Conferences, a memorable experience

Of all the marketing channels available to you conferences are one of the most effective and memorable.

As we discovered in part 2 of effective traditional marketing, the more senses you can engage the more memorable the experience becomes; conferences allow businesses to engage all 5 prospect senses and create opportunities for meaningful conversation.

Whether attending or exhibiting at a conference, consider the following:

Sight – “the desire of the eyes”

Sight can overpower the strongest of hearts; ensure every aspect of your business is desirable to the eyes of your prospects. This starts from the way in which you dress at a conference to the way in which you present your product or service on your stand.

Hearing – “music to my ears”

The power of speech is incredible, ensure you convey a pleasant and approachable demeanour with every conversation you have. If you’re exhibiting, consider the possible association of music to enhance your stand.

Smell – “sweeter than the scent of roses”

Smell naturally draws attention; if you’re attending pay attention to what perfume/aftershave you wear, ensure it’s both pleasant and drawing. If you’re attending, consider offering complimentary aromatic foods from your stand.

Taste – “leave a sweet taste in the mouth”

While many products are not suitable for eating, you can appeal to your prospects tastes by complimenting your products with positively associated food such as sweets or chocolate.

Touch “Never underestimate the hand shake”

Humans create protective ‘comfort zones’, a barrier of space between ourselves and others around us. As a business your first step should be to breach this barrier, a handshake is a great way to enter a person’s comfort zone and fully engage with them.

Ask yourself, can my product be sampled? How can it be experienced by my prospects?

Interaction and response

Most importantly, you can create opportunities to engage and respond to prospects face to face in order to nurture prospect interests and desires to buy your product or service.

Hot Tip: Consider how the method of engagement associates to your brand and product i.e. Would you use the smell and taste of burgers to draw people to your club fitness stand?

Not only do exhibitions allow businesses to engage multiple prospect senses, but they also create a fantastic opportunity for you to mix modern and traditional marketing.

Hot Tip: Ensure you support your exhibition strategy with a multi-channel marketing strategy to acquire maximum prospect mindshare.

Below are few fantastic events you should consider attending:

Australia

Special Early Bird Rate – Quote ‘frop1350’ and save $50!	eBay and Ecommerce PeSA Australia 29-31st May 2013 www.internetconference.com.au
	Ecommerce Online Retailer 19-22nd August 2013 www.onlineretailer.com
	Ecommerce Ecommerce Conference & Expo 16-18th April 2013 www.ecomexpomelbourne.com.au

United Kingdom

Special Early Bird Rate – Quote ‘fro2013’ and save £100 online! (buy 3 or more tickets and save a further 25%!)	Ecommerce Channel Advisor Catalyst EU 3-4th June 2013 www.channeladvisor.com/
	Ecommerce Business Startup 6-7th June 2013 www.bstartup.com

United States

	Ecommerce Internet Retailer Conference 4-7th June 2013 www.internetretailer.com/
Special Early Bird Rate until 31st May	eBay and Ecommerce eBay Radio 18-20th June 2013 eBay Radio Learn More
	Ecommerce and Marketing ICERetailer 20-21st September 2013 http://iceretailer.com/