Industry View
Not all
visitors
are
created
equal
Christine Martin, executive
director, marketing & customer
experience at GES EMEA
‘value creators’ are curious buyers, who
actively engage with your exhibitors,
seminar programmes, features,
networking tools and social media
channels.
A
udience acquisition has moved from
being a numbers game to a serious
discussion around visitor quality.
Marketers and event brand owners
are buzzing with talk about how they
should measure and attract the visitors
who are the true ‘value creators’ on the
show floor.
Recent UFI/Explori research shows a
disturbing lack of trust from exhibitors
in the accuracy of the visitor data
supplied by organisers.
One element that is coming under
particular scrutiny is the customary
VIP programme. As exhibitors and
organisers are becoming more data-
literate, it is more obvious that the
average trade show floor has seen VIP
‘creep’ with almost everyone qualifying
for special status.
So, how do you define a VIP?
Using simple, self-reported registration
data is an obvious starting point.
However, this data is not usually
validated, leading to potential
extravagant claims from visitors that
only fuels exhibitors’ distrust in their
exhibition experience. With digital
marketing platforms now tracking
‘buyer intent’ to make targeting even
more precise and effective, is this a
measurement we should be looking
to adopt – and is it transferable to the
marketing world?
Identifying visitors who are truly
‘value creators’ requires a data
driven approach. Firmographic
data, budget and authority to
spend are all important in
defining VIP status, but how
about overlaying this with
visitors who really engage
with your show? The true
Behavioural insight is golden
Capturing the full visitor journey is now
possible; with Visit Touchpoints you
can even track post-show consumption
of digital content collected around the
show. This behavioural data creates
insight into how visitors behave during
their time at your event, which can be
used for commercial value, and to drive
audience acquisition strategies.
Suddenly, a VIP is a customer that
behaves in a way that truly drives value
to your show.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest
that people who are active on social
media are social in real life too – so
if you want a buzzing show floor
targeting heavy social media users
and influencers could be a key part of
your VIP strategy. Now it’s possible to
replace the ‘spray and pray’ approach to
visitor acquisition with a highly targeted
marketing campaign that identifies VIPs
using a balance scorecard with buyer
intent and a propensity to engage as
important as budget.
Data drives revenue
Redefining the VIP will reap financial
dividends too. A data validated VIP
experience programme will attract
sponsorship, drive exhibitor ROI and
boost retention and rebook. It will make
your visitor marketing more effective
and encourage referrals; it’s a business
imperative, not an optional extra.
"With digital marketing platforms
now tracking 'buyer intent' to make
targeting even more precise and
effective, is this a measurement we
should be looking to adopt"
December — 37