How do we keep making it interesting for our customers?

I remember when I started in this business in 1992. I responded to a 6 month temporary ad. I hardly knew what a tradeshow even was at the time. My version of this was a county or state fair.

Which is quite a gathering of networking when you think of it. It's also probably one of the oldest forms of face to face.

Now talk about starting a job where you first know very little if anything about expos, next you are in charge of launching a new show within show for the Graphic arts/prepress industry sectors.

I had one good thing going for me phone skills I had learned running a telemarketing company during college. This was essential, because I was not scared to make a call, I had no problem with people's objections and I knew how to get thru the gatekeepers.

The guys I work for were former boxing promoters, and concert promoters and they would always say you were only as good as your last event. Well they were partially correct as you are guaged very heavily on your last event. The success of the event for your customers is essential to your events survival.

Now does that require Colin Powell type speakers or killer parties to make that event great. No it requires that the people had a good experience at your event.

They had a great time in the evening enjoying the destination, they had a great time networking with their peers, they had a great experience learning from fellow professionals at the educational conference, and they met with leaders who had products, ideas and solutions to make their jobs more productive and their company's business more successful.

Now all of these items are important, for sure. That address one side of ball. The other side is that the exhibitors enjoyed the destination, were happy with the crowds and the leads and met with people who had a genuine interest in their products. Also people that would eventually buy their products.

Now was the cost of shows anymore expensive than then now. I don't know we would need to get one of those movie guys who calculate all of these equations to come up with the fact that Gone With the Wind is still the highest grossing film of all time in real time calculated dollars. Or whatever metrics they are using.

Things that need to come out of show for you to know that you hit a home run. People are excited leaving the show and have positive outlook on their take aways and how it will impact both our customers businesses. They also should feel a little bit of a let down like we do as show organizers when we pour our energy and emotions into this event. They should feel a little let down because the buzz and the adrenaline of the show was incredible enough that the only reason they wanted to go home is because of family, work and a desire close the sale or implement those ideas and products into their business. Well they could have been tired of eating, lack of sleep and other things as well.

The buzz was their the energy was their and an optimistic future presented itself to entire industry.

Now do we really have that power maybe not but isn't it cool that as we look at this current economy to know that tradeshows may be what brings us out of this recession, moves us from recovery into a thriving economic good will story.

How do we keep it interesting well we keep it engaging, we keep the networking flowing, we continue to move the pendulum of innovation and facilitate the needs of our customers to engage. We don't know where the gold is at the end of the rainbow but we do know there is a good chance that the rainbow gold is found at an event.

To keep it interesting we need to constantly be in search for the ways to put our attendees and exhibitors together. If it's at a bar so be it, on the tradeshow floor so be it, in the classroom well that's great as well. Ideas shared are goals achieved.

We need to motivate and push our exhibitors to push the envelope in creative ways to engage their customers and we need to push our attendees to think future, think outside the box and to be willing to engage in a conversation that at the mininum they will come away with something tangible they can use in their business.

If we continue to do this , throw in some buzz and whistles guess what we kept it interesting. You know what if we do that business will get done. Whether we do this online or offline we need to put people together this is what innovates the world, conversations, and idea sharing.

Whatever you do with your event make sure you keep it interesting and make sure you keep your customers networking. Numbers are great and we all love full halls, but what is most important is that business is getting done.