Another year at Photonics West, the leading event for photonics and laser companies, is in the books! With over 5,000 presentations and 1,300 exhibiting companies, the consensus so far is that traffic was down and quality was up. After months preparing client booths, websites, collateral pieces, and campaigns, we're excited to share a few favorites!

Sandy Sloane | Solutions by Sloane

For this post we talked with Sandy Sloane, the President of Solutions by Sloane. Her business serves as an extension of her clients’ existing internal training, employee engagement, special events, and public relations teams, complementing and enhancing what they are already doing or what they simply don’t have time to do. Sandy works closely with Nextcorps Luminate, a 6-month intensive accelerator program located in Rochester, NY, the imaging capital of the world.

Report from XPONENTIAL 2018

With more than 8500 attendees, the AUVSI XPONENTIAL show is the largest event worldwide for drones, robotics, and unmanned systems spanning over 20 different industries. In our second year of attendance at the show, we noticed significant shifts in the market makeup, exhibitor’s strategy, and the unmanned industry as a whole.

At a trade show that features the latest in the fast-developing field of unmanned technology, there is a lot of interest and noise. It’s the Wild West, and market leadership is up for grabs. So how do you make sure your company’s booth draws attention and traffic? Effective demos are key. Unique approaches to booth advertisement will get you noticed, too.

We noticed a number of powerful tactics at XPONENTIAL 2017. The following tactics are just a few your team could apply to any large trade show strategy.

We all have our favorite pair of shoes. They might be the ones that look great but don’t feel as great, the shoes that match everything, or the shoes that are surprisingly comfortable. We have favorites for work, going out—any number of occasions. But what about trade shows?

Scenario: You’ve spent the past three days at a trade show. You were really good about not answering emails on your phone while on the exhibition floor. You ran a lead generation promotion that brought in double the leads over last year.

But now it’s Monday. You’re back in the office and your inbox is overflowing. You’ve downloaded the lead list, but there isn’t possibly enough time to do lead qualification research on all of them—and certainly not enough time to make calls. How will you ensure consistent lead follow-up?

CES, Photonics West, and other industry trade shows are just around the corner. Deciding how you will collect and manage leads is an important part of trade show planning, but the methods of lead capture vary. The most foolproof method of lead collection is using the official scanner provided at the event; however, due to the cost, many professionals are now relying on their phones to collect leads. Just be sure to test out any app you plan on using to work out any technical issues and make sure it will serve your needs.

Here are smartphone apps to try at your next trade show:

As we approach the year’s end and begin helping our clients map out next year’s marketing activities, one aspect we consider is their presence at trade shows. Trade shows and conferences are expensive, so it is important to make the most of the time and dollars that you spend there. Here are some common questions emerge from these discussions, and some tips that can help you maximize trade show ROI:

Trade Show Planning for Introverts

Industry events such as trade shows and conferences are a great place to build sales opportunities and learn from fellow professionals. If you're a bold personality, it's easy to excel in these situations. However, if you’re a more introverted person, major events can feel daunting—speaking from personal experience.

It was all business at Photonics West 2017. The atmosphere was more serious and disciplined, with companies laser-focused on achieving specific marketing and sales goals and getting the most out of their trade show strategy. Our annual survey provides a look at these companies’ lead generation and follow-up success—check out the results to benchmark your own trade show performance.  [Take this year's survey!]

Occasionally we hear companies say that attending or exhibiting at trade shows brought them little ROI. The first question we ask is, “How many appointments with prospects did you have set up beforehand?” Frequently the answer is none. Hoping that prospects with a need will drop by your booth during the show, whether or not they are familiar with your company beforehand, is simply not enough.

Booth design isn’t the only thing that can make or break a company’s trade show presence. Engaged, knowledgeable staff members who are eager to share their expertise are a must-have. A cool demo doesn’t hurt either. Check out the companies and events we thought shined at this year’s SPIE Photonics West, and what could have been better.