Heading for Expo West next month? If so, Jeff Hilton – CMO and co-founder leading US healthy lifestyle branding agency BrandHive – has eight top tips on how to get the most out of your visit to the ‘Big One’.
So you’re going to attend Expo West in Anaheim on March 5th-9th? Along with 80,000 of your closest friends? This is a BIG trade show and navigating it productively takes some planning. Here are a few suggestions:
Do your homework
Invest some time online looking over the exhibitor list, education programme, networking events, and overall schedule in advance. Even for us Expo West veterans, the show landscape is changing almost annually. New exhibit areas, new social events, new hours, new discussion and presentation topics. Build out a preliminary digital schedule around what and whom you want to see. It will evolve as the show approaches, so leave room to expand or change your plan.
Prioritize your goals
No doubt you have a long list of booths to visit, sessions to attend and social events. But first things first. Set in stone the things you MUST do and see and then fill in around those pillars. Time will get away from you so plan on getting sidetracked and conducting impromptu conversations and meetings that you didn’t plan on. It’s how that show rolls.
Limit meetings to 30 minutes or less
There is a lot of ground to cover at this show, and everyone you meet will also be busy and racing against the clock. So let people know up front that you have a hard stop in X minutes so they are not surprised when you start checking your phone, gathering materials and standing up from the meeting table. Once you have met face to face and discussed the pressing issue or issues, you can easily cover the rest of the details in a subsequent phone call.
“Set in stone the things you MUST do and see and then fill in around those pillars. Time will get away from you so plan on getting sidetracked and conducting impromptu conversations and meetings that you didn’t plan on. It’s how that show rolls”
Seek out innovation
There are abundant “me too” products at this event. After all, how many chips, flavored waters and Omega-3 supplements can there be, right? So look for unique product concepts with inventive technologies or mechanisms of action. Hunt down products supported by science and clinical research. Ask other attendees what they have seen that is different or out of the ordinary.
Spend time in the new product halls
Time spent among the up and coming new products will never be time wasted. Wandering those aisles will alert you to product development and consumer trends and give you ideas for your first or next new product. Pay special attention to unique delivery forms, patents on intellectual property, and convenience items designed to facilitate living a healthier diet and lifestyle.
Meet and greet as you go
Expo West is a flurry of activity, but take the time to make human contact and reach out to others to exchange war stories or brand storytelling or simply exchange business cards. Many long term friendships and partnerships have been formed at this annual event that might not have otherwise happened.
Get smarter
You can’t attend them all, but take advantage of the abundant educational events at Expo. Most of them are free with your badge fee, and provide incredible insights that you will be pressed to find elsewhere. The show draws a huge, engaged crowd so don’t be surprised to see well known authors, health and fitness gurus, and maybe even Jennifer Garner or Suzanne Sommers walking the show floor or speaking on their product lines. One of the things I love most about the natural products industry is that we share knowledge and information openly with others and lift each other up by offering advice and reciprocity. As big as it has grown, this show still has a huge heart.
Follow up when you get home
As soon as you can following the event, compile the business cards and contact information you gathered and respond to each one, thanking them for their time, providing them whatever they requested and adding them to your digital database for further opt-in messaging and promotion. Don’t procrastinate this important step. It’s easy to put aside and get to it when you can. But those are fresh leads and inquiries; literally the reason you went to the show in the first place.
All of that said, good luck in Anaheim this year. And look for me. I’ll be the guy with the briefcase.