Are you ready for Conferences and Events Season?

This is a guest post from Michael Dehoyos (see his background at the end). There are a lot of ways to market your business, but for a lot of industries, conferences or events are a big one…

With January already coming to a close, 2020 is in full swing! You’ve got your calendar highlighting all the key events and have taken the most important step into the new year for your growing enterprise – taking positive action. The marketplace is now a vast digital landscape, with instant access to an event information and their associate apps ready for you to download. There has never been a time quite like this for new and small enterprises to cultivate a thriving network of professionals than today.

That being said, it’s important to avoid the pitfalls that causes so many promising young enterprises to stumble under the spotlight of tradeshows and expos., and below we walk you through the dreaded pitfalls that you must avoid in order to succeed.

First Impression is the Only Impression

It must sound like a broken record to many of you. But it’s repeated for a reason – it’s the truth. It’s important to have a thoughtfully packaged brand, logo and product ready to deliver to your clients. But the impression is almost entirely down to you!

Victoria Dodd, Project Manager at Britstudent.com and Writemyx.com, hammers this home to clients on a daily basis – “You’re enterprise will intrigue them, but you are who they’ll remember. Make sure to provide good customer service on the day, be interested in those who have taken a moment to be interested in you, and put energy into the small details. They matter.”

Marketable Material

It is essential to be visible – both physically and digitally in the market. Especially in the build-up to an event you’ve had highlighted on your calendar. There are certain companies that will facilitate fast track ordering of marketing material – your branded brochures, business cards, etc. But they cannot facilitate your presence online. Make your targets aware of your presence at the event long in advance, and once there, make sure your digital platforms are easily and readily accessible.

It is also vital to keep in mind what your company represents, as printing off huge stacks of marketing material is not going to help the environment at all – how does that reflect on your brand or first impression.

Brand, Brand, Brand!

Your branding is essential. This is not limited to a cool logo that looks slick, reminiscent of every other start-up we’ve seen in the past 20 years of the tech. revolution. It’s about consistency and clarity. Just as business writer, Mia Gollan, associate of Australia2write.com and Nextcoursework.com suggests “Be memorable. Your choice of font, colours and associate imagery should be at the core of what your enterprise represents – you are part of that same brand, embrace it!”.

Conference Quality, not Quantity

A good handshake, a charmed conversation, the spark with someone at the right time – you’ve hit it off, and maybe that’s all your enterprise needs to kick on to the next step. This is why expos., aimed at small businesses are so important. But equally so, is attending the right events for your company. Who are your targets? What’s your industry? Where is the competition? These are essential questions in planning out your line of attack through the minefield of the expo. calendar.

View from the Other Side

Don’t be scared to simply attend events as an attendee. A simple mistake many small businesses make is that they don’t know enough about the marketplace they’re running around in. Explore it, understand it and engage with it. This cultural appreciation will help shape your own approach to future events and will stand you in good stead to succeed.

The Promotional Pit

It’s a common idea to enter the marketplace with a promotional part ready to lure in clients. The definitive mistake here is not leading with a promotion, but in choosing what aspect/product a business offers as part of their promotion. Many small businesses will select their proudest or preferred aspect and highlight it because they believe it is great. However, the focus must be on your target. When you’re in the maze of kiosks at an expo., your promotion needs to act as a beeline to your target audience. This may not be your favourite aspect, but it will be what turns the right heads as they walk passed.

Following a series of guidelines like that will help your small business navigate event season. Instead of aimless anxiety, you will leave a lasting impression on your targets and competition ensuring a solid platform for your business to leap from.

Michael Dehoyos, lead content marketer and editor at Phd Kingdom and Academic brits, and writer with Origins Writings, develops marketing strategies alongside growing enterprises, while also contributing to numerous renowned sites and publications.

I hope you found Michael’s ideas to be helpful.

Shawn Kinkade Kansas City Business Coach