I’m really miffed right now. Actually I’ve been miffed for about a month. I’m miffed as a trade show attendee and I’m really miffed as a trade show producer. Why am I miffed? Let me tell you.
At the end of June I attended AIBTM in Baltimore. AIBTM is the brand new international trade show for the meetings and events industry. It is a chance for planners to meet with suppliers and venues from across the globe. AIBTM did a fantastic job vetting buyers through their hosted buyer program and set up an aggressive schedule for pre-planned meetings with exhibitors.
I met with over 20 venues during the two days I was there and several different vendors. Most were scheduled…some I just stumbled across during my “free time”. I spent about 20 minutes during each appointment explaining what my needs were to each exhibitor and was so impressed by the way they listened and took notes. When they asked me what information I needed to move along in the buying process I told them I needed floor plans with exact measurements and layouts of meeting space as well as pricing for their Complete Meeting Packages (CMP). I had high hopes, I had made it very simple for follow-up.
What I received over the next month or so was anything but what I asked for. Those venues that did bother to follow-up sent me a generic thanks for stopping by e-mail with their entire marketing kit attached. I am now inundated with e-mails from these exhibitors as they have taken it upon themselves to put me on their e-mail lists. I recently got information from one CVB touting their city as a vacation destination. One property sent me an e-mail blast about their wedding facilities and services. I have never and will never be planning a wedding.
Only one exhibitor sent me the information I requested. pc/nametag was not even on my list of targeted exhibitors. I happened to stumble across them as I went into the hosted buyer lounge for a refill on coffee. I spent all of two minutes with them asking them about their large format badges. I love big badges. I cannot remember anyone’s name and I want to be able to see it from across the room before I’m right on top of them and making a fool of myself. I’m not alone in this. Again, it was at most a two minute conversation.
Within a week I had received an e-mail from them telling me they were sending me samples. I received said samples and guess what was inside the package? Big ass name tags. Every single size and style they carried approximately 4” x 6” and larger. They followed-up by phone as well (I apologize for not calling you back I’m swamped right now). Guess who I can’t wait to do business with? pc/nametag has my business and I have told this story to every meeting/event planning friend I have.
This miffs me as an attendee because I spent three days of my time at this event and all those vendors, with the exception of pc/nametag, wasted my time. They are continuing to waste my time by sending me all their “junk mail”. All I can think is, if you are this incapable of getting me the information I need during the pitch process…how bad will things get once I’m under contract? Thank goodness I was part of the hosted buyer program and did not have to pay for my hotel. If that were the case I’d be more than miffed.
But I’m really miffed and concerned as I myself am a show producer. AIBTM did everything right. They had the right buyers in the room and they had a bunch of exhibitors we wanted to see. I am very unlikely to attend AIBTM again. I am cancelling my trip to HSMAI’s Meet event in DC in September. I simply cannot afford to waste my time at an event where exhibitors do not follow-up with the information I specifically requested.
It is completely out of the control of AIBTM and HSMAI but they are the ones who suffer. I wonder how many of these exhibitors I visited with whine to the show producers about the lack of business done as a result of their event?
Let’s face it, this problem is not limited to these two industry events. I hear these complaints from attendees across all industries and all events. How do we as show organizers combat this problem. I don’t want to lose attendees because my exhibitors were too lazy to follow-up with the appropriate information. Exhibitors need to take the blindfold off and start to take ownership of just why they are so damn unsuccessful when exhibiting at a show. Stop blaming it on everyone else.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Traci – I had the exact same experience at AIBTM. I received barely any follow up. The few people I did hear from only received my name and wanted to hear my story/needs all over again. What a waste! And I’m sure AIBTM will have to put up with these exhibitors complaining that they didn’t get any business.
So sorry to hear this Liz…A little part of me was hoping it was just me they were ignoring. Someone suggested we are not being followed-up with because we are not fortune 1000 companies with big name recognition. Still really bad excuse in my mind. How do they know I don’t have fortune 500 clients I am planning for? (I do not…I plan and produce independent conferences and trade shows).
