Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

The use of E-commerce has become common for organizers. Exhibitors and attendees can buy their space or register for technical sessions with ease and never have to leave their computer or smartphone.

But, are we doing enough to make the process simple, all inclusive and expedient for our customers? I found an interesting blog posted by Jim Stoneham, President of US based Payment Inc, which addresses this question. In this blog Stoneham highlights five lessons from retailers that can be easily applied to organizers.

http://mashable.com/2012/08/26/ecommerce-lessons-tips/

1. Let People Emote

Retail is most successful when customers have a chance to express how they feel when they discover a product or service that satisfies a need.

The same can be said of an exhibition when a seminar program is presented in a dynamic and exciting way that hooks the attendee’s interest quickly. You need to give them an opportunity to share their feelings through a social media site that is read by other potential attendees.

2. Showcase What’s Hot

There are often key-note speakers who can get the attention of audience members faster than other speakers. The same is true for topics which focus on current trends or timely issues. From an exhibitors point of view their reasons for attending are more than simply selecting a location and stand size. What are the key features of your exhibition that will ignite their interest? If you know what’s “hot” then feature it. This way you will capture the attention of attendees and exhibitors who might otherwise be hesitant about making a decision.

3. Ditch the Cart

Is there a way to let exhibitors shop with one click rather than having to register and then visit one supplier’s site after another to make their purchases?

4. Lead with Mobile

People spend more time using social media on their mobile devices than on their PCs. What the author points out is that “mobile behavior is a lot different from desktop behavior. With mobile applications, people prefer snippets of browsing versus longer periods of time in front of a screen.” This means marketing information to both exhibitors and attendees must be custominzed in small bite-size chunks which will drive them to your web-site for more information.

 

5. Use Data to Fuel Discovery

Use the data you gather from conversations people have about your exhibition to ensure that you are putting the right information in front of the right people.