Do I need to participate in conferences?
Does your business need an exhibition? Why waste time and money on participating in conferences? Where to put the stand and who to take with? To drink or not to drink at the afterparty? And most importantly, how to convert all these costs of time and money into sales and profits for the company?
We in Alconost have already found our answers to these questions and we go to conferences regularly. One of such conferences - ISDEF - constantly brings us not only acquaintances and clients (at ISDEF there is a very high concentration of owners of grocery IT businesses), but also inspiration, new knowledge and ideas. So, at one of the ISDEF, we were present at the report by Oleg Fedorov (CEO Oxygen Software ), who shared the experience of traveling to domestic and foreign events. The experience is very valuable, given that conferences played a significant role in the success of the guys from Oxygen in foreign markets.
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We have made an article outlining Oleg's speech. The article will be useful both for beginners and experienced visitors of specialized events. Life hacking and action plan - right under the cut!
For those who are too lazy to read, we immediately say: “Definitely, yes. Conferences are a must have for business development. ” Do not believe? Then answer for yourself the following questions:
After you have decided that exhibitions and conferences will be useful, it is worth deciding which of such events to take part in, and which of which you can “walk through” without detriment to the development of business.
The easiest way is to see which events your competitors take part in. The next step in choosing the necessary events is the maximum coincidence on the subject. If you are a beginner, then participate only with full confidence that the event is relevant to your business. Look at the list of participants, speakers, read reviews, read the presentations of reports.
Calculate the cost of participation in the event. Do not forget to include in the calculations and transportation costs, as well as the cost of living.
Consider the difference between conferences and exhibitions. The conference involves a report, and, therefore, everyone will see and hear the representative of the company. In the case of an exhibition or only poster participation, it is likely that some visitors will not reach you.
If, despite the various benefits from participating in the event, its cost for your company is prohibitive, then try to visit it as a visitor. Walk around, look around and decide on the spot whether the company should spend money on such an event next time. If so, then by all means keep in mind this event when planning your budget for the next year!
So, the conference is selected, the budget is agreed, is it time to pack your bags? And no! Then begins the most interesting and what determines the result of the whole venture with the event. It is necessary to decide what the company will go to the conference with, choose the topic of the report and not only.
The advice is clear, but nevertheless: in order to get time for a report at the conference, its topic should be interesting. In addition, an important aspect - the identity of the speaker. Ideally, this should be a charismatic person, if not the first person of the company, then an employee who is directly involved in the development and generation of the product. Create, grow gurus in your industry within your company. Make him the face of the company at conferences. To remember the performance, and the report attracted attention, fill it with energy. Here all the ways are good: dance, sing, joke, ask questions, give away prizes - do everything to get listeners and fill them with drive. Do not rely on inspiration during the performance, get ready carefully and in advance.
Do not think that after the report you can relax next to the company's booth. Forget about silence and oblivion, if you want to usefully spend time at the conference. The stand requires attention and participation no less than the report itself.
Poster participation also has a number of nuances, which should be taken care of in advance, before the time of booking. The most important thing is the location. The best places are the entry / exit areas and dining areas. In the first case, your stand will be the first to be noticed by the visitor and there is a big chance that he will stop next to you. In the second case, a relaxed tea or coffee client will rest his eyes on a stand with information about your product and here it is up to you, whether you are using your chance or not. Therefore, the following advice is to think as much as possible how to show and present your product. Use every inch of space; if the product has a good interface, then use it! Take a large monitor and safely show all that you can boast. For example, in Alconost , we always twist demo-rides on our stand with cutting from our best videos , and at gaming conferences - also a video-overwrite about our services .
It is important to adequately assess your position in the market. If you are not a leader, then representatives of the company who look too pathetic will perplex the visitor.
With the location and dress code figured out, go to the behavior at the exhibition. Let's see what mistakes can cost you the loss of new customers?
Even if you have a stand in a classroom, participation in the exhibition is not limited to this. Of course, you can sit through the entire conference, playing on the iPad, but then the point of going to it is not clear. Talk with visitors, answer their questions, praise yourself, but in no case do not scold competitors. Not to be caught off guard, prepare three options for answering the question of how your product compares favorably with your competitor. The first option is a short answer, the second is advanced, and the third version is for advanced users, with whom there is something to talk about.
Adequately assess visitors, so as not to waste time on those who came just for packages and waste paper. We are interested in two types of visitors. The first type is those who know almost everything about the product, but nothing works for them. The second type does not know about the product, but knows about the competitor. With the latter we must work to the fullest!
If you can quickly solve the problem of the client right at the event, then this is a definite plus to the company's reputation. Do not lose your chance to improve the image of the company.
