TIM LESMEISTER - Trade Show Executive

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News Continued from page 11 if overall attendance figures are lower than they would like, said Glenn Schutz, BPA’s manager of communications. “If organizers are still concerned about reporting the figures of their first event audit, they may keep the results confidential for the first year,” Schutz told Trade Show Executive. This rule meets EEIAC requirements, he said. “Keeping the results private allows organizers to dissect their event and address attendance issues based on accurate, third-party data. And when times are better, the audit will help take their event to the next level.” Reach Glenn Hansen at (203) 447- 2800 or ghansen@bpaww.com; Glenn Schutz at (203) 447-2800 or gschutz@ bpaww.com Events Likely to Take Hit in Changing Tech Marketing Priorities By Hil Anderson, senior editor Carlsbad, CA – Spending on trade shows and events will take a hit this year as exhibitor companies reorganize their marketing priorities to weather the global recession, a panel of marketing professionals in the technology sector agreed during a recent webcast. The online discussion presented February 12 by BtoB Magazine concluded that the travel expenses for both exhibitors and attendees were among the low-hanging fruit to be lopped off by the budget ax as companies focus on cutting costs and directly cultivating their customer base. “There will indeed be a pullback on events,” said panelist Mark Gambill, vice president and chief marketing officer of CDW Corporation (CDW), commenting on the overall economic climate. “Event spending will absolutely decrease although Mark Gambill Richard Vancil [marketers] will probably never lose [their] desire to be able to look someone in the eye and have a conversation with them at a live event.” CDW is a seller of technology products to government agencies and large companies. Gambill said his company was not cutting back on its presence at trade shows in 2009. “We understand their impact,” he said, but added that CDW’s strategy was “probably an anomaly” in terms of the entire IT sector. BtoB Magazine announced that its annual survey of marketers on their global marketing spending plans for the coming year found that while 31% of the respondents planned to increase spending on events, another 31% said they would be cutting back and 38% planned no changes in spending. Richard Vancil, vice president of the Executive Advisory Group, IDC, said live events accounted for about 22% of the marketing mix for technology companies. “The activities that are the furthest from revenue generation are the ones that are taking the biggest cuts,” he said. Marketing to Focus on Customer Base The anticipated flatness of event spending by companies is reflective of a recessionary trend toward hanging on to what they have and expanding their customer base. The BtoB Magazine survey found that while 12% of marketers said their goal for 2009 would be increasing brand awareness, 62% said acquiring new customers was their top priority and another 20% said it was customer retention. Trade shows play a role in all three priorities. Events, however, will be in competition with increased spending on digital advertising, including e-mail ad campaigns and social media. Gambill said the best thing for any company to do during the recession would be to pound away at their customers about the value and cost-effectiveness of their product and how it can help them to be more efficient and cut their own costs. “Cost reduction is foremost on everyone’s minds right now,” he said. Reach Richard Vancil at (508) 935-4372 or rvancil@idc.com; Mark Gambill at (847) 465-6000 or markgambill@cdw.com New Marketing Marching Orders By Hil Anderson, senior editor Carlsbad, CA – Show organizers and suppliers may have to make some changes to their marketing strategies as the recession brings about belt tightening both within the company and among their customers. Marketing professionals who briefed their colleagues in a February 12 BtoB Magazine webinar had some suggestions on aligning strategy to the times: • Prioritize customers. Decide which areas are the most promising in terms of sales, but also identify the key customers you cannot afford to lose. • Tighten the focus of marketing as precisely as possible on the customers’ needs and pain points. Avoid flailing around with too many new marketing ideas that only pile on unproductive work. • Be proactive with your customers and emphasize the cost savings you can provide them. Good service and acting professional may not be enough to save an account. • Keep your team intact. Layoffs can spook remaining employees who will bolt for a new job at the first opportunity and further decimate your staff at a busy time. Challenge your own staff to bring down their expenses. Try shifting some outside work back to in-house talent. • Experiment with social media and online offerings. It is less costly than other promotional media and can be deployed and adjusted easily. Blogs and white papers from company leadership add a ring of authority to the message. 12 March 2009 Trade Show Executive www.TradeShowExecutive.com
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TIM LESMEISTER - Trade Show Executive

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