by John D’Adamo, Head of Sales, USA
From Sunday May 22nd to Wednesday May 25th, VenuIQ team members attended BizBash / Connect Meetings Puerto Rico alongside nearly 1,500 other event and meeting professionals from around the world. Some of our key takeaways are below:
1) In-person is returning with a bang but nearly every buyer conversation centred in some way around utilizing technology
(apps/tracking/reg/etc) to improve data and engagement. How are you using apps and technology to prove ROI to your decision makers and sponsors? Consider VenuIQ’s in-app scanning as an idea to achieve this or beacon-based tracking.
2) “It’s not “hybri…” anymore the new word is holistic.”
Jeff Benish – It’s about the client and delivering a bespoke product that hits their goals. VenuIQ has a major strategic advantage in that we are bootstrapped and can build new features upon request and upon a budget being assigned. We don’t have VCs to answer to or have to adhere to a strict monthly development calendar. As Julius Solaris said recently, most of the innovation happened during 2020 and really not much since. Not the case with us – we’re rolling out only the features planners and agencies specifically ask for.
3) Micro-events within conferences are a great way to connect with your existing and potential future buyers.
Philip Mayling and I scheduled a private happy hour at Caribe Hilton’s Caribar which turned out to be a really unique boutique experience with twelve in attendance in contrast to the mass parties during each night.
4) This is still a small industry where many know each other from past lives.
I met a former client of mine in person who I had only interacted with via calls and zoom and both of us now work for different companies but are still in the industry.
5) We need more authentic conversations.
Social is very fake in the industry and we need to work on getting more real.
6) If you are sponsoring a conference, consider a corresponding digital marketing campaign around storytelling
We scheduled advertisements on BizBash’s digital platforms a few days before the event with extremely compelling storytelling-style content surrounding the Development Counsellors International’s ‘Monaco for You’ event. It’s about telling stories with impact, not talking about how great your product is. No one cares.