Getting the Most Out of Face to Face Events

When the economy is jittery, everyone starts to debate the value of most marketing efforts. Very often, tradeshows and events are among the first marketing tactics to receive the scrutiny of those looking to reduce costs... and often with good reason.

I have participated in scores of conferences, in a variety of industries, as an exhibitor and in a networking / attendee capacity. It amazed me how often I would see abandoned exhibits, exhibitors chatting away with peers with their backs turned to prospective clients, showing little to no effort to interact with attendees. When the event is over, it is often these same companies that complain the loudest about how poorly organized the event was.

Tradeshows, if conducted properly, are highly effective methods of reaching target audiences and studies have shown that leads generated from conferences cost considerably less to close than those generated from field sales calls. Attendees of events generally want to be there and most come with specific agendas.

The challenge is that even when exhibitors go through the right motions at events, a majority do not set objectives and an even larger percentage have no process for measuring their objectives, quantifying event results, or following up on leads.

Goals of any organization participating in an event include one or more of the following: increasing sales, increasing share of customer, introducing new products and services and positioning the company or its brand(s). It is important to understand the specific objectives of your organization for the event and plan a strategy around the objectives.

Assuming you have thoroughly researched the event and it is the appropriate forum to reach your intended audience, set your goals and strategies in advance of the event. Use past events to determine how many prospects you must speak with to achieve your specific target objectives and plan to hit your goals.

Measure your results after the event and track ultimate client revenue back to your lead to demonstrate your return on investment. Evaluate the event and report, using metrics to back up your outcomes.

A tactic used succesfuly by some exhibitors and one that my companies have often taken advantage of includes identifying and reaching out to key prospects and clients in advance of the conference and either arranging for a discussions/demo at the booth, or meeting over meals, drinks, or in a private, sponsored event.

As a vendor looking to reach litigators it is helpful to understand your target demographic. Is your ideal client a solo practitioner, or a 20 person firm? If the latter and you can obtain a pre-show attendee list, you may want to do some advance research on your top prospects. You can find lawyer bios and photos on many firm web sites, or bar directories. Even if some of your targets do not walk by your booth, knowing who they are may allow you to introduce yourself in a networking function, or different setting.

A defense firm looking to strengthen its brand value and facilitate networking opportunities between its lawyers and clients or prospects may consider sponsorship of a private reception. Be wary though, some "private" events have a tendency of turning into conference wide affairs - so be sure you have a solid plan for getting the qualified traffic to your event while filtering out the party crashers.

Plaintiff's lawyers, I appreciate that your role is rarely, if ever that of exhibitor, so I will leave you with an attendee tip. Sure, you're in Hawaii and the last place you want to be is in the exhibit hall when you can be enjoying your tax write-off vacation by the pool. Remember though, that there is a reason why many of the nation's top trial lawyers are also the same individuals who spend the most time in the exhibit halls at conferences. They are there to learn and determine which vendors can give them the advantage needed to stay ahead of the curve. I highly recommend speaking with as many vendors as possible when you are at a conference, whether you decided to purchase their services or not - if you go early in the morning there will be plenty of time to catch some sun. Not all will wow you, but it is very likely that you will have some interesting conversations that will give you clearer insight on ways to improve your practice.