Why should you invest in face to face events when you can save time and money with virtual events and on-line seminars.? Here’s why!
1. Learning occurs through a variety of options: lectures, panel presentations, hands-on workshops, inspirational keynotes, and other unique opportunities, such as tweet-ups. You can pick a session in whatever style suits your learning needs. And don’t forget about the informal learning that happens in the in-between moments of an in-person event, during meals or waiting for a presentation to begin.
2. There are fewer distractions at face to face events. Have you ever attended an online event only to be interrupted by people stopping in your office, phone calls, emails or meetings? Even though almost everything is on demand these days, carving out time at your office to watch an hour presentation is difficult. When you book yourself a ticket out of town and turn on your “out of office” reply, you attend the event and focus on learning and networking.
3. You share in the energy and excitement of other fellow attendees. Nothing replaces a face-to-face conversation, not even Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Having the time to talk to your peers, both in your industry and in other industries, gives you insight into what other people are doing and lets you benchmark best practices. You find that you aren’t the only one facing a particular challenge, and you just might find a way to apply what someone else is doing to your own situation.
4. You get to connect with the presenters. At in-person events, you get access to speakers and experts.  You often have opportunities to sit down with industry experts at lunch, round table discussions, or one-on-one consulting sessions. The input received from asking specific questions in person gives you an edge you can’t get from a virtual event or online seminar
Though online technologies and social networks are critical to the way we work and have opened up countless new opportunities, we’re still human. Whether we’re working out problems with a colleague, closing a sale, or networking, better rapport is established in person.
 

Because of both the complex regulations and because so much media attention has been focused in the past year on government meeting spending, managing a government meeting has become challenging.
Sarah Vining, marketing manager at The National Conference Center (NCC), compiled a list of five easy tips for planners to simplify and streamline the many complex rules and regulations involved in the planning of government meetings.
1.   Complete Meeting Packages – Use facilities that offer all inclusive pricing packages. Typically, most properties with complete meeting packages (CMP) are conference centers recognized by the International Association of Conference Centers. This allows the planner to focus on content for the meeting rather than micromanage the logistics. CMPs give planners flexibility with space needs like breakout space and meeting rooms without room rental fees
2.   GSA Schedule – “Choose a venue on the GSA schedule,” advises Margo Palmer, one of NCC’s senior government sales managers. “You’ll eliminate a lot of time, extensive processes and market research by choosing a venue already on GSA.” The venues listed on the GSA schedule put forth all the groundwork to qualify and be listed on the schedule, which also simplifies the process for planners. The new category for easy meeting shopping is listed under the SIN number, 599-6.
3.   Government pricing - Venues that offer government pricing all year long with no black-out dates indicate they’re committed to your best interests as a group and to having you  as a long-term customer.
4.   Metro-Accessible Location – Location allows government planners to control the procurement process and overcome certain obstacles. Venues that have ample parking and are easily accessible to an airport, especially an international airport, make the planning process easier.
5.   Seasoned sales managers –Working with a venue staffed with seasoned government sales managers makes all the difference in the planning process. A seasoned government sales manager knows the federal rules and regulations and can coach you through the process.
These tips allow government meeting planners the ability to concentrate their energies on designing meetings that focus on bringing everyone together and delivering successful results.

 

When we talk about social media and building our personal brands, we usually refer to Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter. But the majority of the people in our network are the people we email on a regular basis, and sadly we forget that our email signature is at least as important in building our personal brands as our Tweets.
Having the right amount of information in your email signature is important. After your name and contact information, you can add your social media handles. The general rule of thumb is no more than 4-6 lines of information. If you are using icons or logos for social media, make sure that your email signature is not cluttered with too many colors and images. Embed artwork so that your emails don’t appear to have attachments.
If you are promoting an event, alter  your signature to include a link to the event site. Your email signature is not etched in stone and can be changed as your circumstances change. Of course, if your company has an email signature policy, you will need to follow it for your work email but there is nothing to stop you from enhancing your personal email signature.
Look at your email signature: could it use a make-over? It’s the one thing everyone in your network sees, even the people who don’t check Facebook on a regular basis!

Managing events is our passion at Plan Ahead Events, but managing events we create is even better. So says Helen Denning of Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga, CA who is planing the first ever "Inland Empire Chocolate Festival on Saturday April 21, 2012, from 11 AM to 8 PM at the Hilton Ontario Airport Hotel, 700 North Haven Ave. Ontario, CA  91764.

Who doesn't love chocolate? The event will feature tastings from chocolatiers, bakeries, coffees, and wineries. There will also be cooking demonstrations, music, entertainment, and shopping.

