Highlights from this month's issue:
- Will the Real MVP Please Stand Up
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- OTS - Only the Strong Survive: The COVID19 Silver Lining
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- Summer Lovin' on Digital Marketing Strategies
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EXPERIENCED EXIBITOR MVP
Jon Auvil of DARCO International
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If you've been in this industry for a hot minute, there's a good chance you've seen this ultimate ray of sunshine.
Jon Auvil of DARCO International is our Spring Experienced Exhibitor MVP; but he has been bringing positivity to podiatry for over a decade.
We simply wanted to take a quick moment to show our appreciation for Jon. He is never too busy to say hello when you see him at an event... or equip you with a mind-blowing light-up promotional pen (my favorite takeaway item from the Ohio Foot & Ankle Scientific Seminar earlier this month).
But even more, he takes the time to hash out some seriously awesome ideas to improve the exhibitor experience. SO - THANK YOU JON!
Our Vendor Family Shines Brighter With Your Presence!
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Tomorrow is the Last Chance
to Brainstorm with Your Peers
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CLICK HERE to RSVP for one of two time slots tomorrow.
This is the last session of our Spring Experienced Exhibitor Mastermind Group: The place where leaders, innovators, and people who make things happen gather!
Discussion Points: How to create FOMO for on-site events, marketing tactics, add-on exhibitor showcase events (i.e product/innovation theaters), how to grab attendees' attention at your booth and much more.
Purpose: We collect data, surveys, feedback and ideas to share with podiatric continuing education organizations so they are able to make positive changes to their events that will benefit both attendees and exhibitors. This will NOT a meeting bash fest. The goal is to come up ideas, suggestions, and to offer feedback on what works. We certainly are open to hearing what patterns or traditions are no longer producing results, but if we simply hosted a complaint forum with no solutions, we would just be spinning our wheels.
Special thanks to the Florida Podiatric Medical Association, Kent St. University Continuing Education, and the Texas Podiatric Medical Association for supporting this project.
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Want us to send you more information?
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Yes, but with more exclammation points!!!!!
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BIG BREAKING NEWS!
Your favorite duo - Ann & Sarah of PodiatryMeetings.com - is partnering with Dr. Lowell Weil, Jr. to plan and execute the 2022 Weil Foot & Ankle Annual Seminar.
Save the date to join us in Chicago October 14-15.
We will be bringing our A-Game with unique exhibitor benefits and sponsorship packages built to maximize your ROI.
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MINDSET BUZZ
The Silver Lining of COVID19
Article written by Sarah Breymeier
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You know what sucked/sucks? Pandemics. Tell you something you don't know, right?
It's been almost a full year since many the events we used to consistently attend are back in person; not all, but many. Ann and I have been lucky enough to attend a handful of them, and we're happy to report that we've noticed a silver lining come out of this time that seemingly has nothing but a negative vibe.
One thing Ann and I have always maintained is that change doesn't mean bad; and we've all had to change... A LOT. But while it may have seemed like everything that has happened is nothing but bad news bears, we feel there is actually some seriously bright light at the end of the tunnel...
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Meetings can no longer cut and paste.
Before 2020 we saw a lot of meetings do the same routine over and over; for years. In many ways that was good, as there are positive characteristics from each meeting that we don't want to see go away. Not to mention, that when a meeting runs in a copy/paste fashion, we all know what to expect and how to get the job done.
But, when there is little-to-no change year after year, ROI for exhibitors can begin to decline. The risk is that there's nothing new or exciting to motivate DPMs to get into the exhibit hall... the same companies are providing lunch symposiums with boxed lunches... everyone is marking off bingo cards but getting no qualified leads... you know - you've been there.
But we (exhibitors) all continued to go to the same meetings each year because we still understand the value of face time with our customers and our prospects.
Then COVID said - go home for over a year, don't travel at all and see if you can maintain a sales funnel without a live exhibit hall. It wasn't easy, but we did it.
We did it, and while we are stoked to get back to face-to-face meetings, we've also realized there are ways to get the job done without spending as many dollars on booths, flights, hotels and meals.
So what does this mean for meeting planners and how they accommodate vendors who might not want to return to the hall?
Well, meeting planners have seen the numbers. There aren't as many returning vendors in the exhibit hall as there used to be. They also know that we've had to get it done without an exhibit hall presence... and maybe we will continue to do so. If you thought running a meeting was hard before - it just got harder for them.
Ann and I have taken a lot of time discussing these facts with meeting planners over the last several months. One of the reasons we've been holding so many Experienced Exhibitor Mastermind Focus Groups is because we want to let vendors know that many organizations are ready to listen to what their vendors need and create stronger working relationships.
So get ready to see some creative ways that meeting planners are going to not only liven up the exhibit hall scene, but open up a stronger line of communication with the vendors that support this industry. They are listening, so let's dive back in with a positive outlook... and use our voices to make sure we continue to make positive change!
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Some Standouts.
The following seminars have partnered with us and invested time and money to work closely together to deliver a 5-star experience for our beloved exhibitor family.
They are taking your needs seriously and have asked us to be a liaison to help ensure a successful event for all involved!
Show them some love and add them to your calendar!
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Only 2 Exhibitor Booths Remain
1 Silver Sponsorship and 1 Bronze Sponsorship are Still Up for Grabs
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MARKETING BUZZ
Summer Lovin' Had Me a Blast...
Developing my Digital Marketing Strategy!
