Dealing With Outside Influencers
What are outside influencers?
In a nutshell, an outside influencer is any event, condition, or activity that you can point to as a reason why show traffic is low or that attendees aren’t buying.
To produce a trade show, the production company has to book the venue about a year in advance. A seasoned operator will find a time where outside influence is predictably at a minimum. However, at any time after that schedule is fixed, a new competing event, a change in the economy, even a global pandemic can arise that will distract a certain percentage of folks from coming to the trade show or from buying at a normal level.
In every show I have ever exhibited, supported or produced, there was an outside influence that you could blame for lower than expected attendance or poor purchasing. As an exhibitor you have to learn how to react to these situations to optimize your event return on investment. Influencers that I have personally experienced include:
• Extreme weather of every flavor (Hey, it’s Oklahoma)
• A competing event across the parking lot, across town, in another city or nearby state
• Opening of a large free public venue (The Gathering Place)
• Major celebrities at one of several possible casinos and other venues
• Football games
• Acts of terrorism (9-11)
• Deer Season
• Covid 19
• Political elections and/or unrest
• Poor economy
• Great economy
& More
How do you minimize the affect of outside influence on your event ROI?
The most important tool you have to combat the impact of outside influencers is right between your ears. Your attitude and that of your booth staff is KEY to success or failure in the trade show game. It rarely if ever truly matters how many folks come to a trade show. However, it always matters how long they stay and how well they engage with the exhibitors and vendors.
As covered earlier in this series, the folks that come to the trade show you are exhibiting in have made THAT event THEIR priority for those hours of that day. They are not thinking about all the other places they could be. They are focused on finding the products, services and information they need to solve whatever issue they have currently going on in their lives or in the foreseeable future. YOU need to be equally focused on the here and now to best serve them. Don’t fill your mind with trying to solve the influencer equation. The more you self-distract, the worse the event will perform for you.
Focus. Hone your engagement skills. Make sure that the bullseye prospects all have a chance to hear how you can help them. Reread every previous Best Practice posting. Make sure you are trained to seek a positive outcome. Do not give outside influencers power over your opportunity.
In a nutshell, an outside influencer is any event, condition, or activity that you can point to as a reason why show traffic is low or that attendees aren’t buying.
To produce a trade show, the production company has to book the venue about a year in advance. A seasoned operator will find a time where outside influence is predictably at a minimum. However, at any time after that schedule is fixed, a new competing event, a change in the economy, even a global pandemic can arise that will distract a certain percentage of folks from coming to the trade show or from buying at a normal level.
In every show I have ever exhibited, supported or produced, there was an outside influence that you could blame for lower than expected attendance or poor purchasing. As an exhibitor you have to learn how to react to these situations to optimize your event return on investment. Influencers that I have personally experienced include:
• Extreme weather of every flavor (Hey, it’s Oklahoma)
• A competing event across the parking lot, across town, in another city or nearby state
• Opening of a large free public venue (The Gathering Place)
• Major celebrities at one of several possible casinos and other venues
• Football games
• Acts of terrorism (9-11)
• Deer Season
• Covid 19
• Political elections and/or unrest
• Poor economy
• Great economy
& More
How do you minimize the affect of outside influence on your event ROI?
The most important tool you have to combat the impact of outside influencers is right between your ears. Your attitude and that of your booth staff is KEY to success or failure in the trade show game. It rarely if ever truly matters how many folks come to a trade show. However, it always matters how long they stay and how well they engage with the exhibitors and vendors.
As covered earlier in this series, the folks that come to the trade show you are exhibiting in have made THAT event THEIR priority for those hours of that day. They are not thinking about all the other places they could be. They are focused on finding the products, services and information they need to solve whatever issue they have currently going on in their lives or in the foreseeable future. YOU need to be equally focused on the here and now to best serve them. Don’t fill your mind with trying to solve the influencer equation. The more you self-distract, the worse the event will perform for you.
Focus. Hone your engagement skills. Make sure that the bullseye prospects all have a chance to hear how you can help them. Reread every previous Best Practice posting. Make sure you are trained to seek a positive outcome. Do not give outside influencers power over your opportunity.
