Take Away

One Final Piece

Attendees want search tools that are similar to what they use as a consumer— including “mobility.” Around 20 percent of page views are going to be on mobile devices—and that percentage is only going to increase. Your exhibitor profiles and attendee tools must be accessible fromany device, and the analytics from smartphones must roll up.

Dave Lutz, CMP, is managing director of VelvetChainsaw Consulting (www .velvetchainsaw.com), a business-improvement firm specializing in the meetings and events industry. His company assists organizations in realizing top- and bottom-line growth by delivering customer- focused solutions in business development, best-practice and process improvement, strategic planning, and training.

People & Processes By Dave Lutz, CMP

Would You Like Fries With That Booth?

Attendees are changing the way they plan and consume trade shows. If you’re still using static PDF floor plans and exhibitor listings, you’re missing out on the opportunity to upsell—and to connect buyers and sellers.

AccordingtoresearchconductedbyCEIR(Center for Exhibition Industry Research), nearly 75 per- cent of young professionals (40 years old and under) create a must-see list of exhibitors before coming to a trade show. That staggering percent- age has opportunity —and win/win/win—writ- ten all over it: Attendeeswant to browse before they shop

and plan their time wisely. Exhibitors want visibility — page views,

clicks, and personal visits from interested buyers. Organizers benefit by connecting buyers

and sellers, extending the life of their show, and monetizing the opportunity.

Are you capitalizing on this? If your exhibit hall

has more than 50 exhibiting companies, you’d be wise to research online floor-plantechnologies that include rich exhibitor profiles. The payback and added value make it one of the easier event-tech- nology investments to justify. Here’s a cheat sheet for researching and imple-

menting a self-funding plan: 1.Scheduleproductdemoswithashortlistof

vendors. Currently, the ones I like are ACT Inc./EXPOCAD, a2z Inc., Map Your Show, and MarketArt. Be sure to get advice onhowto build and price online booth packages. Ask the vendor to demo how exhibitors upload content, and familiarize yourself with the attendee experience. Without attendee searches, page views, and use of the planning tools, the technology will fail to live up to its promise. 2.Createadd-onpackages.Give every exhibitor

afree basic listing. These usually includeabriefcom- panydescription (50 words), contact info,URL,and

a single product category. Offertwoupgrade pack- ages that include moreproduct categories, a longer company description,company logo, product list- ings, press releases, show specials, and videos. Incorporate other exposure opportunities, includ- ing print, e-mail sponsorship, and banner ads. 3.Considerpricing.Upgraded listings are priced

from $99 to $1,500 each. Average pricing is around $400 to $500, and a premium listing can run $750 to $995.Check out what other shows in your industry are charging; it’s more about what your market will bear. If you have a healthy show and stick to your plan, you should see adoption rates of about 40 percent by the second year. 4.Create examples. Spend extra resources

when you’re launching the program to make it stick. Help a few exhibitors build rich profiles, and point others to those best-practice samples. Offer to help all exhibitors create their profile the first year. 5.Askfor thesale.Add these packages to your

order form. If you are pre-selling next year’s event at this year’s show, ask for the buy. I’ve seen ana- lytics that prove that the longer these profiles are up on your website, the greater the exhibitors’ traf- fic (both online and onsite). 6.Promotetheheckout of it. Initially use this

rich data to help attendees make the decision to attend. In the final 30 days before the show, encourage attendees to make a booth-visit plan. 7.Provideanalytics.The number of times each

exhibitor appears in search results, the categories or search terms used to get there, and how many times each exhibitor was added to a personal expo plan are all data that can be used for retention and upselling.

ON_THE_WEB: Jeff Gitomer is a great resource for upping your sales game. For his advice on upselling, visit http://bit.ly/h3irep.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD YEO pcma convene April 2011 33