Article written by Sarah Breymeier
If you've taken a recent gander at our website's Calendar of Events - or even your own meeting schedule - you're probably not as bogged down with travel in the summer than the Spring and Fall.
I don't know about your time management habits, but if you're anything like me, you do best under pressure and a HARD deadline. With summer meetings taking a little bit of a siesta, you may find yourself casually staring at the ceiling for a solid hour before you feel the drool sliding down your chin.
Often when we have more time to plan, we end up just letting it slip by. So make a pact along with me to maximize the "slow" summer months by reviewing and revamping your digital marketing strategy.
Here are some aspects of your digital marketing program you may want to put under a microscope or experiment with...
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A/B TEST YOUR CURRENT TACTICS
What's yielding results, and what's not? Sometimes it's hard to tell because a strong marketing program utilizes a solid mix of channels that reach your target audience. A conversion typically doesn't have just one point of attribution.
What you can determine (and this is the glory of digital marketing), is which ads are really popular. If you're running ads in PM News (for example), make sure you give each ad the same amount of run time so you can compare apples to apples. Which ad is getting more clicks than the others? Once you know that, determine why. Is it the offer? Is it the amazing design/copy of the ad?
Same thing goes for email marketing. Run the same email blast to two separate, but similar groups (i.e., don't send one email to DPMs and the other to practice managers; split your DPM list in half and send the same email to both). BUT, change your subject line. See which one has stronger open rates and then determine why. Again, is it the offer? Is it the verbiage?
Figure out what's working so you know what kind of offer or content you should continue to embrace.
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TRY SOMETHING NEW
Last week Ann and I spent some quality time watching an advertising/marketing online conference and some of the new ideas we got made us really excited... and excited to share!
One of the more interesting strategies I clung on to is called, "A Dollar a Day." The concept is that you take one of your old Facebook posts (or create a few new ones) and then spend $1/day on each of them for 30 days (be sure to target your audience). When the 30 days is up, review your ad report and see who came out ahead with the most clicks.
When you have your winner, invest more media dollars on that post, running it more times and, possibly, in more geographic areas.
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STEP THROUGH YOUR OWN PROCESS
Many times we can't understand why certain advertising/marketing programs aren't creating conversions. Well, when was the last time you stepped through your own process as a prospective client?
Every time you put something out there, step outside of yourself and look at it as if you were a DPM and just saw it for the first time. Let's go through an example....
Take your next PM News ad and ask yourself, "If I were a DPM, would this ad intrigue me enough TO CLICK." Why did I capitalize "to click"? Because that's the first goal. So many times we think we the ad isn't good enough because it didn't create a sales conversion. That's not the case. This is a process. So... is it good enough to make them click - step one.
Then, where are they clicking to? Did you lead them to the homepage of your website that has nothing to do with the focused product/service on the ad? Did you take them to a PDF that has so much copy on it, they don't know where to look? Did you just link it to an email address of a sales rep?
Know where they are going to click, and then ask yourself, "If I were a DPM, would this intrigue me enough to want to learn more?" Once they are at this point, it's going to differ greatly depending on your product, service and how they actually purchase. The point here, though, is if your ad is leading them to a landing area that is not using a specific strategy on copy (verbiage) and and functional design that allows them to easily contact you, request a sample, or click to purchase - a new strategy needs to be thought out.
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LOGISTICS BUZZ
Exhibitor Etiquette: Don't "Doc Block"
and More Unspoken Rules of the Exhibit Hall Floor
Article written by Ann Dosen
Sarah and I have had the opportunity to be on-site at several conferences recently. While we were in Columbus, OH for the Ohio Foot and Ankle Scientific Seminar, we were chatting with a fellow exhibitor. As we were talking, an attendee started to walk in the direction of the booth.
As exhibitors, we are always conscious of what is going on around us. We never want a personal - or even business - conversation to get in the way of a potential customer approaching your booth. We refer to this as "doc-blocking."
In addition to doc-blocking, there are a few other exhibitor etiquette unspoken rules we want to share:
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- Don't approach an attendee, even if it's someone you are friends with and haven't seen in a while, while they are at someone else's booth. That's called stealing, friends.
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- Don't talk crap about your competitors on the floor. It looks bad and you have plenty of other things to talk about. Plus, you're doing them a favor by spending your valuable time talking about them when you should be asking the DPM what his/her needs are and how you can service them.
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- Don't be a Debbie-Downer to your neighbors. Stay away from conversations that begin with "this show sucks."
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- If you have food and beverage, share with your neighbors (especially if it's alcohol.)
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- Make friends with your neighbors so they will watch your booth for you if you have to step away. They might even share their electricity. If you really hit it off, they might send DPMs to your booth when they're done chatting them up, especially if they know your product/service is something of value.
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- Don't stand in the middle of the aisle and hand out samples or flyers like you're a lotion booth in the mall. No one likes that guy and it keeps DPMs from coming into the exhibit hall if they feel like they will be solicited to no end.
In general, just be nice to the people around you and be aware of what's happening around you. Finally, have fun and get your neighbors to have fun with you!
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PLANNING MAKES PERFECT
Effective Shows Take Time to Plan.
Use Our Calendar to Make Your Calendar.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A round-up of exhibitor content from our recent publications...
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Exhibitor Tip | April 2022
Are you wasting your marketing budget?
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Experienced Exhibitor | April 2022
Your voices are being heard... now it's our turn!
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