A few tips to communicate better in the event industry

Understand that you have a brand

You do not have to be Coca Cola to have a brand. The brand is this set of ideas, attributes, feelings that people have in mind when they think about your name. Maybe your brand says “I’m totally unknown, transparent.” Maybe you are seen as a leading company, or on the contrary, a bit passé, perhaps expensive, perhaps innovative… This idea (or lack of ideas) is what will motivate a client to call you, be interested in you, accept a call from you, or read your proposal more favorably than another. The brand is not a luxury or something limited to multinationals. We all have it. Maybe you have to take care of yours, right?

Be seen, be heard

People have to see you. Your brand will be built with multiple visual impacts, content, as well as personal contacts… that customers have with it. So make yourself seen. Search to be published in professional media, both in content (your news and cases could be a good content), on your website and newsletter, and have a budget for advertising (another way to communicate: less deep in content but that allows you to “shout” your message in a visual, shocking, memorable way), to ensure that customers see you. If they do not see you, you just do not exist.

Define who you are … realistically

Why do people have to work with you? What are you doing well and not so well? What values ​​do you have? For that, think, ask (to clients, employees) and define your positioning. If you have questions, contact us and we will be happy to help you define it. This definition has to be done realistically: I want to be George Clooney and maybe your company wants to be Apple… but reality is something to be taken into account. Analyze your competitors, your customer references and what they say about your services, your way of working. And above all, define what makes you different. Two golden rules of marketing and communication are 1. That you have to differentiate yourself, think about what makes you (relatively) unique, 2. That communication has to be built on a reality, on assets that you really have and ideally you can show. Selling what you are not is not a sustainable strategy.

Ask for recommendations and testimonials from your clients

The testimony of a client is worth a lot. Ask for recommendations or comments to your clients, as evidence of your quality. It is scientifically imperfect (a recommendation does not mean that all customers are happy) but it is a very good way to convey your quality. In fact in this exercise you will do something very useful as well: see with your clients what they think of you, what they like and what they want you to improve. They will appreciate it…

Get onto social networks (with a strategy and relevant stuff…)

Do not open accounts in all networks because it is what “one should do”: choose a few networks and think of value-added messages, not sales slogans. If you provide value, Internet users will read you with interest. Is it obvious advice? Well… look at how social networks are full of empty messages, from easy management slogans to proud tweets without content. Think about what value, what ideas, what resources you can bring to the people who read, because the best way to sell is not saying that you are handsome but demonstrating unique things that you have done or can contribute. Feed your networks regularly, interact by taking away the obsession of selling. It adds value and creates a relationship. The sale will come in due time…

Get out of the office!

Your office time is necessary but it is not where you will create value. The value is outside, in the interaction. Take time to participate in the events where your clients are… as well as any member of the events ecosystem. And do not forget that everything adds up, that your success comes from your customers but also from your suppliers, from the press, from all the players in the sector… All this adds up. Events are effective ways to meet this ecosystem in person, face them, initiate some personal contact. In this process you will learn useful things about how to add value or about the new priorities of the clients and the industry trends. Take this activity that we could call of RRPP as an R&D opportunity from which you do not expect immediate return.

Remember that you do business with people

We are in a relational market, a market of people. And here comes your face-to-face communication, be it at a fair, a conference, an industry event. In these moments, you have to repress your desire to take out the catalog or even your card. Your first step before explaining your product and taking your argument has to be to establish contact with the person (almost more than with the professional). Body language, common experiences, emotional intelligence… Make sure you always show interest in the client and listen to their needs, their concerns and even understand them as a person. The professional events that used to be practical workshops are increasingly oriented to living together moments (see the Tour of MICE that we published recently, for example, or the Connections Meetings).

Prepare, rehearse your sales pitch

You have many competitors who sell their stuff in a one-way manner. Think of different formats such as storytelling, which is a good way to explain what your company does. Tell an anecdote, explain how you have helped a client in your event, explain something about your way of working without being too promotional… These are more effective ways than a Powerpoint for the client to work with you. And finally, think about your messages and how you can convey them very concretely. Have you prepared an elevator pitch (presentation of 45 seconds, very to the point, which does not explain everything but usually focuses on your added value) on what your company does? It is an essential exercise, which allows you to make the different members of your team explain in the same way the essence of your company.

And finally… enjoy what you do

Positive energy is contagious and makes people want to work with you. If you enjoy your work, if you show seriousness and passion, the client will enjoy working with you. We remind you: we are people, you have to make the customer want to work with you as a person; you wont win them by mere products and services, personal chemistry is key. And if you enjoy it, if you show passion and commitment, then we can bet that the client will have more desire to work with you.

Now that? Maybe if you think about communicating, it makes sense to talk to eventoplus. 17 years creating an audience and informing event professionals, creating the perfect channels to connect, sell, communicate, position yourself. Call us!