Conferences and trade shows are nothing new for marketing professionals. They can be a great way for brands to network with current and potential customers as well as interact with peers. However, conferences also require a good deal of preparation, time and money, so if you are investing, it’s critical to prepare a conference presence that will pique visitors’ interest and encourage them to stop and ask questions.
When you’re establishing your goals for the conference (e.g., industry visibility, driving sales, better product understanding through demos, etc.), ensure that they will coincide with creating a welcoming environment for customers.
Here are the top three items to consider when planning for your conference presentation or booth exhibition:
The following questions need to be addressed:
If you answered “yes” to these questions, it’s definitely time to revamp your conference approach. Conference attendees want to feel involved and get hands-on with brands to learn more about them. They want an opportunity to use your product (think of the product tables at the Apple Store) or interact in some dynamic way, so involve clients in product demonstrations instead of just having them watch and listen.
For example, at a recent publishing conference, we had clients set up and run a webcast with our self-service tool. Not only did it offer them a way to see how easy our technology was to use, but they could see themselves on camera and share the live webcast link with a friend or colleague who could “see them in action” at the conference. This was much more fun and memorable for a conference attendee than watching slides explaining the product details.
Conference attendees, just like conference presenters, have limited time and budget. Keep this in mind when you are in conference preparation mode and completely focused on maximizing your conference involvement. Present your brand in the most interesting, innovative and interactive way possible to garner the most customer involvement. It also doesn’t hurt to spring for a few takeaway items. Branded USBs anyone?