What else to do at the conference? You can watch the competitors, establish new connections and contacts. Do not neglect the afterparty, this is another opportunity to get acquainted with all the market players.
And now directly on how to monetize participation in the event. Because communication is always good, but we don’t forget what it was all about.
At first we will try to minimize expenses, namely, we will bargain with the organizers. There are various ways to reduce the cost of participation, ranging from discounts to offers to pay for participation by a licensed product. If you think that the conference is really cool, then pay for participation for several years in advance, of course, with a discount.
The following method to benefit is triggered directly during the conference. There is such an amazing thing as Silent auction. Before the beginning of the conference, a form is printed with information on the cost of the product and an initial price of, say, $ 100. The user is invited to write his version of the price. At the end of the conference, the product is sold at the price of the winner, i.e. the maximum.
At conferences, it is good to conduct trainings, it is they who help pay for participation in events.
As an indirect option for profit, you can consider a rally among people who have left their business cards. In fact, this is a good way to collect information about potential customers. How you can convert it into profit depends on you.
The main criterion of success is your subjective feelings from participation, from communication with visitors and other participants of the event. The impact directly on sales is stretched for several months, sometimes the result is absent for six months. Also it is necessary to focus on the number of business cards collected and the bid of the winner in the Silent auction.
Also, conferences are a good reason to relax and see new places along with business development. So, of course, it’s up to you to decide whether it is “worth it or not”, but the answer is obvious.
By the way, the next ISDEF will take place in Moscow in September and now you can manage to buy tickets for it with a good discount. The ISDEF conference is also known for its last-minute communication: the owners of software businesses share valuable knowledge here not only from the stage, but also for the evening bottle of rum near the fireplace. We go. Come, talk!
PS You can watch the video of the report here and here .
We in Alconost have already found our answers to these questions and we go to conferences regularly. One of such conferences - ISDEF - constantly brings us not only acquaintances and clients (at ISDEF there is a very high concentration of owners of grocery IT businesses), but also inspiration, new knowledge and ideas. So, at one of the ISDEF, we were present at the report by Oleg Fedorov (CEO Oxygen Software ), who shared the experience of traveling to domestic and foreign events. The experience is very valuable, given that conferences played a significant role in the success of the guys from Oxygen in foreign markets.
')
We have made an article outlining Oleg's speech. The article will be useful both for beginners and experienced visitors of specialized events. Life hacking and action plan - right under the cut!
Do you want to take part in the conference or “do you need it?”
For those who are too lazy to read, we immediately say: “Definitely, yes. Conferences are a must have for business development. ” Do not believe? Then answer for yourself the following questions:
- Will the conference help improve the image of my company?
- Will the buyer acquire the product from an unknown manufacturer, regardless of at what price he offers it? You think that the minimum price will be able to convince to buy the product from you, and not from the company with whose representatives you have already communicated?
- Have you encountered the problem of finding new customers? Think, perhaps, the conference is your chance to promote yourself in a vertical market or once again remind about yourself.
Where to run?
After you have decided that exhibitions and conferences will be useful, it is worth deciding which of such events to take part in, and which of which you can “walk through” without detriment to the development of business.
The easiest way is to see which events your competitors take part in. The next step in choosing the necessary events is the maximum coincidence on the subject. If you are a beginner, then participate only with full confidence that the event is relevant to your business. Look at the list of participants, speakers, read reviews, read the presentations of reports.
Calculate the cost of participation in the event. Do not forget to include in the calculations and transportation costs, as well as the cost of living.
Consider the difference between conferences and exhibitions. The conference involves a report, and, therefore, everyone will see and hear the representative of the company. In the case of an exhibition or only poster participation, it is likely that some visitors will not reach you.
Layfkhak from Oleg Fedorov: “It is better to have a report without a stand than a stand without a report”
If, despite the various benefits from participating in the event, its cost for your company is prohibitive, then try to visit it as a visitor. Walk around, look around and decide on the spot whether the company should spend money on such an event next time. If so, then by all means keep in mind this event when planning your budget for the next year!
So, the conference is selected, the budget is agreed, is it time to pack your bags? And no! Then begins the most interesting and what determines the result of the whole venture with the event. It is necessary to decide what the company will go to the conference with, choose the topic of the report and not only.
A report appears ...
The advice is clear, but nevertheless: in order to get time for a report at the conference, its topic should be interesting. In addition, an important aspect - the identity of the speaker. Ideally, this should be a charismatic person, if not the first person of the company, then an employee who is directly involved in the development and generation of the product. Create, grow gurus in your industry within your company. Make him the face of the company at conferences. To remember the performance, and the report attracted attention, fill it with energy. Here all the ways are good: dance, sing, joke, ask questions, give away prizes - do everything to get listeners and fill them with drive. Do not rely on inspiration during the performance, get ready carefully and in advance.
