1/12/2013. Marketing Strategies to Boost International Attendance. Terrance Barkan CAE. Learner Outcomes: International Meeting Attendance

Transcription

1 Marketing Strategies to Boost International Attendance Terrance Barkan CAE Chief Strategist - GLOBALSTRAT Terrance Barkan CAE A Certified Association Executive (CAE), he is the author of numerous articles, guidelines and white papers on international association growth strategies. Mr. Barkan is a Past Chair of the International Section Council for the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE). He is also a former Board member of the European Society of Association Executives and a former adviser to the Chinese Federation of Industrial Economics. tbarkan@globalstrat.org His more than 20 years of international business experience has taken him to over 60 countries and 6 continents around the world on association development projects. Terrance has served as the Executive Director of international trade and professional societies. His management experience includes directing an association management team of more than 50 people located in 10 offices throughout the world. His company, GLOBALSTRAT, provides independent, expert advice for associations on how to develop their international growth strategies and business plans. This includes how to build internal staff capacity and capabilities to manage their global growth implementation tactics. Learner Outcomes: International Meeting Attendance Identify effective ways to build international attendance for your meetings Discover strategies and specific tactics that work and can be financially self-sustaining Evaluate the pros and cons of partnering to get your message out versus internal marketing efforts 1

2 Learner Outcomes: International Meeting Attendance Identify effective ways to build international attendance for your meetings Discover strategies and specific tactics that work and can be financially self-sustaining Evaluate the pros and cons of partnering to get your message out versus internal marketing efforts Learner Outcomes: International Meeting Attendance Identify effective ways to build international attendance for your meetings Discover strategies and specific tactics that work and can be financially self-sustaining Evaluate the pros and cons of partnering to get your message out versus internal marketing efforts What is the plan? An international meeting attendee strategy 2

3 How do your meetings fit in your organization s overall strategy? Probably the most important question to ask before every event begins the planning stage! What are your organization s top strategic objectives? How does this affect your intent to attract international delegates? Who is your most important target audience? (Segmentation) Does your organization prioritize certain regions/countries of the world for growth? Are there competitive/partnership issues that you need to be aware of? What are you trying to achieve with your event? Increased revenue* Information dissemination Reaching underserved markets Increasing diversity (building your meeting s gene pool ) Risk management by diversifying your audience/markets Building your organization s reputation as the leading organization Maintain or build value for exhibitors and partners Other? Inbound, outbound or both? ANNUAL 10,000pax ` 500 Regional pax 1,000pax 350 Regional 1,000pax Regional pax pax 3

4 Inbound, outbound or both? 6,000 ANNUAL 10,000pax 7,000 4,000 Marketing Phases Request information Awareness Interest Action Register for Event Become a Member Lists/Contacts Social Media Content Marketing Co-Marketing Partnering List acquisition Publications Qualified Prospects Social Media Content Marketing Word of Mouth Webinars Newsletters Website Customers Events Webinars Training Certifications Membership Tactics Methods to build an international audience at home and abroad 4

5 Using events to build an audience How and why would you use events to build your main conference or event? If done right, it is profitable or at least cost neutral (in effect, self funded marketing) It gives you access to new, potential delegates It helps you better understand your target markets Combined with a good mailing list, one of the most effective ways to promote your entire organization (non-attendees) Events help promote the entire business 6,000 ANNUAL 10,000pax 7,000 4,000 Events help promote the entire business ANNUAL 10,000pax ` Regional 1,000pax Regional 1,000pax Regional 500pax 5