But it's not just about the chocolate. The Inland Empire Chocolate Festival will benefit Back to School JAM, an annual event where backpacks filled with school supplies are distributed to children in the local communities. Purchase tickets online at www.iechocolatefestival.com. Do it now before the event sells out!

If you work for a company or own your own business the choices are endless when deciding how you can market and promote products. However, one of the most effective, simply because it is a face to face experience, is exhibiting at a trade show. 

There are many resources that tell you how to make the most of your trade show investment, but for the first time exhibitor, the following tips will not overwhelm and will help keep it simple.

1. Get to know trade shows; visit a few before you embark on exhibiting. Study what exhibitors are doing, and learn about the rules that are part of any exhibiting venture, whether those are labor rules, organizer rules, or industry rules.
2. Bring your best sales people to staff the booth. Tell them to expect the unexpected since trade show visitors are random and encourage them to think on their feet, to use their best field sales skills, and to be confident.
3. Do pre-show marketing. Let customers and prospects know that you will be at the tradeshows and encourage them to put you on their must see lists. You can let them know via email, print ads, or any one of many communication vehicles, including calling important customers and prospects before the show to alert them to the fact that you will be at the show. Give them your booth number so they can find you.
 4. Make sure your exhibit is simple and clearly tells visitors the name of your company and what products and services you offer. Make sure you have plans in place to erect the display before you get to the show floor. If you need to hire labor, do that early.
5. Spend quality time with customers and prospects. Tell your sales team not to spend time talking to friends, competitors, or other visitors who are not your target market. Exhibiting at trade shows is an investment, so make it worth your while.
6. Establish ‘next steps.’ Take visitors’ information and develop a follow up plan in the exhibit.  What will you do after the show? Get agreement on the process. Ask for opt-in permission so you can contact them to keep them up to date on your new offerings.
7. Because you have all your important prospects and customers in one place, trade shows present an excellent opportunity to entertain. Make dinner appointments in advance, or if you have a group of people you want to entertain, contact an event planning company like Plan Ahead Events to help you with a cost effective, memorable way to reach your market.

If you exhibit at a trade show, you’ll find it an easy, effective way of promoting your products to potential new consumers. Following these simple tips is a good start to trade show success.

 

Thanks to Tim Brown,  CEO of Meeting Sites Resource, for this amazing blog post.

He reminds us that "managing meeting stakeholder expectations" is a critical part of our job description. On the surface, this topic seems like a no-brainer, since most meeting planners' core skills are meeting planning, execution and logistics. But often, that is the problem: with a complete focus on being "efficient," many meetings today are not "effective."  

Now don't get me wrong, meeting logistics and implementation excellence is a must in our rapidly expanding Strategic Meeting Management (SMM) environment, but equally important is a meeting needs assessment process that identifies all stakeholder goals, objectives, and results in a specific plan to deliver and measure success.

The need for measurable meeting ROI and expanded collaboration to achieve big picture meeting goals has increased the number of people with their hands, or fingerprints, on the overall meeting management process. The key is to identify each stakeholder, understand his role and specific contribution, and then become a resource to him to assure quality outcomes. Think of yourself as a general contractor working with many internal and external sub-contractors to build a magnificent house (in this case, a meeting).  

In the SMM world, managing expectations is called Return on Objectives (ROO). Simply put, this is making meeting visions a reality.  Here is my quick overview regarding Return on Objectives: “The ability to identify meeting stakeholder(s) objectives for each meeting and create meeting design, content and communications that address each objective. This includes post-meeting analysis that measures results and validates that meeting objectives are achieved.”  

To assess the scope and complexity of stakeholder communications, an interesting exercise is to create a stakeholder communications chart, “connecting the dots” to the many internal and external people, services and support essential to assure a highly successful meeting.

Internal Stakeholders:
•    Marketing
•    Legal
•    Human Resources
•    Travel
•    Finance
•    Procurement
•    Technology
•    Corporate Communications

Strategic meeting objectives go beyond meeting budgets and cost savings, and this requires both collaboration and value-based thinking to achieve maximum results. When you meet or have a phone interview with a key stakeholder and identify specific goals and objectives for a meeting, it is important to present your recommendations and plan to assure that you are on the right track. Your post-meeting analysis of each defined objective, as well as measurement of the actual outcome, validates your success -- just making it happen is not enough, so “keep score” and report results.

