Why You Should Start New Year’s Resolution Early

January 4, 2015

Lisa Apolinski

Lisa Apolinski is a professional speaker, blogger, and digital strategist. With her company, 3DogWrite.com, she works with event managers to get their message to attendees, particularly through digital channels, on and off the show floor.

I always start my New Year’s resolutions early. I feel that getting a jump start on the New Year is a great way to, well, get a jump start on the New Year! Here is a list of things event managers can do now to prepare for 2015.

Check your inventory: The end of the year is a great time to review your inventory of both trade show graphics and items you have in your ‘must take to each show’ stash. Throw away graphics that are old, ratted, or no longer relevant (you are paying for storing those, so do you really need to keep them ‘just in case’?) For that ‘must take’ stash, remove and store any duplicates on cleaners, mints, and other items. Streamline your ‘must takes’ so you aren’t just moving items from your office to the show and back without using them (or even unpacking them).

Review your trade show list: This is an easy thing to be working on all year long. As you are exhibiting at your shows for the year, flag those shows you are not sure are working for you, and in the upcoming year, have a critical eye on them, both in terms of sales and reputation impact. On a side note, if you are flagging more than 30% of your yearly trade shows, you either having a misstep with your trade show strategy or execution, and a trade show consultant is probably a good investment to ensure you are on track (and not wasting valuable budget dollars and resources).

Update your technology and digital strategies: End of the year is also a great time to review how your technology is working in your trade shows and reviewing data to see how your digital strategies are working pre, during and post trade show. Do you need new monitors or laptops software to support your upcoming demonstrations? Are all of your digital marketing choices working? If not, take time now to see if anything is not up to snuff, and remove and/or replace it.

Don’t wait for the New Year to get jumping and update your 2015 trade show strategy!

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