Dealing With Outside Influencers
What are outside influencers?
In a nutshell, an outside influencer is any event, condition, or activity that you can point to as a reason why show traffic is low or that attendees aren’t buying.
To produce a trade show, the production company has to book the venue about a year in advance. A seasoned operator will find a time where outside influence is predictably at a minimum. However, at any time after that schedule is fixed, a new competing event, a change in the economy, even a global pandemic can arise that will distract a certain percentage of folks from coming to the trade show or from buying at a normal level.
In every show I have ever exhibited, supported or produced, there was an outside influence that you could blame for lower than expected attendance or poor purchasing. As an exhibitor you have to learn how to react to these situations to optimize your event return on investment. Influencers that I have personally experienced include:
• Extreme weather of every flavor (Hey, it’s Oklahoma)
• A competing event across the parking lot, across town, in another city or nearby state
• Opening of a large free public venue (The Gathering Place)
• Major celebrities at one of several possible casinos and other venues
• Football games
• Acts of terrorism (9-11)
• Deer Season
• Covid 19
• Political elections and/or unrest
• Poor economy
• Great economy
& More
How do you minimize the affect of outside influence on your event ROI?
The most important tool you have to combat the impact of outside influencers is right between your ears. Your attitude and that of your booth staff is KEY to success or failure in the trade show game. It rarely if ever truly matters how many folks come to a trade show. However, it always matters how long they stay and how well they engage with the exhibitors and vendors.
As covered earlier in this series, the folks that come to the trade show you are exhibiting in have made THAT event THEIR priority for those hours of that day. They are not thinking about all the other places they could be. They are focused on finding the products, services and information they need to solve whatever issue they have currently going on in their lives or in the foreseeable future. YOU need to be equally focused on the here and now to best serve them. Don’t fill your mind with trying to solve the influencer equation. The more you self-distract, the worse the event will perform for you.
Focus. Hone your engagement skills. Make sure that the bullseye prospects all have a chance to hear how you can help them. Reread every previous Best Practice posting. Make sure you are trained to seek a positive outcome. Do not give outside influencers power over your opportunity.
In a nutshell, an outside influencer is any event, condition, or activity that you can point to as a reason why show traffic is low or that attendees aren’t buying.
To produce a trade show, the production company has to book the venue about a year in advance. A seasoned operator will find a time where outside influence is predictably at a minimum. However, at any time after that schedule is fixed, a new competing event, a change in the economy, even a global pandemic can arise that will distract a certain percentage of folks from coming to the trade show or from buying at a normal level.
In every show I have ever exhibited, supported or produced, there was an outside influence that you could blame for lower than expected attendance or poor purchasing. As an exhibitor you have to learn how to react to these situations to optimize your event return on investment. Influencers that I have personally experienced include:
• Extreme weather of every flavor (Hey, it’s Oklahoma)
• A competing event across the parking lot, across town, in another city or nearby state
• Opening of a large free public venue (The Gathering Place)
• Major celebrities at one of several possible casinos and other venues
• Football games
• Acts of terrorism (9-11)
• Deer Season
• Covid 19
• Political elections and/or unrest
• Poor economy
• Great economy
& More
How do you minimize the affect of outside influence on your event ROI?
The most important tool you have to combat the impact of outside influencers is right between your ears. Your attitude and that of your booth staff is KEY to success or failure in the trade show game. It rarely if ever truly matters how many folks come to a trade show. However, it always matters how long they stay and how well they engage with the exhibitors and vendors.
As covered earlier in this series, the folks that come to the trade show you are exhibiting in have made THAT event THEIR priority for those hours of that day. They are not thinking about all the other places they could be. They are focused on finding the products, services and information they need to solve whatever issue they have currently going on in their lives or in the foreseeable future. YOU need to be equally focused on the here and now to best serve them. Don’t fill your mind with trying to solve the influencer equation. The more you self-distract, the worse the event will perform for you.
Focus. Hone your engagement skills. Make sure that the bullseye prospects all have a chance to hear how you can help them. Reread every previous Best Practice posting. Make sure you are trained to seek a positive outcome. Do not give outside influencers power over your opportunity.