I think your post points out the importance of pre-show exhibitor education. And good sales training! Too many inexperienced sales contacts are thrown into the field without instruction on how to follow up. Teaching them how to listen would be a good start, too…
Traci, I was an attendee at your presentation at SMEI Philadelphia yesterday, and was shocked at the 16% follow up rate you indicated. That is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE, especially when the technology and tools to insure close to 100% follow up exist! (We deal in those tools!) If you figure out the cost per lead of NOT following up, based on total trade show expense, I’m sure the number would be quite an eye opener!
Kristi, thanks for your comment. Yes, I think training is key. However most companies see this as an added expense they don’t really need. After all, there booths are staffed by sales people so they should know what to do. But I also think it is the result of not having a plan in place for how exactly leads will be followed-up and who will follow-up and who will be responsible for checking this. To often they get dumped into a CRM system and assumed someone will take care of it.
Another problem is that of unqualified leads getting bundled in with the few “A” leads that were collected. A sales rep or inside sales person starts contacting his list of show leads and the first 10 are junk. People who just wanted the give-away. The caller soon gives up assuming all the leads are junk and a waste of their time. Training can solve this problem easily. I’ve worked with companies to create a definition of what a qualified lead is (most sales and marketing departments don’t agree on this) and then how to determine that in the booth. It does work, but it takes time and training.
Hi Chris, so glad you were able to come out to the presentation. I had a great time with your group. You are right, the tech and tools are available. The problem is generally a breakdown in the process. See my response to Kristi’s comment on training. I just think it is amazing that while so many leads are not followed-up on, every single exhibitor I come across does not think it happens in their company. Yet, they don’t measure anything beyond how many leads they collected at the show. And generally they mean card swipes, not actual “A’ leads
I am a total pc/nametag fan girl.
Brilliant idea #47 from them – one year after you order from them, they shoot you an email and ask if you need a repeat order. I don’t, my life isn’t that well-ordered, but I certainly appreciate the reminder and the thought behind it.
That is a Brilliant Idea Barbara, and can I just point out that so many people have tweeted about how happy they are with PC/nametag and mentioned them again and again from this post. Exactly why are people not following up again? I hope PC/nametag gets some business from this…they deserve it!
I am biased because we deal in CRM, but anyone with a decent CRM can automate the sending of reminder emails! and a lot more too!
Hello Traci,
This blog post of yours and your comments during #expochat on Twitter got me mulling over why there is such a disconnect between what booth staffers say to you in their booth and what their company does after the show. You are so right that this is a major issue that exhibitors must face and fix. So I wrote this post: http://bit.ly/nPWIvY to describe what is the likely cause, and a potential solution. Thanks for holding the mirror up for exhibitors.
I think you may have missed the point of this article Chris…it’s automation that is causing the problem. I didn’t need a reminder e-mail…I needed specific information. Too many exhibitors rely on their CRM system to do all the work for them. I find it odd that these systems are called Customer Relationship Management systems. Customer Relationship Management is not something that can happen when you put a computer in charge or something that software can take over. A CRM system is nothing more than a fancy database to help you organize your customers but it has nothing to do with managing relationships. But thanks for sharing that plug so we all know how out of touch you are.
Traci,
You are right in that a “relationship” exists between people, and software and gizmos cannot establish that. However, CRM is far, far more than just a database, or a way of sending email. It is a tool that can implement PROCESS that forces people to do the things that they should do, and in the order they should do it in. If sales people perform those specific tasks after a show, then the “relationship” gets established and the prospect gets the information they are looking for, and hopefully, the salesperson gets a sale.
The problem is that oftentimes sales does not have the tools or does not use currently available tools to make them more efficient in addressing Prospect and Customer needs. CRM acts a a great tool to help get this part of the job done. CRM cannot create a relationship, but it most certainly can make a person pretty darn efficient in managing it!
{ 3 trackbacks }