Holding business events: how to find useful contacts. Business event or Business event Event for businessmen

If a company operates in the b2b sector, it cannot do without business events. By listening to other speakers, speaking on your own, or organizing your own events, you can achieve several goals at once.

Zhamilya Kameneva,

Director of Business Development and Marketing at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Russia

In this article you will read:

• How many customers can you get after one report?
• How to work with the target audience when holding business events
• How to select clients at an industry exhibition based on reactions to trigger topics
• How to hold 50 meetings with target clients in two days at an event

Conducting business events - common practice in the business world. For ourselves, we identify four tasks of participation and implementation. The first is to introduce the company to the market, distinguish it from competitors, and increase brand awareness and solutions. The second is to collect contacts of potential clients. The third is to push those customers with whom negotiations are already underway to make a decision. The fourth is to increase the level of expertise and recognition of employees and carry out their “personal branding”.

Check your partners urgently!

Do you know that When checking, tax authorities can cling to any suspicious fact about the counterparty? Therefore, it is very important to check those with whom you work. Today, you can receive free information about your partner’s past inspections, and most importantly, receive a list of identified violations!

By speaking to a professional audience, the company’s specialists gain and establish a reputation as experts in the field of document management and printing solutions.

Formats for holding business events

For lead generation, we use only offline events, because at online conferences or webinars it is impossible to present the equipment and communicate with each of the participants. There are several options for participation offline, all of them are presented in the format of sponsorship packages with different prices and content.

Work at the stand and performance. We rarely become general sponsors: this is an additional cost. We choose the option of supporting a thematic session with the opportunity to set up a stand. The work of employees at the exhibition is complemented and enhanced by the speaker. If the visitor is interested in the equipment, the presentation confirms the expert level of the company. On the contrary, listeners who learned about the company and products from the report can then communicate with employees at the stand and find out the details. During the year we participate in 10-15 events of this type.

The organizers also provide additional opportunities - for example, meeting participants with whom it would otherwise be impossible to get in touch due to their high rank or closed nature. So, at a regional event for a sponsorship package of 100 thousand rubles. we set up a small stand, and our speaker spoke in one of the main sections. The organizers arranged for us to meet with more than 50 people right at the exhibition. potential customers. In two days we held negotiations, the total amount of potential contracts for which reached 10 million rubles. (transaction amounts are estimated after clarification of customer needs by the sales department).

Performance. Experts and top managers of the company become speakers at conferences and participants in round tables. The topic can be either highly specialized or expanded: “How to integrate electronic document management with office printing equipment" or "What are the prospects for the outsourcing approach." A successful performance ensures 90% of the company’s success at the event. We measure performance by assessing the number of new contacts and potential deals. Successful experience apply further.

• Business partnership: what you need to know so you don't get scammed

For example, every year in St. Petersburg a conference of CIOs of large federal and regional companies. In 2015, our speaker’s speech was one of the four most interesting - this is how the survey participants rated him. We have begun negotiations with ten of them, which will eventually lead to contracts. The costs of the event amounted to a little more than 200 thousand rubles.

Delegate participation. Sales managers regularly attend specialized conferences and business forums as listeners. Talking with other participants on the sidelines and during the official part, they get acquainted with representatives of companies - potential clients.

Expert participation with speech. Expert participation is usually free for the speaker and the company. The main condition is analytical presentation without explicit or hidden advertising organizations.

How to organize attendance at events

An employee of the marketing department is responsible for the event plan. It monitors specialized exhibitions and conferences, reviews the results and effectiveness of participation over the past years, and discusses possible options with sales department employees and ultimately creates an annual calendar of events and budget.

The calendar is kept up to date on corporate portal. It can be adjusted throughout the year. Lists of registered participants for each event are also posted on the portal. Sales people look through the list and decide for themselves where to go: for example, they see among the participants a company that they have been “hunting” for a long time.

• How to Design an Industry Trade Show Exhibit to Stand Out

No one is required to attend conferences, but all managers do. They focus on how much each of them needs fresh contacts and new leads. Managers select events, then submit an application to the marketing department. The visit is paid for from the marketing budget. Then managers enter the results into CRM and write a report in any form - for the immediate manager and marketers.

It indicates who was present at the event, what topics were covered, whether the audience was targeted, whether it was worth looking for clients there, and whether the organization was thought out. It is only mandatory to attend the company’s own events - for managers responsible for sales in this area.

Holding business events: what to choose

To understand which business events a company needs most, we focus not on scale or prestige, but on the target audience. We take into account both the composition of the participants and the kind of employees these companies are represented by.

Association events. First of all, we pay attention to the events held by associations of CIOs. In our case, these are Global CIO and 4CIO1, as well as regional clubs of CIOs. They organize conferences for 100-250 people, thematic seminars and round tables for several dozen participants. But the degree of match with the target group is more important than the reach, and the number of possible transactions is more important than the number of listeners.