6 Using other peoples events Consider providing a session, stream or satellite symposia as part of a larger, well established event or trade show Choose your events and partners wisely to support your brand positioning Have a stand to provide information and face to face contact with prospects and members at partner events Commonly offered for free as part of a mutual exchange agreement Take advantage of your participation at related events to: Understand which topics resonate with the delegates Better understand your target audiences Learn how to improve/add value to your events Identify potential speakers, sponsors, ideas, partners A content marketing strategy Newsletters - Offer a free subscription option for non-members Provide actionable / informative content Webinars and podcasts (free and paid) Note: We recommend that you experiment with paid versus free content; measure your conversion rates and overall return Articles & Whitepapers - offer quality content for publication in related journals or download Website - Offer summaries or the first two paragraphs of Member Only content publicly Request a minimum of information for new subscribers or requests for information Using Social Media Compliments your content strategy - use social media to drive traffic to your content Use to engage pre-, live and post- event (typically Facebook and LinkedIn for pre- and post- event with Twitter Hashtags for on-site engagement) Develop a dedicated strategy for social media across the organization and specifically for your events (coordination and platform sharing) Use open groups to attract prospects and members Use advanced search feature in LinkedIn to identify experts, potential speakers and prospects in target countries* * See a step by step instruction how to use LinkedIn for one to one marketing 6

7 Using LinkedIn LinkedIn Today 175m+ professionals around the world as of August 2, Million Users 1+ Million Groups 200 Countries 5m 80 M 44m 25m 9m 1m 3m Partnering and cross marketing What is the value proposition (WIIFM)? Be clear with yourself what you expect out of any partnership arrangement Define how you intend to measure outcomes and set goals How to choose your partners (the most critical factor) Ability to deliver (how strong or weak is your partner?) Aligned or at least complimentary objectives Does not damage or impair your brand Clear delineation of roles, responsibilities and obligations Fair and balanced agreement Ability to Trust but Verify Dedicated resources allocated to make the partnership work from both sides. Partnership dynamics How to avoid partnership failure 7

8 Why do organizations partner? ASSOC. LOCAL Time > Examples of Collaboration Joint conferences and events each partner brings specific strengths to the conference or event Joint publications published in two languages Co-marketing arrangements Sharing of content / intellectual property Exchange programs for visiting professionals, students Cross recognition of credentials / qualifications Joint Membership Discounts and special offers Translations When to avoid partnerships? In a fragmented market where there is no strong local partner Where the local partner lacks critical attributes (weak management, poor reputation, lack of resources etc.) Where it is critical that you maintain control over your processes, content, products and services (i.e. it is a quality issue you cannot afford to delegate) 8

9 Unique Challenges for Medical Meetings International attendance to U.S. based medical meetings According to the HCEA (Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association), major U.S. medical meetings attract between 22% - 29% international attendance. Some meetings exceed 50% - 60% international attendance Increased global trend towards transparency and restrictions regarding sponsor / attendee financial support (combination of self regulation and business decisions) For more information, refer to the HCEA article: Challenges for U.S. based medical meetings The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and EUCOMED, the association representing European medical technology companies, provides guidelines with restrictions on travel and other support for medical personnel to attend meetings. The guidelines make a distinction between the relative attraction and value of the event content versus the perception of the venues (i.e. penalizes vacation destinations) For more information, refer to the HCEA article: 9

10 Recommendations for medical meetings Choose appropriate venues (not to be interpreted as a professional vacation destination) Consider what is included in the registration fee, keeping the program clearly focused on professional issues. Build your relationships with the sponsor company managers in the target countries (budgets are allocated on a country basis) Develop regional meetings in target geographies as an extension of your current business model and a potential defense against additional restrictions Next steps Recomendations Recommendations 1. Align your events strategy, segmentation and target markets with your overall business strategy 2. Define your international participant objectives (market segments and measures) 3. Build your event participant strategy and tactics: (which segments with which tools, when and how) 4. Build your prospect database 5. Focus on quality over quantity (quantity will follow) 6. Use all of your available tools to engage your entire event audience equally 7. Start early to help international delegates navigate visa and travel arrangement challenges 10

11 For more information... Request your free copy of: Global Growth Strategies: The International Association Request Info Thank you for participating! Please complete your session evaluation online! Did you scan your badge? This is for CEU credits and also helps PCMA develop education for YOU! Marketing Strategies to Boost International Attendance Presenter: Terrance Barkan CAE, GLOBALSTRAT 11