Leftover Turkey Day Thoughts
It’s been an insane two weeks here at PsPrint… so much so that I haven’t blogged at all!
I know you’re shocked. As was I when I realized how long it’s been.
We went and exhibited at the National Association of Realtors® Conference & Expo in Las Vegas the week of November 13th through 16th. The show went well, we got a great turnout of people stopping by our booth, and the few sessions I was able to attend were pretty informative. A great asset of the show is that audio recordings of the sessions are available online, so I’ve ordered recordings of the sessions I didn’t make it to.
For me, still a relative newbie in the trade show scene, it was exciting to be at such a huge venue but I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t give myself a bit more time to walk around the show floor. I did buy new shoes that are super comfy before the show and didn’t repeat my former mistakes of my feet killing me. Not to say that my feet didn’t hurt by the end of the day, but nowhere near like the CAR show.
While in Vegas for the show, I had to do a lot of work from my hotel room on my personal laptop. Which was difficult since my personal laptop doesn’t have some of the capabilities and programs that my work computer. So this week has been spent spending 9-10 hours in the office playing catch up on all the things I managed to get behind on.
Yesterday being Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for my friends and family. Thankful for my job, my current manager, and all the opportunities I’ve been afforded here this year. Take a few minutes to be thankful for what you have and look up some good turkey recipes!
Read MoreThe Dark Side of Company Loyalty
As many employers know, your average employee is only as loyal as their options. For most hard working Americans, if a better opportunity arises they will take it, regardless of years put into their current company or bonds made. As a country we’re all after the American Dream of wealth, success, and 4:00 a.m. gambling binges on acid in Vegas. So when you give an employee the opportunity for more money, they usually chomp at the bit.
The retail world is similar, except in an opposite way. Most people are looking for the bargain, the cheapest deal, the best rate. The most bang for their buck. And even the bonds of loyalty can be broken.
Last week, after deciding to print my own holiday cards but considering how much money I have to spend, I took a look at our main competitors website from home – I dare not speak their name, other than to say it rhymes with Trista Lint.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
As much as I love PsPrint and know that our quality is top notch, prices are affordable, and turnaround is second to none, I was willing to put aside the tenets that I preach to potential customers in favor of the cheapest rate I could get for some customized holiday postcards to send to my very large family. While saddened, I have to admit that I, like many people, don’t have much to spend on something as, well, socially optional as holiday cards. So late at night, when no one was looking to shame me, I scoped out the competition to see if I could get a better rate with them.
I admit, I expected some ridiculously cheap price or promotion, knowing that the quality would be less than ideal but it’d suit my needs. I’m ecstatic to say that I was wrong! Even a minuscule quantity was more expensive than the 100+ cards I need to have printed. It filled me with great relief to know that what I’ve been preaching to those hundreds of thousands of potential customers over the years is true – we really DO have the best prices!
So my faith and loyalty in PsPrint have, of course, been renewed. And just in time for the National Association of REALTORS® Conference & Expo next week! We’ve got the details set and I fly out this weekend. Now I can easily tell people with 100% confidence that we have the BEST rates out there!
BOOYA Trista Lint!
Read More2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo is NEXT WEEK!
The games are about to begin! That’s right, next week is the 2007 National Association of REALTORS® Conference & Expo at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. PsPrint will be there in full force at booth 2740 in the NAR Partner Pavilion. Stop on by and participate in our great giveaways for an iPhone, some wine, or a Visa Gift Card. We’ll also be offering a 30% Off show special discount for any orders placed at the show.
I’m super excited for this show, and not because it’s in Las Vegas since I was just there a few months ago. This is my first massive trade show, and I’m stoked to be representing our company and attending some really great seminars. The two that I’m the most excited about are on Tuesday and Friday. 
Tuesday afternoon there is a seminar given by Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, and a great blog that I subscribe to (speaking of Seth speaking[heh]). Friday at the close of the show there’s another presentation being given by Scott Bedbury, marketing genius behind Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign and Starbucks’ marketing campaigns.
There are just so many learning opportunities for me at this conference, not only in the way of marketing but also networking and trade shows. I hope to really knock the ball out of the park on this one. Unfortunately we’re also working on some changes to our affiliate program over here, and that all has to be postponed until we return from the show on the 19th. But those changes will be exciting as well in their own right!
Read MoreMany Hats
Things I’m In Charge Of Today
the Print Green initiative
Social Media Marketing
Mailing Services
Affiliate Program
Reseller Program (TBA)
E-Mail Marketing
Tracking IT fixes
Tracking website version changes
Tracking Opt-Outs for emails and snail mails
Answering Marketing Email
Things I Assist With
Advertising
Trade Shows
Donations
Partnerships
Does this seem like too much or just enough?
Read MoreHow NOT to behave at a trade show
Recently I attended the California Association of REALTORS® Expo in Anaheim, CA. This was my first time attending a true trade show for real estate professionals, but not my first trade show ever. And unbelievably, I saw a lot of tactics that worked to draw people into your booth and some tactics that were shockingly inappropriate.
