opportunity to lay the room out according to the optimum design.
It may be that you need a 'boardroom' set-up, with everyone around one table, or that you require more of a 'classroom' set-up, with chairs and desks facing the front of the room.
Read more: Ensure you can customise training and meeting rooms
Know your training goals before you start
Before your organisation embarks upon any programme of employee training, it is important that you identify its precise needs. Why exactly are you investing in learning and development exercises for your employees?
When there are specific goals in place, it provides a clear focus for the training. Sessions can be constructed in such a way that targets key aspects of employees' knowledge or understanding, and seeks to improve upon it.
Events industry bodies join forces for major research project
A number of events industry bodies are joining forces for a major new research project, designed to measure the overall volume and dimensions of the exhibitions and live events sector.
The Association of Event Organisers (AEO), Association of Event Venues (AEV) and the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) are embarking on the three-year project with a view to providing benchmarking and quality metrics.
Read more: Events industry bodies join forces for major research project
Business meetings: Presentations vs. conversations
One of the keys to staging successful meetings which offer maximum value to your organisation can be knowing which approach to adopt.
According to Nancy Duarte, author of the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, different meetings require a different strategy from the outset.
Read more: Business meetings: Presentations vs. conversations
How to make your meetings more productive?
Meetings have a valuable role to play in business, but it's important to ensure they are productive. Too many man hours are wasted in meetings which drag on unnecessarily or should never have been organised in the first place.
If you're going to remove employees from their desk - and their workload - for any period of time, you have to have good reason. Your meetings need to offer a return on investment; otherwise how can you justify disrupting your employees' day?
How to get the best deal on trade shows
If you're interested in marketing your business' products or services at a trade show in the coming year, it might be in your interests to commit at soon as possible.
Registering early can help ensure you get the best possible deal, meaning you've got more financial resources left over to spend on your booth display and promotional materials.