It is the CIOs who the target audience, they usually make the decision to purchase our services. Other companies may consider Association conferences financial directors, Association of HR Directors, Association general managers Russia and other communities. Many do not pay enough attention to association events, and this reduces the chances of reaching the target audience. In 2015, we attended ten such events and will continue our cooperation in the future.

1 From English chief information officer - director of information technology.

Industry and thematic events. The company sells, among other things, specialized solutions for banks, educational institutions, energy sector, oil companies. Therefore, salespeople and experts attend industry and thematic events. They are carried out by both independent organizers and industry communities: the Association of Russian Banks, the Association shopping centers and etc.

At industry events, communicating with potential clients, we present solutions that take into account the specifics of the industry. For example, for universities we can formulate three basic needs in the field of document management and printing:

• internal administrative document flow;
• on-demand printing and scanning for students;
• printing additional educational materials(manuals, etc.).

Knowing this, at events for universities we talk about the possibilities of creating your own internal printing department, which will allow you to solve these problems.

Media events. Business forums and conferences are also held by business media (RBC, Vedomosti) and IT publications (PC Week, CNews, Comnews, " Open technologies" and etc.). These events are usually well organized and attract experts. Our company participates in them more to improve the brand image than for the sake of lead generation.

How to weed out useless contacts when organizing a business event

Both in work at the stand and in communication with listeners, developed communication skills help to establish strong contact.

Contact at the exhibition. We send experienced sales managers to the stand who know how to maintain a balance between activity and unobtrusiveness. Excessive pressure irritates the interlocutor. The conversation at the exhibition does not last long, and managers have to make a pleasant impression in half a minute, make the interlocutor want to learn more about the company and at the same time understand whether the client is a target and whether it is worth spending time on him. You should not “take advantage of” those who speak out of curiosity. To distinguish target customers from other visitors, managers monitor reactions to trigger phrases.

In a brief conversation at the stand, sales people mention “print quality”, “new features”, “cost per print”, “ low cost Supplies", "wear and tear of main equipment components". If the interlocutor ignores everything, this is definitely not the target client. If one of the topics arouses interest and makes you show emotions, then contact should be deepened.

Another technique: if the visitor looks interested when an employee demonstrates the capabilities of the equipment, the salesperson stands behind the guest’s shoulder. He monitors what parts of the machine the visitor examines, what buttons he presses, what functions he tests. This way you can find out whether the interlocutor understands the subject and what features of the machine are useful for him.

• Exhibition of industrial goods: how to increase your customer base by 30%

At the exhibition, the sales team’s task is not to bring as many business cards as possible, but to establish communication with those who are most likely to sign a contract later. At the first contact, only stable interest arises. We are not talking about sales or presentation here; for that, the exhibition is too noisy and there are many distractions. The presentation and detailed story about the product should be postponed until a meeting in the office where there is a showroom.

Contact at a club event. It is easier to engage in dialogue at business breakfasts and other relatively informal meetings than at conferences. But in all cases, we preliminarily review the lists of registered participants and select the most promising ones for cooperation, with whom we establish contacts in the future.

Holding business events

Such events help to develop relationships with existing clients and attract new ones. We have developed several formats. For example, to promote printing outsourcing services, we organize business lunches called OPS-Lunch 2.

First, a representative of our company talks about the product, then the customer gives an example of implementation. For clients this additional opportunity prove themselves as experts in their professional community. They are also interested in getting new ideas during the discussion.

2 From English optimized printing services - optimized printing services.

The audience is usually gathered by sales managers. If the direction is new or we want to expand client base, we order the involvement of professional associations - the same ones that organize their own events. Each of them has a fixed cost of attracting clients and its own contact base.

According to our instructions, an initial selection is made: for an event for 20 people, they usually offer 100-200 contacts. Then the sales team determines priorities, selects 50-60 people from the proposed candidates and invites them, and in the end 20-30 visitors arrive.

If events are dedicated to the features of equipment, then we hold them at the company’s office in the showroom, since a lot needs to be shown “live.” For example, a topic such as color quality cannot be covered only in theory. The speakers are experts and current clients.

Results of business events

To assess the effectiveness of spending the marketing budget on business events, we make sure that the costs of participation or organization do not exceed 5% of the amount of sales for transactions that began with contacts at events. For every ruble spent you need to get 20 rubles. income. Approximately 5% of customers in their interaction history have participated in our events, and we plan for this figure to increase.

• Company participation in the exhibition: preparation algorithm in 9 steps

If we evaluate the effect from the point of view of the number of new clients and potential transactions, then at someone else’s event, a manager who participated as a listener meets 10-15 people who can turn into customers.

At a company's own event with 30-40 guests, five or six of them reach the stage commercial offer, if these are new customers. If the clients are old, then one or two buy equipment directly at the event or immediately after it. If we talk about existing customers, the share of successfully completed transactions can reach 30-40% of the number of invited participants.

