By Nicc Lewis - CEO of Expozive Marketing & Marcom
High Cost & High Benefits of Event Marketing
Right off the bat, a show-stopping booth at an expo is a vital component of a successful event, but let us be clear, this is a cog in a much larger machine to give your show the best possible chance of success. It is the culmination of a large amount of background work, the vehicle for the execution of a vision with a specific role (which we will discuss later), and the mid-point in a much larger Marketing Plan.
Exhibiting at an event is always a costly budget item that goes beyond the costs of the sponsorship and booth costs, you always need to factor in printed materials, giveaways, travel costs for your attendees, and additional expenses at the destination - and that is without factoring in the “opportunity cost” - the cost of what you could have done during the same time frame or the budget used instead of another Marketing activity.
Without doubt there is a huge advantage of being face-to-face with clients and potential clients, and therefore the ROI of an event goes beyond the number of leads generated. There are also a number of other benefits that include competitive intelligence, building complementing partnerships, and keeping up to date with your industry.
The Event Timeline & Vision
As mentioned in the introduction, the event itself is only the midway point of the entire Event Marketing Plan timeline. You have to think in terms of Pre, During, and Post, with a full plan, action items, and KPIs at every stage.
Before any other activity, the only starting point is a Vision!
With the overall company vision (a topic for another article) in mind, what do you want to project at the event, what image, what business messages, who this applies to (your target audiences - yes, more than one), and what you hope to achieve by attending the event. There should be
A number of objectives you want to achieve and these will become key in the planning process.
Each company objective needs to be drilled down into the personal objectives of the entire team involved and the KPIs they are going to be measured on. The overall Vision needs to be communicated with everyone involved so that they can understand their individual responsibilities in the overall picture and motivate each of them to move, with purpose, in the same direction.
This simple step will ripple through the entire project and is the foundation of success.
Pre-event Preparations
Pre-event preparations can be categorized into 3 areas:
Operational - which includes every component of getting the booth, materials, and equipment ready from start to finish of the event. It must take into account every small contingency. For example, to ensure guaranteed internet connectivity, the purchase of a local cellular router and local data SIM card with enough bandwidth. Just as important, is the end of the event and the logistics required for the breakdown and shipping of any materials or equipment. Operations also include the system employed to receive new leads. I recommend using a WhatsApp group for the event where business cards/details are entered and there is a back office person at home inputting them into a CRM and sending an initial message to confirm the contact.
Personnel - each person attending the event should have clear personal objectives, KPIs, and role(s) within the smooth running of the booth. Each person should understand the handover process when required, and how to cover for another if they are busy or away. Each person should know the daily routine, and the planned events (like dinners or event networking gatherings)
Personality - a term I use to describe not only the look and feel of the designed elements but also the language, the type of formality, and keywords needed when engaging with people at the event. For example, each person knows that in an Asian-based event, they will give and receive business cards with both hands, the expected language is at the least semi-formal, and the company is a market leader, so the employee should speak with an air of confidence.
During the Event
Once at the event, the preparations should make the daily routines not only make sense but reinforce the planning. The main key to success during the event is discipline. There is a reason religions demand daily routines, and we can apply the same reasoning here. On landing, there is a meeting before the event that goes over the timetable and roles. Each day starts with a quick stand-up that includes what happened the previous day including KPI performance and the day ahead including KPIs required.
On site, one person is assigned the role of Booth Manager - they are responsible for communications with the organizers, any outside help (like hired booth attendants), and making sure the daily timetable is being followed so that the booth is always manned properly. They will also ensure that the booth is ready before the event, before every day, and for the breakdown and logistics afterward.
Post-event
This is the part most companies miss and can be a massive point of failure for the entire event, and even future events. This part falls into 2 areas:
Post-event follow-ups
Post-event debrief
Let us be very clear, following the end of an event, you have very few days to keep and engage the leads generated. Every single day that passes makes the conversion of the lead exponentially more difficult. It is hard for Marketers to understand that if an event is a Marketing Budget item, it is also the responsibility of Marketing to lean heavily on Sales to make sure contacts are being made post-event.
With the debrief, there should be a quick meeting within a week of the event to discuss with the whole team the initial results and to have an open discussion on what to keep, improve or remove for future events.
OK, Let’s Talk About The Booth
The booth is important - you need to make sure that your branding is memorable, your booth is memorable, and the booth serves the message you want to deliver. Everything is pushed from the initial vision.
But, most importantly it needs to stop visitors in their tracks, even for a moment by catching their attention. There are a number of ways to achieve this and many of these are not expensive, from the concept and design to certain elements to catch the eye.
The Wrap-up
This article scratches the surface of successful Event Management, and can be summarized in 3 simple words:
Vision
Planning
Purpose
The monetary investment of attending an event should be matched with the effort, planning, and execution of the event.
On a personal note, the events where the planning and execution were the tightest, were also the most enjoyable for the team members.
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