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Complacency the Enemy of b2b Trade Show Success

Jenn Heinold

Thursday, January 6, 2011 I love the New Year's holiday for the same reason I love working in trade shows. The New Year gives you time to reflect and examine what worked and what didn’t. It provides an opportunity to set some resolutions for

Jenn Heinold

improvement, a reason for change.

Shows provide the same satisfaction; they happen every year, and afterward you get a fresh start. Each year they can be evaluated, improved upon and changed for the better. Not every vocation provides the luxury of putting your ideas into motion, watching them succeed or fail and being able to make further improvements year after year. In the celebration of the New Year and trade shows, I’ve compiled the following New Year's resolutions for all trade shows.

1. Introduce New Content

This may seem like an obvious resolution for events, but so often events managers get complacent and produce the same content with the same speakers, year after year. Don’t get me wrong—a signature session or two can certainly add value, but make sure you’re freshening up your content with new topics. And be sure to watch those new sessions closely, because that one hot new session with standing-room-only audience could turn into your next new event in the form of a one-day summit focused exclusively on that topic.

2. Examine Your Rates

I’ve talked about this before, but it blows my mind when I learn of show managers who just arbitrarily set registration rates and deadlines. Simply put, registration rates that maximize revenue encompass multiple tiers and packages. Make sure your one-day package is priced competitively enough that an upgrade to your two-day package is a no-brainer. And make the early-bird rate a big incentive—not a $25 difference from your regular rate. Maximizing your registration fee structure makes decision making easy for prospective attendees, and increases incremental revenue.

3. Let Everyone Be Show Director for a Day

Yes, you read that correctly—turn over your reins and let your exhibitors, speakers, attendees and staff share their vision of what your show should be. This resolution is all about listening, and it works. Whenever I feel disconnected, or caught up in the admin of day to day, I pick an event and I call five exhibitors or five attendees and just check in and see what challenges they’re facing, what they’d do to improve the show, what trends they see in the market. Those calls always result in new ideas, and often are the 20 most refreshing minutes of my day. Try it in 2011.

This is an excerpt from a min's b2b column by Jenn Heinold, show director for Access Intelligence’s Satellite and Aviation Groups. See the complete premium story.

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