Just settling back into the office after a whirlwind trip to Orlando and back for HIMSS11. It was typical HIMSS: lots of people, lots of vendors, lots of Health IT discussions. Here’s a video blog, recorded on March 22, with my impressions of HIMSS from a marketer’s perspective.
As you’ve come to expect, I recorded a number of videos with marketing directors, which I’ll posting over the next few days.
HFMA's ANI 2010 will be in Las Vegas this month. One way to assure success at your trade shows is to make sure that you're gathering all the right prospect information.
HFMA’s Annual National Institute (ANI) is this month—June 20-23 in at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. Kudos to the HFMA folks (Kurt and Carrie, I know you’ve been working hard) for quick setup of the new location after the Nashville flooding made the Gaylord Opryland a no-go for this year’s conference. I would think that the venue change would make attendance drop, but judging by the fact that HFMA has already sold out their Venetian room block, I would guess that this year’s ANI will be another successful show for the healthcare finance association.
One way to assure success at your trade shows is to make sure that you’re gathering all the right prospect information. Nothing is worse than spending tens of thousands of dollars on a trade show and coming back with less-than-complete lead info. So what prospect data should you be gathering?
The demographics you’ll need should be obvious: full name, job title, company, address, work email, work phone, etc. Much of this information can be gathered through a quick badge scan, but attendees may not put all the information you need on their conference registration. I say, better to write it down. If the prospect is pressed for time, ask for a business card and staple it to your lead card.
Other information won’t be found on a badge scan: what solution has piqued the prospect’s interest, the prospect’s purchasing authority, whether they have a budget in place and what that budget is, purchase timeframe, prospect’s state of mind, etc.
This is all important information, and none of it is easy to gather. Working with your marketing automation team and sales team, make sure your information gathering strategy is solid in the run-up to your shows.
What is essential for you to call a trade show contact a truly qualified lead?
P.S., if you’re planning on being in Vegas for ANI 2010, drop me a line. I’d love to chat with you face-to-face.
For a health care marketer, trade show prep starts long before the booths go up.
I’ll be in Atlanta during the first week of March attending HIMSS10. This isn’t my first HIMSS, but it is the first one for which I have a full attendee pass. At previous shows, I’ve attended as an exhibitor and managed a fairly large booth (actually, it was average by HIMSS size standards). Notwithstanding the enormous amount of work that goes into pulling off a show, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic today. So I’d like to share a few of the things I’ve learned about managing a health care vendor presence at a large trade show.
Start outreach long before the show begins. Identify your key prospects and start talking about a show meet-up months before the show. I know of one organization that reached out to their key clients and prospects six months prior to a show, and they ended up doing a lot of business there. If you’re just starting to set appointments at HIMSS, you may be running behind.
Get the right people there. HIMSS is the best show for networking in healthcare IT. Your executives will want to be there. Make sure they’re busy. One vendor executive told me that the worst thing he could do at a trade show is step in front of a speeding bullet, that is, try to cold contact a C-level attendee. One of your highest priorities should be setting appointments for your executives to meet with your client and prospect executives. And do not—I repeat, DO NOT—schedule them to work the booth. Save that space for your hardest-working, most outgoing sales and marketing people.
Treat your booth like a stage. Think of your booth as “theater in the round,” and your booth staff as actors. Once the actor steps on your booth carpeting, she’s “on.” Your booth staff need to be in character as brand ambassadors, and they need to know—and act—their part.
Do more than just show up. The best booths are the ones that draw crowds. How? Not because of a vendor’s fabulous booth design or because they’re giving away an iPod (will this year’s big giveaway be an iPad?). The crowds come because of in-booth engagements: educational sessions, themed presentations, cocktail parties, book signings, celebrity endorsers, and the like. For example, Ingenix provides fantastic educational sessions. NextGen does a great job at professional presentations. And who doesn’t love the OnBase sports bar?
Remember, it’s not just about the hot lead. The hottest leads are often the ones you did nothing to get. They’ve identified you as their target and want to use the trade show as an opportunity to meet with you. All the work you’ve done—the pre-show outreach, the appoinment setting, the attractive activities, the messaging—will bring in a lot of people looking for freebies and a smaller subset who qualify as “warm leads.” Value those warm leads. Follow-up with them. Nurture them. Stoke their flame so that they’ll become “hot” some time in the future. And don’t forget about those who are just interested in a giveaway. Have a strategy for them as well. There will likely come a time when they’re looking for something you’re offering.
How have you made your trade show booths successful?