Mission Impossible: How to make the first business event in an unfamiliar country
At the beginning of May, we had a “ Winning in omni-channel retailing ” mitap in Dubai, which gathered twice as many participants as we expected. All the training took 3 weeks. Not everything was perfect, but overall we are satisfied. I tell you what to be ready for and what to consider when organizing an event in a foreign country.
In March, we organized the IDRF conference - the International Digital Retail Forum in Moscow, which gathered 400 participants. With proper organization, such events bring good returns - new customers and potential partners. With IDRF it was the same - as a result, many companies turned to us.
Our agency specializes in online retail solutions and is located in Moscow and Dubai, therefore we decided to hold an event after Russia in Dubai, a meeting dedicated to the implementation of omni-channel solutions in retail. Today, many brands understand that it is necessary to use multi-channel strategies, because consumers expect a holistic interaction with the company. However, most do not know what technology to use to get full omni-channel. This is the current pain of business, so with the theme of the event, we had no doubt.
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We started the preparation of the meeting with an analysis of the local market of events and we advise you to do the same. This will help to understand the popular formats, popular topics, the average number of visitors and to get the right picture of the local market. Sometimes it seems that you know the local specifics well enough, but it's easy to miss. For example, in Dubai, the overwhelming majority of payments go for cash, so initially it can be assumed that the topic of online banking or electronic payments is not interesting. But in fact the opposite is the development prospects that attract professionals and individuals.
In our case, it turned out that in the middle of April, the exhibition is held, Seamless Middle East, and on May 5, Ramadan is already approaching, and professional activity stops. Therefore, we had to accelerate dramatically in order to have time to hold the mitap between Seamless and Ramadan. The timing is very important because inexperienced organizers can put the event in the local low season. For example, the speakers from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Leo Burnett did not come to us, because large advertising campaigns start in the UAE together with Ramadan, which is an increased burden on local corporate offices.
Seamless Middle East Exhibition
It is necessary to answer four basic questions: “about what?”, “Who?”, “For whom?” And “where?”. The most important thing is the theme of the event, on which the composition of the speakers depends, the target audience of the participants and sometimes even the venue. We chose online retail and conducted a meeting for representatives of brands and marketers.
Speakers They attract participants, so choose experienced, charismatic and popular. All speakers who perform for free can be divided into two categories: representatives of brands and start-ups, including owners of medium-sized businesses. With brands it is difficult to agree on a performance, because they are always invited somewhere. Only personal connections will help here. Our regional director Marina Litvinova involved her former colleagues and organized a presentation by representatives of Mercedes and the cosmetic brand Jardin de Parfums.
Speakers Winning in Omni-Channel retailing
It is much easier to negotiate with representatives of startups and business owners. As a rule, they are active, love PR, and in any event they see opportunities for promotion and networking. Therefore, when working with them, it is necessary not to persuade, but, on the contrary, weed out in order to find really interesting personalities with strong expertise. Ideally, the founder of a startup used to be a top manager of an international brand. Such a person has great experience and is ready to share it.
You need to look for speakers as soon as you decide to hold an event. Many have a tight schedule, and they will refuse just because they have to act in another place. There were six people in our program, but in order to find them, we had to negotiate with twenty. Calls and correspondence were many times more. As a result, in the final version, we had seven confirmations instead of six, and on the eve of the event one speaker could not. Therefore, be sure to have spare speakers who can hedge.
Still choose speakers strategically - those who have a great networking. So, they can offer themselves a decent alternative if they refuse to speak. And if they agree, they will lead a part of the participants. Half of those present at our meeting came at the invitation of the speakers.
The participants . We did not sell tickets to the mitap because we wanted to find new major customers with it. And, looking ahead, I will say that it was possible - we received several promising leads from international consumer electronics brands in Dubai. If participation is free, then finding people is much easier. I don’t think that we would be able to assemble a full room in three weeks if we had to pay for the participation. In this case, it is better to start in about six months.
At first, 30 participants were supposed, and there was just a suitable conference room. But at some point we realized that there would be more visitors, so we began to look for a site with a capacity of up to 60 people. As a result, almost as many participants were. And we could not choose a place only on the basis of the capacity of the hall, because the status of the site is crucial in Dubai. Only according to it, many participants decide whether to attend the event or not.
Playground . When an event is non-commercial, it is advisable to save on everything, including renting a room. It is best to use the conference room of the accelerator, technopark, local administration - any organization interested in developing business relations in the region. When you agree on the site, immediately discuss the cost of renting equipment. Sometimes it happens that the hall is given away for free, but the projector, microphones, furniture, etc. are presented with a separate invoice, which is comparable to the cost of renting a room. Together with the platform, we were able to receive a free projector and technical support.
The conference room was provided by Astrolabs Accelerator, in which we are a resident. But there was a nuance: the hall could only accommodate 30 people, and we have already decided to invite more. In the accelerator at that time there was a new site for 60 people, but it has not yet been put into operation. For 10 days we persuaded the Astrolabs to provide this room to us. In parallel, they came up with a scheme for how to get another site for free, if it doesn’t work with this one.
