Lead Gen Tracking Technologies for Trade Shows– What value do they bring?

Posted on November 29, 2011 by darlenehollywood

Lead tracking technologies for trade shows aren’t new. But even though they’ve been around a while, few improvements have been made to really showcase their value. Sure, they’ll all tell you who’s been to the booth, whether you’re relying on badge scanners, RFID or QR Codes. The problem is they don’t tell much more than that. And they never truly qualify the desire of the individual within your booth to buy.

Compound that with the fact that tracking on the show floor of any kind is an arms race. Trade show exhibitors control what you’re using and only want you to use their provided lead retrieval software. While there are a few solutions exhibitors can purchase on their own, they’re not always compatible with the badges that are issued, making them moot.

So what’s the point of employing technology that you’re arm-twisted to use and doesn’t really tell you what you need to know anyway? We’re not so sure. At the end of the day we believe the best lead generation tool is delivered by creating an engaging impression on the customer. SO much so, that they come back to you. Only then do you know that they are interested and qualified.

If you’re going to spend money on lead gen, spend it on the customer experience you create within your booth, not the scanner.

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The Year-End Push & Future Investment

Posted on November 17, 2011 by kaonsalessavant

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my year-end and next year’s strategy for our sales team’s success.  As the current year comes down to those final 30 days our thoughts always turn to “what can we do to exceed our goals?” While it is always helpful to strategize, this NOT the best time to change your game plan to attempt to accelerate last minute deals to help exceed your goals; that is best done at the beginning of the year when there is enough time to be strategic about your changes. Towards the end of the year, sales should be closing the deals they have been working on for the last several weeks or months and looking ahead to 2012. This is true not just for sales but also for marketing, senior management, finance and the entire enterprise. This is also not to say you should giving up on finishing the year out with a fantastic push. What it really means is that planning and proper execution is a critical thoughtful task to be done throughout the year.

Proper planning begins with a self-analysis about what went right, or wrong this year so that you can make changes for improvement now for next year.

It is also a great time to invest this year’s left over budget on new tools that can help drive your success next year. If you want to start the new year off with an exciting way to  “show” how your company and its products can solve your customers’ real-world business problems and challenges, then it is time to look into investing the rest of your 2011 marketing or sales budget in sales tools to help you and your customers achieve greater success next year. Why wait? Make an investment in your future today.

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What Does 3D Mean to Marketing and Sales?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by KaonTrendSpotter

There are many different types of ‘3D’ on the market today, all with varying opinions on what exactly 3D is. Technically, 3D means an image has three dimensions (length, width and height) but despite this simple explanation there seems to be some discrepancy. Here are some of the 3D options available to marketers and sales teams…

Stereoscopy: This is the type of 3D you would see if you went to see a 3D movie in theatres.  Ironically, this isn’t actually three dimensions– it’s two 2D images, which you need to look at separately with each eye, so you can perceive depth.

Rendered Stills: This is a technique used to create product models rendered from CAD or industrial design tools that often look cartoonish, unless done in the very highest quality. While it does showcase all three dimensions of a product, it is generally not photo-realistic.

360 Video Clip: Video-clip “360 degree” product tours often found on websites (for example websites of most major car companies) are a video of a product that can be controlled by the user, who controls a slide bar which rotates on a single axis. This allows the viewer to see all the way around the object in one view, but does not give the ability to be viewed from any angle or interact with product features.

Interactive Photographic 3D: High definition images of the product are used when creating the 3D product models so that they appear visually identical to the actual product. The user can also rotate and view these photorealistic models from any angle, as well as interact with them to run animated sequences to demonstrate product features and operations.

When looking to utilize any type of 3D for sales and marketing purposes, it is crucial to ensure that it delivers realism (looking as much like the actual product as possible), mimics behavior (functions like the real product), and maximizes performance and visual experience (making the entire digital product experience fluid, natural and visually appealing and realistic). It is also important to consider whether a type of 3D can be easily re-used or deployed on multiple platforms.

What have your experiences been with 3D for Sales and Marketing?

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