Last Day Part Deux, NOT a Top Ten tho
Marc Shepard
NECANN: B2B cannabis industry conventions focused on helping local businesses, markets, and communities grow and succeed.
Hello and welcome to part 2 of a three or four part series on how to make the last day of a convention just as valuable as the first! This one will be short because I'm headed up to Portland for our largest ever Maine Cannabis Convention this weekend, then it's just 2 weeks until NECANN's first-ever consumption friendly event, The HighLifeStyle Show in Boxboro Mass, featuring the Wailers & a guest appearance by Cheech Marin! If you missed the first part of this list, go back and snoop though my previous posts and catch up, ya turkey. I'm too lazy to do that myself, so I'm going to guess that I did 5 in the first one, and we'll start here with....
6) Be Proposal Ready
At the very least, be a little more ready than these guys.
But what if you had real-time access to finance, your CEO, and/or any other leadership members necessary to process on-site quotes and give approval to any offers/deals that present themselves? At worst you'll be able to shorten the timeframe for longer or more complex sales processes. This will also give all the important players a better big-picture view of sales opportunities generated at the show.
7) FOCUS GROUP
Recruit relevant attendees on the first day(s) for a quick focus group session/questionnaire at your booth on the final day of the show (prizes/incentives recommended!) This will not only get you additional facetime with potential clients, it also gives you practical knowledge about their needs and challenges. Speaking of focus groups, this:
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8) Switch Targets
Kinda like a mid-concert costume change, but no, not really like that. It's about appealing to the audience you see, rather than the one you want. For example, a common complaint is that the last day of conventions often attract a lot more consumer/tire kickers than the first day. If you see that's the case, be prepared to shift to brand awareness or even a consumer focus if applicable. If possible, make the branding/messaging hyper-local (i.e., relevant to the host market).??
9) Free Learning??
Schedule and promote short, quality education sessions in your booth. Think 15-30 minutes tops, with opportunity for Q&A (you could even just market it as an "Ask an expert" session). This can help qualify attendees and expand contacts made at the show. It also establishes your company as an expert/go-to source, and a people willing to give value rather than just ask for business. Note: To be effective, some decent pre-show and at-show promotion (beyond just your existing social & email channels) is probably a must. Reach out to the show organizer about at-show promotional options.
10) SPY vs SPY
I'm aging myself here, but I was a big MAD Magazine fan as a kid & loved those 2 guys killing each other every issue. In that spirit, this one is a little sneaky but it's probably something most of us have done in other environments (especially at after-parties). The final day of a show is definitely a good atmosphere for some "Competitive Intelligence" missions for your booth staff when things are slow. The casual environment may sometimes lead to competitor booth staff sharing info that will benefit you from a CI perspective.
That's all for now, so technically this IS a Top Ten List until I get around to part 3. Until then, hopefully I see a lot of you in Maine this weekend!