For this, barter hotels were offered in two versions: simple and extended with our increased obligations. With a simple package, the hotel provides a hall for free, and in return advertises itself among the participants. This is a profitable offer, because we collected marketing budget managers, who also hold events and look for sites. Hotels could show their level and meet potential customers.
The expanded package also included catering, and we promised to invite local media, social media and influenza. Over the weekend, we talked with four hotels, and they all liked the offer. But in the end, this option was not needed, because Astrolabs confirmed a large site.
Catering The participants' meals were also organized practically by barter, and its cost was five to six times lower than at the normal price. Catering was organized by the Hotel Cartagena restaurant located in the five-star JW Marriott Marquis hotel. Marina met his representative at the event just a couple of weeks before ours and agreed on service.
If you can not agree on nutrition, organize it yourself. Mandatory minimum: water, coffee and tea. It is advisable to consider the minimum snack: sandwiches and pastries. You can try to buy at the wholesale price in the local bakery. But manufacturers of water, coffee and tea brands are unlikely to go on discounts. The conference should be large enough to be interesting to them.
We used the international service Meetup.com, through which they organize all the events in Dubai: from yoga classes to business breakfasts. It helps to widely announce the event and quickly collect visitors, but does not provide user data. Because of this, on the mitap part of the hall was occupied by a non-target audience.
Of the other free promotion methods, we used announcements on our website, groups and pages on Facebook, including the IDRF conference, news on the accelerator website and an invitation through its newsletter. Free methods will not give a big return if you do not have several thousand subscribers, but still make a contribution. We also launched paid advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn for $ 500 for each channel, the latter being several times more expensive.
Facebook did not bring good returns, because it feels that it is only used in Russia as a business network, in other countries it is a place to communicate with friends. Next time we do not plan to use it at all, but focus on LinkedIn. It really is a working tool that helps networking. If you are planning events abroad, be sure to create a page in LinkedIn in advance and regularly fill it with content. By the time of the invitation of participants, you need a pumped page and a wide circle of friends.
A total of 110 people registered for the mitap, and 56 | Conversion rate was 51% | For a free event it is not bad. As a rule, if the participant has not spent the money, then the visit is considered optional. This should be taken into account and try not to limit the registration, otherwise there may be too many empty seats in the hall.
Where to begin
In March, we organized the IDRF conference - the International Digital Retail Forum in Moscow, which gathered 400 participants. With proper organization, such events bring good returns - new customers and potential partners. With IDRF it was the same - as a result, many companies turned to us.
Our agency specializes in online retail solutions and is located in Moscow and Dubai, therefore we decided to hold an event after Russia in Dubai, a meeting dedicated to the implementation of omni-channel solutions in retail. Today, many brands understand that it is necessary to use multi-channel strategies, because consumers expect a holistic interaction with the company. However, most do not know what technology to use to get full omni-channel. This is the current pain of business, so with the theme of the event, we had no doubt.
')
We started the preparation of the meeting with an analysis of the local market of events and we advise you to do the same. This will help to understand the popular formats, popular topics, the average number of visitors and to get the right picture of the local market. Sometimes it seems that you know the local specifics well enough, but it's easy to miss. For example, in Dubai, the overwhelming majority of payments go for cash, so initially it can be assumed that the topic of online banking or electronic payments is not interesting. But in fact the opposite is the development prospects that attract professionals and individuals.
In our case, it turned out that in the middle of April, the exhibition is held, Seamless Middle East, and on May 5, Ramadan is already approaching, and professional activity stops. Therefore, we had to accelerate dramatically in order to have time to hold the mitap between Seamless and Ramadan. The timing is very important because inexperienced organizers can put the event in the local low season. For example, the speakers from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Leo Burnett did not come to us, because large advertising campaigns start in the UAE together with Ramadan, which is an increased burden on local corporate offices.
Seamless Middle East Exhibition
How to organize
It is necessary to answer four basic questions: “about what?”, “Who?”, “For whom?” And “where?”. The most important thing is the theme of the event, on which the composition of the speakers depends, the target audience of the participants and sometimes even the venue. We chose online retail and conducted a meeting for representatives of brands and marketers.
Speakers They attract participants, so choose experienced, charismatic and popular. All speakers who perform for free can be divided into two categories: representatives of brands and start-ups, including owners of medium-sized businesses. With brands it is difficult to agree on a performance, because they are always invited somewhere. Only personal connections will help here. Our regional director Marina Litvinova involved her former colleagues and organized a presentation by representatives of Mercedes and the cosmetic brand Jardin de Parfums.
Speakers Winning in Omni-Channel retailing
It is much easier to negotiate with representatives of startups and business owners. As a rule, they are active, love PR, and in any event they see opportunities for promotion and networking. Therefore, when working with them, it is necessary not to persuade, but, on the contrary, weed out in order to find really interesting personalities with strong expertise. Ideally, the founder of a startup used to be a top manager of an international brand. Such a person has great experience and is ready to share it.
You need to look for speakers as soon as you decide to hold an event. Many have a tight schedule, and they will refuse just because they have to act in another place. There were six people in our program, but in order to find them, we had to negotiate with twenty. Calls and correspondence were many times more. As a result, in the final version, we had seven confirmations instead of six, and on the eve of the event one speaker could not. Therefore, be sure to have spare speakers who can hedge.
