Roundtable
Change our thinking,
change our customers
EN hosts a roundtable with Freeman EMEA titled The Exhibitor
Experience; how are we working to understand our
customer needs to improve both growth and retention?
» Mike Sealey, customer
experience director, Informa
» Simon Albert, MD, Messe
Frankfurt UK
» Nathan Garnett, director
of construction and optical
portfolio, Media 10
» Angela Smith, head of customer
experience, Freeman EMEA
» Michael Watton, venue director,
Farnborough International
» Chris Preston, MD, Freeman
EMEA
» Mila Yankulova, operations
manager, CloserStill Media
» Jackie Brown, director of
business development, Freeman
EMEA
» Murray Ellis, event director,
Commercial Vehicle Show
U
nderstanding the
customer journey and
the ‘after-sales’ experience
seems a relatively simple
subject to discuss, but
in reality, it’s far more
complicated than it first
appears. There are quite a
few procedures the 180,000
exhibitors in the UK must
go through before they can
begin selling their products
and services on a show floor.
Understanding the exhibitor
experience and how we can
improve on it formed the
foundations for the latest EN
roundtable, in association
with Freeman.
New kid on the block Mike
Sealey, customer experience
director at Informa, is in the
fortunate position of being
able to look at the problem
with a fresh set of eyes. He
says: “We have to think
about what experience they
are having with that show.
It can be very chaotic from
beginning to end. We have
some very talented people at
Informa but the processes,
from organiser to the show,
are disconnected and you
end up having a group of
people that just know how to
get things done and this isn’t
sustainable long-term.
“The big challenge we
have is that most of our
shows operate in their own
silos and what I’m trying
to do is understand where
best practice is and look
at how we can drive more
consistency across our
shows, particularly when
we talk about using certain
suppliers. As a result, we are
building a preferred supplier
list where the exhibitor will
get some kind of discount
and this avoids them using
their own supplier who may
farm out some of their work
to a third party, creating a lot
of touch points.”
Getting exhibitors together
Messe Frankfurt UK
MD, Simon Albert, has
a well-oiled machine at
Automechanika. He adds:
“We are extremely focused
on delivering a professional
experience for the exhibitors
and our customers want to
be handled in a professional
way. As soon as the booking
is made, we have a dedicated
member of our team, an
account manager, who
immediately informs the
exhibitor of their next steps
within 24 hours. To make
things as simple as possible,
we give them just one point
of contact.
“We also have an exhibitor
day which we do three
months before the show
to make sure the exhibitor
is prepared for the show.
We also invite all of our
suppliers, our stand
contractors, freight etc. so
they can meet everyone
they need prior to the event.
We also provide them with
training by getting an
exhibition industry expert
who will share top strategies
for making the most out
of their experience at the
show.”
Media 10 director on
construction and optical
portfolio, Nathan Garnett,
also follows a similar
pattern. He says:
December — 41