Lower your costs and "do more with less"

Flights, gas, oil, it’s all the same right now… expensive. With ½ the year behind us, marketing budgets for 2008 seminars are at a turning point, asking the question “Do we spend more than initially budgeted,” or “do we find an alternative method to drive new business.” Because of this, there are many faces looking in the direction for alternative means of marketing; after all… who doesn’t want to save money! So the question remains, what do you do?



Our solution: “Do more with less”

In recent discussions with our business associates, many companies have indicated a turn towards online seminars. Not only is this helping cut the cost for travel, it is also avoiding the cost of food, travel, and venue rates for the host (while still maintaining a high level of interest). Sure, face to face meetings are (and will always remain) the most valued way of building relationships. However, a web seminar can help you reach a higher targeted audience while still cutting costs. You have to ask yourself “what would be the cost if you don’t take the economy into consideration.”

Top 5 reasons trade shows do not provide high ROMI

We have all been there, countless hours deciding on what food options to choose, what signage to hang up, who will be working the registration tables, and most important… how will we fill those seats. So there you are, it is the day of the trade show and not only is attendance phenomenal, but the top companies you would like to prospect into are chatting up with your head of sales. So why then, is the return on marketing investment (ROMI) still seem to be minimal when everything to this point has been seamless in execution?

It is a common misconception that trade shows or seminars will deliver maximum results when the event itself was a success. This can leave you thinking “was all that time, effort, and hours worth this lack of return.” However, the problem should not lie in what was done wrong as it should be based on “what can be done differently.” TSL has put together the top 5 reasons why trade shows do not provide the highest ROMI with hope that our partners will gain success from these not only intrinsic but also crucial marketing tactics.

1. Limited Follow-Through: While most companies have a strong emphasis on filling seats, trade shows tend to loose the most ROI during the aftermath of the event. Before the event takes place, a process should be mapped out in how your company plans to follow up on any leads, attendees, or potential partners that attend the event. Statistics show that after only 24 hours of an events completion, the interest level of any given attendee decreases by more than 50%. That being said, if there is not a process in place to follow up within a prompt and timely manor, the event itself will have been a wasted effort.
   
2. Lack of Knowledge Transfer: Content being presented at trade shows are by far the most important reason for driving attendance and gaining interest from prospecting buyers. Because of this, the knowledge transfer should not only be viable, but should also speak to the needs of the customer. A top reason for limited ROMI after an event takes place is due to the lack of substantial data that speaks directly to the customers pains. Do not focus on trying to sell your product or service, rather than this, you should focus on what the pains in the Industry are and let the product and/or service sell itself.
   
3. Incomplete Quantifiable Data: Many companies will put together the all encompassing “how was your trade show experience” survey. However, collecting these surveys is often incomplete as well as a missed opportunity to generate quantifiable feedback as to how the events success could be measured. A recommendation here would be to present the attendees with a giveaway available to them upon submission of the survey or feedback form. This will help generate further survey responses as well as present your company with an opportunity to determine what parts of the events were successful and which should be overlooked at the next event.
   
4. Partial Attendee Filtering: While attendance is crucial to an events success, often times there will be more people there for the free lunch than the actual content provided. Before sending out invitations, your firm should always go through the list and weed out any contacts that are not suitable for potential future business.
   
5. Obsolete Market: One of the hardest parts to determining when to host a trade show or seminar is to position the event around when the market is in the purchasing or information gathering process of the buying cycle. For example, firms are often short on budgetary means during the end of the 4th quarter, and therefore a purchase regarding new software or hardware technologies may be limited, as well as the decision making process may not be relevant until the latter part of quarter 1. With the holidays in mind and purchases being short, planning an event in late November or December may not be the best option for your firm.