External Stakeholders:
•     Hotel Departments
•    Sales
•    Accounting
•    Catering
•    Security
•    Conference Services
•    Business Center
•    Audio Visual
•    Technology

Suppliers:
•    Sourcing
•    CVBs
•    DMCs
•    Entertainment
•    Production
•    Speakers
•    Registration & Housing
•    Exhibits / Trade Show
•    Cruise Ship
•    Technology

With your meeting stakeholder goals and objectives in hand, it is critical to evaluate and select suppliers and partners who will understand and embrace these essential visions and be part of the team that will deliver predictable and high-impact outcomes. Keep in mind there may be multiple suppliers to deliver on one objective, so the planning, communications, and collaboration processes are critical.

Meetings are big investments and today meeting planners must get in to the heads -- and hearts -- of meeting stakeholders at all levels to orchestrate a total meeting experience that raises the bar on meeting value, attendee interaction, and ROI.
 

In mostly non-US countries, MICE is an acronym for "Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions." In this directory, Plan Ahead Events gets worldwide exposure and kudos.

Plan Ahead Events is a full-service event management company serving clients worldwide, offering creative solutions for meetings, conventions, trade shows, special events, and incentive travel.

Reported in 2011 by the Convention Industry Council as a $650 billion industry worldwide, a career in event planning and owning an event planning franchise is one of the most exciting business opportunities available. Plan Ahead Events is one of the meeting and event industry's first franchise opportunities and very easy to start up as a home-based, low cost business.

No experience is necessary as they offer a turn-key franchise, a three-week training program, and all the technology hardware and software needed to run a successful event planning business.

Franchising puts you on the road to success without the risk experienced by independent business owners. Plan Ahead Events already has more than 65 franchisees in 5 countries.

Learn more about the industry’s first international event planning franchise at discover.planaheadevents.com.

During times when budgets are tight and return on investment is at the top of everyone's list of goals, meeting planners are urged to be more 'strategic' and not to focus so much on 'tactics.' The origin of this seeming dicotomy is "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and when these ideas were codified more than 2,000 year ago, the focus wasn't on meetings and events. When these terms are used today in our industry, we all get the implication: strategy-good; tactics-whatever.

Strategy is important for the overall plan, for aligning goals, for creating meetings that meet organizational objectives. On the other hand, tactics in the meetings industry are often assumed to be mundane decisions about issues like rounds or squares. On the other hand, those of us in the industry know that tactics are critical to the success of any meeting and to driving the meeting strategy.

While a strategy is a carefully constructed plan to achieve corporate goals, tactics are necessary to execute strategy. Smart tactics. If tactics are not carefully implemented, the meeting can be a disaster and no amount of strategic thinking can save it. They are the tools that help build the strategy. There is no good vs. bad in the discussion of strategy vs. tactics, no matter what you might read in the business press. Tactics are too important to be described as a lesser endeavor. Strategy and tactics are interdependent to the success of any initiative, and especially meetings.

Elizabeth Zielinski says it well: "The best meetings probably lie somewhere between tactical and strategic, but with a strong command of both. The tactics have to be successfully designed and executed in order for the strategy to succeed, but the strategy is the guiding principle and common goal. In other words, there's no point announcing the next iPad to an audience of thousands if the giant screen behind the speaker isn't displaying the product, but there's also no point in having the screen without a product to show on it." To read more of her thoughts on this issue, click here:

http://bit.ly/uO7Orn

According to the International Spa Association’s (ISPA) 2011 U.S. Spa Industry Study,
spas increasingly are making efforts to connect with their local communities — 69 percent of them by holding events at their facility,

The report, conducted by Pricewaterhouse Cooper shows that: 

In addition to hosting events, many spas are raising their profile by donating products and services (85 percent) and by participating in charity benefits (62 percent).

Day spas comprise a significant majority of establishments (79 percent); resort/hotel spas comprise the second largest segment (9 percent), with medical spas a close third (8.7 percent). Other spa types include club, mineral springs, and destination spas.

The Northeast maintains the largest portion of spas with 25 percent while the Southwest region holds 23 percent of spas. The vast majority of spas (74 percent) are single location operations (i.e., not affiliated with a franchise or corporate headquarters).

The study indicates Americans are going to the spa more often and this fact has led to revenue growth. The increase in revenue is in line with the moderate pace of growth in the economy. Measures taken by spas to increase business included offerings through websites, special values and promotions, social media efforts, and connecting within their local communities. The economic recovery pace could not maintain the number of spa locations, resulting in a three percent decrease in the number of spas. Employment in the industry grew, but the lack of qualified therapists in the market is an underlying issue the spa community has been facing for several years.

For more information, visit:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news//4053213.html