Gone are the days where trade show results can only be measured in hindsight. Social Media and other Marketing & Sales technologies have changed all of that.
If your idea of pre-show #hrtechconf marketing is flooding email and twitter with “come meet us at Booth #XXX to see the new, win a new, get a free, enter our drawing for…..” and you’re then going to count the leads when you’re finished. Guess what? You were done when you started.
The trends we all talk about in HR: Social, Mobile, New Media/Data Driven Branding, Big Data, Collaboration/Engagement, etc… These all started outside of HR – most of them with a focus on how to attract, engage, retain, or increase the value of customers. If you’re an HR Vendor showing up at #hrtechconf and you are in any or all of these categories, you should have/could have leveraged these approaches to make your results in Chicago next week almost completely predictable.
Not everyone’s doing it wrong. I’ve seen a few vendors with integrated campaigns that have been in play for months or weeks with a clear message and target. Incorporating an event strategy that fills their schedules in advance of the show with targeted meetings with customers and the right prospects.
It’s almost impossible to stand out at a show like #hrtechconf on the show floor. You have to start standing out in advance of the show, and AROUND the show. Your message has to be authentic and credible, creative, and different.
If you run Marketing and/or Sales for an HRTech vendor you should already be celebrating your results and ROI for next week’s #hrtechconf.
It’s not only good for you, the vendor. It’s good for the HR Pros, also. The better job you do differentiating and getting your message out, the less confused they are about whether you’re worth their time.
Looking forward to seeing the stand-outs next week!
