Conquering the Business Conference: How to Plan, Prepare, & Evaluate
By Liat Barer, Maya Carmely, & Sandra Grodensky
Editor’s Note: One of the biggest conferences in the the mobile tech industry, Mobile World Congress, is set to kick off next week in Barcelona, Spain. As StartApp makes our last minute preparations for the trip, we asked three members of our team to share how they plan and prepare for any large conference, including MWC, from their unique business perspective.
Perspective One: Liat Barer, Director of Advertising at StartApp
Client Relationship Management & Sales
Perspective Two: Maya Carmely, Head of MarCom & LeadGen at StartApp
Corporate Marketing & Event Planning
Perspective Three: Sandra Grodensky, Director of Business Development at StartApp
Business Development & Sales
“Before attending a major conference, my first order of business is reaching out to all our relevant partners, especially international partners that we are unable to see face-to-face on a regular basis. From there, we schedule meetings with those attending the conference with the aim to not only discuss future activity but also to strengthen our relationship with them on a more personal level.
As the conference draws closer, my team and I begin working on briefs for meetings we have set. Conferences are excellent opportunities to showcase anything new we have to offer, but it’s also important to come prepared with current numbers and a current activity summary for each specific client to be able to review and address any questions or issues. These briefs also help us refocus quickly and come prepared for each client when moving quickly from meeting to meeting.
During these meetings, it is an absolute necessity to take notes. Personally, I aim to keep track of two main things:
- Anything we spoke about with the client that they responded well to, like a new feature or a new strategy ideas
- Potential action items moving forward
This not only helps me keep track of all of the meetings after the conference, but it is also very helpful for our account management team — who work closely with the client’s contact person in the day-to-day — to know if the client is open to new opportunities or needs to make adjustments.
At the conference, don’t be afraid to tap into the knowledge and expertise of your colleagues. I never hesitate to bring along colleagues to relevant meetings — even if they aren’t necessarily part of the day-to-day team that works directly with the client. Their expertise can often benefit the client in terms of new information about the company or our products, and they can often spark new avenues of conversation that may not have been open otherwise.
After the event is over, my first point of business when returning to the office is sending “meeting summary” emails, using the notes I took, to all relevant clients. This helps refresh everyone’s memory and establishes actions items for everyone involved from the client to the account manager.
I also make sure to personally review the ideas and trends that I heard about or learned about during the conference. This helps me understand the industry developments that we should be paying attention to and can help shape strategy going forward. In this rapidly changing industry, staying fresh is essential!”
“The amount of planning that goes into a conference differs depending on how large the conference is and how strategic it is for us as a company. For Mobile World Congress, one of our biggest yearly conferences, we began planning about 6 months in advance.
For me, the conference process always begins with brainstorming what, exactly, we are trying to achieve from the conference we are considering. This process includes determining:
- The target audience, the overall tone and message, and the size of the conference
- Which companies are exhibiting and sponsoring
- Whether or not we want to take part in a panel or speaking opportunity
- Whether or not we should explore hosting a reception or cocktail party for attendees.
- What we are trying to emphasize or focus on as a company in relation to the conference, such as a new product or noteworthy company milestone.
When it comes to planning our company presence at the event, brand awareness and experience are very key considerations — how visible will our logo be the conference hall? What will attract people to our booth and what can we do to keep them there to interact with our company delegates? In my experience, creative, branded giveaways, a unique booth design, and good hospitality in the form of good food and drinks are strong first steps.
Once the booth design and booth experience are finalized with the help of a contractor and our creative team, it’s of course important to plan a promotional strategy for the event. For Mobile World Congress, for example, we sent a series of “Meet Us” emails which gave recipients the option of scheduling a meeting with us ahead of time. We also created promotional banners for our social channels and email signatures to spread the word to our employees’ networks regarding our participation in the event.
For companies with a global presence like StartApp, I strongly recommend taking cultural and social norms into consideration when creating both promotional and on-site materials. At our conferences in China, for example, we create physical brochures that explain our business and our solutions. This is customary in the country and conference attendees fully expect these materials to be readily available at any booth. This is where having a local team or local contact on the ground can be a huge help.
It’s also incredibly important to have a post-conference strategy. At StartApp, we ask each of our employees who attended the conference to send a detailed feedback email and integrate any new leads into Salesforce. This helps us on the MarCom team make adjustments for the following year in terms of overall execution and also helps management review the effectiveness of our presence at each conference. At the end of the review process, it’s nearly time to begin planning again!”
“For a big conference, I usually begin my prep about a month and a half ahead of time. The initial prep includes personally browsing the event’s official website to get a sense of the tone and subject, looking at speakers and sponsors, and going over the exhibitor’s list to get an idea of the relevant halls.
Next, I will begin mapping the relevant companies that I want to meet with, reaching out to any point of contact to get an introduction to the relevant person who will be in attendance. At the same time, I’m also leveraging LinkedIn to let my network know that I’ll be in attendance and to begin getting involved any related LinkedIn groups.
Though a big part of my preparation is making new connections, big conferences are also an excellent time to strengthen relationships with existing partners. Before the conference, I reach out to them to let them know I’ll be in attendance and to begin setting up meetings with them. Though these meetings are usually more casual and an easy way to touch base, you never know what can come out of them. Often, things are brought up or discussed that help develop the partnership or relationship further.
At big conferences like Mobile World Congress, we are often hosting a cocktail party or conference reception. These are incredibly important opportunities for breaking the ice with cold leads, whether it is in the form of a friendly invite to an exclusive, fabulous event or a quick conversation in a more laid-back atmosphere.
It’s also crucial to have a presence at the other conference parties as well — not everyone will be able to attend yours! I take some time before each conference to RSVP to relevant events so that my attendance will be visible to other conference-goers ahead of time.
One of my biggest tips for pre-conference prep? Don’t wait to make restaurant reservations for business dinners! For a big event like MWC, the best local restaurants fill up quickly. It’s always better to cancel a reservation if a dinner falls through than to not be able to get a reservation at all!
On the day before I travel for a conference, I make sure that I have everything organized. This includes getting a new notebook and packing a stapler (to take notes and then quickly attach the business card to the right page — this strategy never fails!) and double-checking hotel reservations, tickets, and other logistical details.
Another tip? Print your agenda and schedule. When going back and forth to meetings, you never know when your computer or phone will die on you and you don’t want to be caught unprepared.
The conference itself is pretty straightforward (meetings, meetings, meetings!), but the most important step, for me, comes after the event is over. As soon as I’m back in office, I’m adding any new contacts over LinkedIn. It’s quick, simple, and it’s a great tool to match names with faces so that I can begin working on my follow-ups.
It’s a lot of prep for a few short days, but trust me — it all pays off in the end.”