It seems to be common sense that you’d want to put your best foot forward at any trade show you attend. Not only common sense, but it’s smart marketing. A company is spending anywhere between $5000 and $8000 to exhibit at a trade show, taking into consideration the basic booth set up, decor, marketing materials, travel expenses, trade show services, and man hours. So it seems like a no brainer that you’d want to not only put your best foot forward in terms of materials, giveaways, and booth furniture and displays, but also send the best employees you have as well.
At first I thought it was a pet peeve that the exhibitors in the booth besides ours were annoying me. But after talking to my fellow representatives of PsPrint working in the booth with me, I found it was not just my imagination running away from me. We had your basic 10×10 booth space, and so did the mortgage company that shall remain nameless next to us. We had three people conservatively staffing the booth… and even with three of us, a 6′ long table full of print samples on one corner, and a square podium with a monitor and laptop to show off our website on the other, it was a bit tight at times maneuvering around each other.
This company had no less than 10 people staffing
their booth. 10! And they were different people every day, so they were coming in fresh with nothing but possibly a coworker’s recap on the day beforehand, if that. They also, being a well known mortgage brand, had a big booth display set up, which took up room, and a TV running their commercials, a high table with freebies and marketing information, and two-three chairs in the booth. There was nil in the way of room for them to get around each other within the confines of their booth, so of course they spilled out into the aisles.
That was when I began to have a problem. Not only were they in the aisles like street team promoters, but a few took a shining to hanging out directly in front of our web display podium, at times even leaning on it while chatting up attendees passing through. Not only did this bug me a lot being that they were blocking a pretty integral part of our display set up, but it just irked me in terms of decorum as well. As a representative of my company, yes I’m trying to get passers-by interested enough to stop by my booth and take a look at what we have to offer and let me bend their ear a bit. Of course we’re all there for the bottom line – sales. But never would I go stand in front of someone else’s booth and try to recruit attendees to my cause. It smacks of shady business dealings and just lack of concern.
In doing a quick Google search to check to make sure I wasn’t overreacting in believing this to be rude behavior on the part of our neighboring booth staff, I found a blog post online titled Trade Show Etiquette written at Big-Images.com. Okay I admit, I’m guilty of sitting and, at this last show, eating. I’m a relative newbie in the trade show circuit, so I’m learning still and I can almost guarantee you that I won’t be doing either of those two behaviors again next month at NAR’s Expo.
At one point my coworker even shooed a rep away from in front of our podium because he needed to show a prospective client something and this other rep was chatting someone up while leaning shamelessly on a piece of OUR booth display. And he had the nerve to shoot back a dirty look. Why would anyone think that’s acceptable behavior? It’s loitering if it’s outside a shop, but okay if it’s outside another exhibitor’s booth? I don’t know about any of the attendees feelings getting grappled by these representatives of the mortgage company, but as a fellow exhibitor I’d be hard pressed to ever use this company when the time comes for me to finally buy a home, based solely on their reactions.
I wish I could say that said mortgage company was the worst example of trade show etiquette I saw there, but it wasn’t. There were a few sign companies selling message riders for the yard signs, and most were pretty calm. But upon walking around the show floor just to check it out, a coworker and I literally had a guy jump out in front of us holding a huge message rider sign like a barricade shouting something about low prices or something. At that rate I wasn’t paying attention to his product, his pitch, his company name, Nada. Just the fact that he literally blocked our path and we had to side step to get around him.
If the Sprint guy at the mall yells out to you check them out, but you have a Verizon phone and you’re happy with it, do you stop? You certainly don’t pull a U turn and listen to his entire pitch. It’s rude, no matter how you slice it. And incredibly poor marketing tactics of that particular representative of that company.
So if I could give you one tip for the future, pay attention to who you send to a trade show to represent your company. If you’re going to a trade show, make sure you know how to act. Think about the show from an attendee stand point if you get the urge to jump out at anyone like a beggar on the street asking for spare change. And stay in your own booth.
Read MoreLive from C.A.R. Expo 2007!
Tomorrow is the last day of the California Association of REALTORS® Expo here in Anaheim, CA. I’ve only been on the floor one day, but so far I’m really digging this show. I skipped going to the two sessions I was considering attending in favor of staying in the booth. As happy as I was a year ago to be officially moved into our marketing department, I have to admit that I sort of miss this aspect of customer service. I enjoy explaining to potential customers what we can do and getting people interested and excited. I guess the argument could be made that, since this visitors to our booth aren’t customers yet, this is more marketing than customer service and I’m still in the right department. Regardless, I really enjoy this and hope that the National Association of REALTORS® Conference & Expo coming up next month in Las Vegas goes even better.
Here’s a little trivia bit for anyone who’s never been to a real estate trade show: there are booths selling items that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. At least I didn’t. I just saw a few booths on my way from ours to the concessions area and restrooms so far, but there was clothing, jewelry, massage items, and my favorite thus far – massaging liquid gel insoles. I even bought a pair because trying them on sold me immediately!
Another lesson I’ve learned today… it’s incredibly expensive to change flights! I was thinking about the fact that check out is at noon, the show is over at 4, and my flight isn’t until 7:50pm out of Santa Ana. So I’ll have a lot of time to kill and I’m not sure where to kill it considering I’ll have my bags with me. They’re small but still… hopefully the hotel doesn’t kick me to the curb if I decide to sit in the lobby for awhile.
More tomorrow… stay tuned sports fans!
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