Information about the author and company

Zhamilya Kameneva graduated from Moscow State University forests, got MBA degree at MIRBIS Business School. She worked at Orange Business Services, in the marketing department of VimpelCom, and headed the marketing department of the directorate of Samsung Electronics Rus. Since 2015 - in current position.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Russia. The Japanese corporation Konica was founded in 1873. In 2003, it merged with Minolta. Provides comprehensive services and solutions for digital printing in corporate and production environments. Representative office in Russia - since 2000, located in Moscow. There are more than 100 people on staff. Official website - www.konicaminolta.ru

Business events are events of a special level, which, like all others, pursue specific goals.

Every year many similar events are held around the world. The organization and conduct of this is combined into general sphere services and is called MICE. This abbreviation consists of four different areas that are united by a common customer focus, and these are corporate clients.

To hold these events, business centers, conference rooms are being created all over the world (many large hotels have similar ones), etc. All this is combined into a common infrastructure and is developing every year.

Such events are organized by companies to attract partners and public opinion to the company itself, to the range of its products and services. Such events can become a very significant event and attract the attention of large masses.

For a business event to be a success, you first need to clearly and accurately define the goals of your project. Approve this decision with all participants in the preparation of this business project. Determine the composition of invited participants and the location of this event. If your event involves public participation higher value, then raise the question of media coverage of your event.

Clearly work out the program at all stages: opening, official (main) part, closing, unofficial part, and so on.

Examples of business events include business meetings, conferences, business seminars and other business events that are aimed at business conversation with clients and partners.

Conducting business events

The business events market is constantly developing and expanding. Many new venues are emerging to host such significant events. Russia has long since reached a common level with world leaders. Today, business events in Russia can be held at the highest global level. Moreover, this statement applies not only to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Today, successful and vibrant business events can be held in cities such as Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Sochi and many others.

For such events, it is better to choose the right contractor. Preparing and organizing a business event requires care and a careful approach. The performing company must not only do everything “as written,” but also help formulate the goals and directions of the business event for the customer’s company. For such work, you need extensive experience in the business events market, both in Russia and abroad.

Acts as an organizer of business events, both in Russia and around the world. Our company will help create and hold such an event anywhere in the world. We are a reliable and attentive assistant in your business projects- this is confirmed by many of our clients and created programs! Create an application and our business project manager will contact you and help you at all stages of creating a program and organizing your business event.

Competitors are not asleep, which is why it is important to constantly generate fresh ideas, even when it comes to traditional events. They can also play into your hands new plan seating arrangements, and unusual seating. Here are some ideas on how to breathe life into business events.

Develop a design concept in advance and highlight those aspects that make it unique

Your main task is to do the same event in a new way every time. Make it look different while maintaining its essence. This is especially important when you are trying to find a sponsor. Among the competing events, he will choose the one who can look different.

Choose a location that suits your design

Use the architecture and interior details of the space itself to promote your brand, rather than cluttering it with boring signage. Choose rooms and locations that will continue the design concept of the event and together create a unique space.

Reinvent your seating arrangements

Not all business events require the atmosphere of conference rooms or classrooms. Give participants a choice of where to sit. Some people will like to sit at a table, others will prefer an easy chair. Comfort is the first thing to consider, especially if people will have to sit for a very long time. Mix traditional and unusual seating areas.

Round tables are great for discussions. And to introduce participants to multiple aspects of the event, divide the space into several “stages” that are easy to move between.

The design must meet the technical needs of guests

Often, participants in business events need to work even while the event is taking place. They need to connect their laptop somewhere, answer a call, and so on. This is why it is important, for example, to provide each location with a charger. In addition, the use of gadgets during an event can also play into the hands of the organizers themselves. They can arrange a live chat and give the opportunity to ask questions to speakers via digital devices.

Create a theater feeling

Music is often an integral part of the event. She creates the right atmosphere. But for business events, a DJ booth is not the most suitable solution. Make the DJ's performance a little more theatrical. Set up his turntables on a full stage.

Set aside a special place for communication

Question and answer sessions in the hall immediately after the presentation have become obsolete. So that no one runs around looking for a microphone and so that no one has to listen to the answer to a question that is not interesting to him, it is better to create a separate space where the speaker will move immediately after his presentation. Here those interested will be able to ask him their questions. This is convenient for everyone: in such a place the speaker feels more comfortable, and guests have the opportunity to communicate with him personally.

Use your design to get your sponsors to appreciate you

Native advertising also takes place at such events. Organically integrate a sponsor into the concept of your event. This could be an additional page on the Internet, made in the same style as the main site, or entertainment for guests, which will become an integral part of the event.

And to support all of the above, there are living examples.

If you're tired of formal or theatrical furniture, mix up the styles. Give guests a choice of where they want to sit.

Sitting in one place for a long time is tiring. Offer comfortable seating for your guests to suit every taste.

Three-way seating gives a feeling of closeness to the hosts of the event.

In the front rows of the conference, place sofas for VIP guests, and further away from them, place high tables for those who need to work on laptops.