Word on the Street — September 25th thru October 2nd

Trade Show Blog

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Content is KING!

This week I was on the road visiting with several new Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL customers as well as with some existing customers and friends.

The standout day was easily Wednesday. That was the day I attended an Open House hosted by a Classic Distributor for their existing customers and potential clients.

I have attended quite a few Open Houses over the past 15 years, many hosted or organized by folks who are reading this blog. Honestly, there were a few where I left thinking, “That was so close, but it was missing something, and I can’t seem to put my finger on it.”

The missing ingredient — Content! And not just any content, but really meaty, relevant content.

Marcom and Marketing Managers, like all of us, are very busy. So, if you ask them to participate in a half-day Open House, you better deliver!

Well, the Wednesday Open House not only delivered, but it exceeded everyone’s expectations. It was easily the  best Open House I have ever attended . . . second only to the same event the same distributor held last year.

After seeing it twice, the format seems so simple to me now:

  1. Briefly tell your crowd who you are and what you can do for them (or already do for them)
  2. Invite guest speakers who are topical and relevant regardless of the industry. Great content is great content whether you are selling software, recruiting executives, or marketing frozen vegetables. This event had two great speakers:  Guy Kawasaki and Megan Casey.
  3. Follow up! Ask the attendees what resonated and what did not. And don’t waste time doing so. I received a thank you email and brief survey within 48 hours of the event.

As you can tell, the event had quite an impact on me. Some of the information seemed so simple, yet I realized that neither myself, nor many others I know in business, take the time to plan our events before we open our doors to our customers. I know that will change for me after this past Wednesday’s event.

Lastly, I would really encourage you to do some research on Guy Kawasaki and his 10,20,30 Rule. It offers a set  of guidelines for anyone who does a lot of PowerPoint presentations.

And for those of you that are unfamiliar with Megan Casey, she is the Editor-in-Chief of Squidoo, a very popular online publishing platform and community.

Have a safe and restful weekend.

Be Well!

–Kevin Carty
https://twitter.com/kevin_carty
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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