Layfkhak from Oleg Fedorov: “Use only hidden advertising in the report. Screenshots, company logos, company URLs on slides, or verbal reminders are our everything. ”
Do not think that after the report you can relax next to the company's booth. Forget about silence and oblivion, if you want to usefully spend time at the conference. The stand requires attention and participation no less than the report itself.
How not to get lost among the stands of competitors
Poster participation also has a number of nuances, which should be taken care of in advance, before the time of booking. The most important thing is the location. The best places are the entry / exit areas and dining areas. In the first case, your stand will be the first to be noticed by the visitor and there is a big chance that he will stop next to you. In the second case, a relaxed tea or coffee client will rest his eyes on a stand with information about your product and here it is up to you, whether you are using your chance or not. Therefore, the following advice is to think as much as possible how to show and present your product. Use every inch of space; if the product has a good interface, then use it! Take a large monitor and safely show all that you can boast. For example, in Alconost , we always twist demo-rides on our stand with cutting from our best videos , and at gaming conferences - also a video-overwrite about our services .
It is important to adequately assess your position in the market. If you are not a leader, then representatives of the company who look too pathetic will perplex the visitor.
With the location and dress code figured out, go to the behavior at the exhibition. Let's see what mistakes can cost you the loss of new customers?
The best team: owner + techie + girl-simpapulya, or how to behave at the exhibition
Even if you have a stand in a classroom, participation in the exhibition is not limited to this. Of course, you can sit through the entire conference, playing on the iPad, but then the point of going to it is not clear. Talk with visitors, answer their questions, praise yourself, but in no case do not scold competitors. Not to be caught off guard, prepare three options for answering the question of how your product compares favorably with your competitor. The first option is a short answer, the second is advanced, and the third version is for advanced users, with whom there is something to talk about.
Life hacking from Oleg Fedorov: “Our employee is always standing in front of the stand, who“ inadvertently ”interferes with the flow of visitors to stop at our stand”
Adequately assess visitors, so as not to waste time on those who came just for packages and waste paper. We are interested in two types of visitors. The first type is those who know almost everything about the product, but nothing works for them. The second type does not know about the product, but knows about the competitor. With the latter we must work to the fullest!
If you can quickly solve the problem of the client right at the event, then this is a definite plus to the company's reputation. Do not lose your chance to improve the image of the company.
Layfkhak from Oleg Fedorov: “Write down everything that people are telling you. Even seemingly stupid at first glance. And always ask counter questions. ”
Do not stand alone
What else to do at the conference? You can watch the competitors, establish new connections and contacts. Do not neglect the afterparty, this is another opportunity to get acquainted with all the market players.
Life hacking from Oleg Fedorov: “Walk, listen to the reports, use all the opportunities to learn something new and tell about yourself, even if it’s easy trolling of competitors”
And now directly on how to monetize participation in the event. Because communication is always good, but we don’t forget what it was all about.
How to benefit?
At first we will try to minimize expenses, namely, we will bargain with the organizers. There are various ways to reduce the cost of participation, ranging from discounts to offers to pay for participation by a licensed product. If you think that the conference is really cool, then pay for participation for several years in advance, of course, with a discount.
The following method to benefit is triggered directly during the conference. There is such an amazing thing as Silent auction. Before the beginning of the conference, a form is printed with information on the cost of the product and an initial price of, say, $ 100. The user is invited to write his version of the price. At the end of the conference, the product is sold at the price of the winner, i.e. the maximum.
At conferences, it is good to conduct trainings, it is they who help pay for participation in events.
As an indirect option for profit, you can consider a rally among people who have left their business cards. In fact, this is a good way to collect information about potential customers. How you can convert it into profit depends on you.
Chickens in the fall or consider how to evaluate the impact of participation in the conference
The main criterion of success is your subjective feelings from participation, from communication with visitors and other participants of the event. The impact directly on sales is stretched for several months, sometimes the result is absent for six months. Also it is necessary to focus on the number of business cards collected and the bid of the winner in the Silent auction.
Also, conferences are a good reason to relax and see new places along with business development. So, of course, it’s up to you to decide whether it is “worth it or not”, but the answer is obvious.
By the way, the next ISDEF will take place in Moscow in September and now you can manage to buy tickets for it with a good discount. The ISDEF conference is also known for its last-minute communication: the owners of software businesses share valuable knowledge here not only from the stage, but also for the evening bottle of rum near the fireplace. We go. Come, talk!
PS You can watch the video of the report here and here .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/261383/
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