Operating Onsite
Spare a thought: why a
personalised show site
service is vital for your
success
By Angela Smith, head of customer
Experience, Freeman EMEA
W
“We’ve recognised
the potential of the
build period, not
just being ring-
fenced to handling
service requests,
but to engage,
showcase, and grow
our show floor
capabilities”
here on your list of priorities falls show site
service? When it comes to pulling events
together, service desks can feel like a low-priority
item on your mile-long to do list.
As our industry undergoes a much overdue digital
transformation, we run the risk of losing the art
of engaging face-to-face with all our customers.
I am not talking about old shell system desk
structures, adorned by disengaged desk staff that
tell exhibitors what they can’t do. I’m talking about
a radical shift of the more traditional service desk
towards a real, personal, and meaningful customer
experience that is additive to the exhibitor.
Number vs name: making show site service
personal
When service standards resemble a “deli counter”
and customers are referred to by their (stand)
number, you know we’ve entered a place of the
impersonal.
We should provide a more tailored, more
personalised experience to our customers. For
example, by asking for their name first and then
their stand number, we’re not just getting off on
the right foot to make this exchange more human,
but we are signalling to our customers that we’re
committed to providing value to them regardless of
who they’re representing, how much they’ve spent,
and how big their stand is.
The future of service desks is centralised
I recently took a walk across a show build in the
shoes of an exhibitor and discovered an alarming
trend: the centralisation of service centres.
Don’t get me wrong: on paper, a central hub
for show site support makes a lot of sense. You
can centralise your experts, drive efficiencies by
50 — October
processing all requests through one desk, and
coordinate communications between service staff,
suppliers, and customers, but is it practical for an
exhibitor to leave their stand during set-up and
hike across show site to engage with a supplier.
The reasons why I’m alarmed is that with a
one-size-fits-all approach, we run the risk of
disregarding the needs of our customers and
prioritising our own needs as a service partner.
We’re now headed towards the 4th anniversary
of our Concierge function . We started out taking
both the traditional service desks, and service
centre functionality out onto the show floor, and
saw first-hand how that can open up avenues, to
effectively engage with customers in situ.
We then designed our show site support as a
concierge service, featuring the more traditional
services desks as well as ambassadors walking the
show floor, meet-and-greets, exhibitor breakfast
and lounges, and much more. We’ve recognised the
potential of the build period, not just being ring-
fenced to handling service requests, but to engage,
showcase, and grow our show floor capabilities,
ensuring that all exhibitors have a positive
experience.
The only constant is (customer-centric) change
There are many facets to an enriching, meaningful,
and personalised customer experience on the show
floor. Our customers and their challenges keep
changing and evolving, and it is crucial for us to
change and evolve with them in order to provide a
service that adds value.
As long as we keep our customers at the core of
everything we do, show site services will continue
to be an exciting, growing, and creative space to be.