Did you ever wonder why when the “instructional” sessions let out at a trade show that most of the attendees head for the exhibition floor? Sometimes the reason is obvious such as; that is where the food is served or a giveaway of significance is being offered. However, most of the time it is really nothing more than “herd mentality”, which describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis. The attendees head to the exhibition floor because everyone else is and the organizer aids in this behavior by placing signage and ushers in key locations to affect the desired behavior. There is also the FOMO factor, the fear of missing out on some unique activity.
Live trade shows that experience this crowd behavior present the exhibitors an opportunity to encourage attendees who enter the hall to visit their booths. They can persuade attendees to choose their booths over others by placing signage in the event’s common spaces, placing ads in the show APP or sending pre-show marketing emails to the attendees.
What about “Virtual or Hybrid” events? There is no crowd behavior to direct the attendees to enter the virtual trade show floor. When the session is over, what will motivate the attendees to visit virtual exhibitor booths rather than answering emails, attending another on-line meeting or tending to a personal matter?
With the “herd mentality” and FOMO not in the mix, the event organizers must provide the exhibitors with proof that they can deliver eyeballs and value or exhibitors will find another vehicle to reach their potential buyers. One of the most cost effective vehicles available is exhibitor to attendee marketing emails. Judicious use of the registration DB as a valuable digital asset provides the organizer with a demonstrable tool that exhibitors understand and can effectively use to drive exhibit floor and booth traffic.
In the past, a number of events have made policy decisions that precluded the use of marketing emails for a variety of reasons; concern for attendee data security, the attendees have complained about them, the exhibitors will misuse the list are but a few. However, in the virtual world, many of these objections need to be revisited. Services such as eShowMail™ and others, provide data security, immediate attendee opt-out, selective categories and schedule management that mitigate these objections and provide the organizers an effective tool in delivering value to the exhibitor. The virtual / hybrid world of today and tomorrow requires new thinking and companies like ours and others are ready to help.
