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Eventgain explains How to Choose the Right Event

1 Will the people you want to reach there? 2 Will the event management be an effective matchmaker?A key source for the answers is the event management itself. But you can also get valuable input fromexhibitors, attendees, industry associations, publications, and suppliers, such as installation anddismantle companies or service contractors.

Why do you want to exhibit?

Before talking with any of those sources, clarify your exhibit goals. Most exhibitors aim either to makesales at the event or to gather leads for post-event follow-up. If one of those is your goal, you mightneed to reach purchasing agents, specifies, users-or all of the above. But in your market, it might bemore important to reach the presidents of small companies. Or you may want to recruit dealers,distributors, or manufacturers' representatives. Once you have your own objective in focus, you'reready to find out if a given event will help you meet that objective. These are the questions that youshould ask:

Who really attended the event in the past?

Event brochures generally trumpet the number of attendees at the previous event. But what does thatnumber represent? "It's far more important to know who is attending, than how many," stresses PaulMackler, chief executive officer of independent trade event producer Conference Management Co.(CMC).Ask for the attendee profile. The demographic data a event manager provides can help you evaluate both the audience and the event manager's research. To find out if management seeks the right data,"Ask to see last year's registration form,' suggests Stephen Sind, senior vice president, corporate planning, for Reed Exhibition Companies, the world's largest producer of trade and public events.Comprehensive data is gathered by the computerized registration systems used at many events today.They record each attendee's company name, size, and location; the individual's job title, buyingauthority, purchase intentions, budget, and timeframe. "Computerized registration is always a goodsign, says Sind.Look for the facts behind the generalities. "If the brochure says, 'We bring in buying teams from thelargest companies,' ask for examples of the types of companies, and ask for the titles of the people whomake up those buying teams," cautions Sind.Scrutinize Public events, too. Although public events don't use the computerized registration systemsthat are common at events, demographic data can still be captured, say Carleton Rogers, president of

Exposition Management, Inc, a producer of trade and public events. "We can do an exit survey, or people may be asked to fill out their ticket stubs." Thus, Rogers says, management can learn attendees'ages, household income, distance traveled to the event, reason for attending, areas of interest, and purchase intentions.The last point is especially important for the public events, says Neil Grossman, vice president andgeneral manager, Boston Division, Reed Exhibition Companies. "A lot of people don't buy at publicevents, but they do set up appointments, for example, for home remodeling," he explains. "So we dosurveys that event planned purchases.""Today, anyone who doesn't offer audience statistics isn't offering the type of service an exhibitor should expect," cautions Mackler. "That doesn't mean that the event isn't good, but the informationshould be available for the prospective exhibitor."

What do previous exhibitors think of the event?

The experiences of exhibitors from companies that are similar in size to yours, or in the same industry,can indicate what you could expect if you exhibited.Ask event management for the names and phone numbers of contacts at such companies. "I'll makethose names available to prospective exhibitors," says Mackler. "Or they can call members of theevent's exhibitor advisory board. We encourage that."Ask previous exhibitors if they saw the kinds of buyers they needed to see. Did they make sales at theevent? Or can they trace subsequent sales to the event? Is the event important in its industry? Is itkeeping up with industry developments? Did management work with exhibitors to help them have the best event possible?

What do previous attendees think?

Attendees know better than management if a event is growing or declining," says Jim Mahon, who isexecutive vice president of ITCS, a Canadian trade event producer, and also president of the CanadianAssociation of Exposition Managers. Again, event management should willingly provide names and phone numbers of previous attendees. Mahon suggests calling perhaps ten attendees.Ask attendees these questions, Mahon advises: "How much time did they spend at the event? Did theygo on more than one day? Did they urge others to go? Did they see the new products they wanted tosee? As a result of visiting the event, did they-or will they-purchase anything? What would they haveliked to see at the event-what was missing?" Each conversation should take no more than five or tenminutes, Mahon maintains. Yet it yields vital information.

How will management promote this event?

Event management should have specific plans for reaching a carefully targeted audience, and should bewilling to share those plans with prospective exhibitors.Will management target the audience that's right for you? Will direct mail and ads be aimed at the people you want to reach? In what he calls "a real change from the way things were done five or tenyears ago," Mahon says that exhibitors should "demand that event management tell them what they're planning to do to promote the event." Exhibitors have made such demands on him, he says. As a result,"We prepare a sheet almost a year in advance that lists the trade publications we'll use and their circulation, the number of ads that will run in each, the number of news releases we'll send and when ,and the number of mailings we'll do and to whom."If the target list doesn't meet your needs, speak up. Says Roger, "Event management welcomes callssaying, 'This is who we need to target. Are you bringing them in? We'll come if you do.'"What are public event plans? Because many people learn about public events only from advertising,these plans are key, says Grossman. "A potential exhibitor needs to know how much radio advertising,will be done, on which radio stations, how much TV, how much print." Review the content of the ads,too, he urges: "The features addressed in the advertising indicate what type of audience is beingtargeted. We let our exhibitor prospects know exactly what they can expect from our advertising plan."

How will management help attendees find you?

For professional, reputable event management, the overriding concern is bringing buyer and seller together.Before the event opens. Find out if attendees can preregister and thus enter the event more quickly, saysMahon. Other points: "Will the event guide be sent in advance? Is the floor plan easy to read? Is it color coded?".At the event. Look for electronic terminals that help attendees locate specific products, and may even print out lists of companies with booth numbers. Another consideration, says Mackler: "Does theschedule give people time to attend the seminars and still see the exhibits?".Reed's Grossman points to special concerns for public events: "Is parking accessible? Is the event closeto mass transit? Inside the event, how is the foodservice? Is there something to entertain the kids?Remember that the more comfortable people are, the longer they'll stay."

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Category:	Business/Law > Marketing
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Upload Date:	02/17/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	event eventgain event gain event eventgain event gain (fewer)