Still choose speakers strategically - those who have a great networking. So, they can offer themselves a decent alternative if they refuse to speak. And if they agree, they will lead a part of the participants. Half of those present at our meeting came at the invitation of the speakers.
The participants . We did not sell tickets to the mitap because we wanted to find new major customers with it. And, looking ahead, I will say that it was possible - we received several promising leads from international consumer electronics brands in Dubai. If participation is free, then finding people is much easier. I don’t think that we would be able to assemble a full room in three weeks if we had to pay for the participation. In this case, it is better to start in about six months.
At first, 30 participants were supposed, and there was just a suitable conference room. But at some point we realized that there would be more visitors, so we began to look for a site with a capacity of up to 60 people. As a result, almost as many participants were. And we could not choose a place only on the basis of the capacity of the hall, because the status of the site is crucial in Dubai. Only according to it, many participants decide whether to attend the event or not.
Playground . When an event is non-commercial, it is advisable to save on everything, including renting a room. It is best to use the conference room of the accelerator, technopark, local administration - any organization interested in developing business relations in the region. When you agree on the site, immediately discuss the cost of renting equipment. Sometimes it happens that the hall is given away for free, but the projector, microphones, furniture, etc. are presented with a separate invoice, which is comparable to the cost of renting a room. Together with the platform, we were able to receive a free projector and technical support.
The conference room was provided by Astrolabs Accelerator, in which we are a resident. But there was a nuance: the hall could only accommodate 30 people, and we have already decided to invite more. In the accelerator at that time there was a new site for 60 people, but it has not yet been put into operation. For 10 days we persuaded the Astrolabs to provide this room to us. In parallel, they came up with a scheme for how to get another site for free, if it doesn’t work with this one.
For this, barter hotels were offered in two versions: simple and extended with our increased obligations. With a simple package, the hotel provides a hall for free, and in return advertises itself among the participants. This is a profitable offer, because we collected marketing budget managers, who also hold events and look for sites. Hotels could show their level and meet potential customers.
The expanded package also included catering, and we promised to invite local media, social media and influenza. Over the weekend, we talked with four hotels, and they all liked the offer. But in the end, this option was not needed, because Astrolabs confirmed a large site.
Catering The participants' meals were also organized practically by barter, and its cost was five to six times lower than at the normal price. Catering was organized by the Hotel Cartagena restaurant located in the five-star JW Marriott Marquis hotel. Marina met his representative at the event just a couple of weeks before ours and agreed on service.
If you can not agree on nutrition, organize it yourself. Mandatory minimum: water, coffee and tea. It is advisable to consider the minimum snack: sandwiches and pastries. You can try to buy at the wholesale price in the local bakery. But manufacturers of water, coffee and tea brands are unlikely to go on discounts. The conference should be large enough to be interesting to them.
How to attract participants
We used the international service Meetup.com, through which they organize all the events in Dubai: from yoga classes to business breakfasts. It helps to widely announce the event and quickly collect visitors, but does not provide user data. Because of this, on the mitap part of the hall was occupied by a non-target audience.
Of the other free promotion methods, we used announcements on our website, groups and pages on Facebook, including the IDRF conference, news on the accelerator website and an invitation through its newsletter. Free methods will not give a big return if you do not have several thousand subscribers, but still make a contribution. We also launched paid advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn for $ 500 for each channel, the latter being several times more expensive.
Facebook did not bring good returns, because it feels that it is only used in Russia as a business network, in other countries it is a place to communicate with friends. Next time we do not plan to use it at all, but focus on LinkedIn. It really is a working tool that helps networking. If you are planning events abroad, be sure to create a page in LinkedIn in advance and regularly fill it with content. By the time of the invitation of participants, you need a pumped page and a wide circle of friends.
A total of 110 people registered for the mitap, and 56 | Conversion rate was 51% | For a free event it is not bad. As a rule, if the participant has not spent the money, then the visit is considered optional. This should be taken into account and try not to limit the registration, otherwise there may be too many empty seats in the hall.
findings
- When an event is free, it can be organized quickly. If the main points are clear: speakers, playground, catering, then two weeks will be enough.
- Think over the general theme of the event. It should overlap with the main focus of your business, but not be its advertising.
- To collect relevant participants, it is best to use personalized invitations. Send letters or call on a pre-made list. Ask the speakers to invite participants. So you get the target audience and save on advertising. It is advisable to contact new members after they register to screen out random people.
- Call more speakers than you need to be independent of force majeure: diseases, urgent business trips and the like.
- Pump over networking because it simplifies organization. In the same Dubai, personal connections always come first. Even a nodding acquaintance will give more returns than a cold call. If we did not have a trump card in Dubai in the form of our main organizer, Marina, with strong networking and a large circle of contacts, we would hardly have been able to meet the deadline. Therefore, before starting, make a list of those who can help in an unfamiliar country.
- Open a LinkedIn page in advance and fill it with content to attract members for free.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/452828/
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