The Steve Report: Market Intelligence

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What’s an Audit Statement?

Steve Dempsey's Market Intelligence blog

If part or all of your job description includes marketing, you should know what an audit statement is, how it works and how it can protect your buy. Don’t throw your marketing dollars away without knowing what questions to ask and when to ask them.

Definition – An audit is when a media/publishing company hires a third party company to come in and verify the circulation and audience they claim to reach are both real and true.

Audit statements are most commonly associated with magazines and newspapers. Audit statements are not mandatory; each publisher has the choice to spend the money to have an audit performed on their business. The two industry leading audit organizations, ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) and BPA Worldwide provide a publisher with a statement that verifies the distribution and type of reader they reach. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Wednesday, April 20th at 3:27 PM.

7 Types of Suppliers Planners Avoid

At times, meeting planners can be a fickle bunch. But don’t forget we’re human too. Check out seven of the quickest ways to crash and burn with clients and prospects.

1. Verbal Diarrhea – As a rule, planners love to talk about themselves and the programs/problems they are working on. Know when to shut up and listen; by doing this you might be able to become part of the solution. If you don’t turn off the verbal spew, then you definitely won’t be part of any solution.

2. The Frat Boy – As a planner, I’ll be honest with you and when I tell you “No,” believe me. Don’t continue to try and change my mind. You are only damaging your credibility and closing the door to future consideration. Respect my decision and tell me you’ll call me in six months or a year to see if anything has changed. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Wednesday, April 20th at 3:21 PM.

The 12 Benefits of Volunteering

I firmly believe in the saying, ‘you only get out of things as much as you put into them.’ Our industry is a people industry and if you want to make connections, you need to engage people face-to-face. One of the best ways to accomplish that is by volunteering. Here’s why…

I’ve been an active volunteer in the industry for over 15 years, across at least seven different associations, large and small, national and local. I am the person I am today in part due to those volunteer roles and responsibilities over the years. Regardless of the size, budget or task required, volunteering has allowed me to grow both as an industry professional and expert, and professionally in my career in ways I did not expect. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Thursday, March 18th at 2:55 PM.

Modern Warfare

Generally regarded as either a video game or the best practices of engaging in the act of war, modern warfare can also be defined as the concepts, methods and technologies that have come into use and are now widespread as a result of highly advanced information technology. Our industry has to either accept this as our modern warfare, or lose the war.

The Challenge: The meetings industry is at war with every other marketing medium out there (print, online, outdoor, direct mail, television, etc.). Like every other medium, meetings need to justify our investment and provide ROI.

The Solution: I like to study history, especially the strategy of wars. One lesson our meetings industry could steal is to form a strategic alliance with a strong partner, the results of which are 1 + 1 is more than 2. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Thursday, March 18th at 2:51 PM.

5 Olympic Lessons

Olympic fever has swept the nation and there are excellent lessons that can be learned from the Vancouver Olympics that apply to our industry and your business.

Treat Each Day Like it’s Your Last – We’ve all seen motivational speakers who have overcome near-death experiences. Often, their message is, “treat each day like it’s your last.” With the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, I realized that expression is exemplified by those athletes who died doing what they love. Lesson: Be happy in your professional and personal life. Life is too short to be miserable.

Meeting Expectations – Own the Podium is a commendable goal for Canada’s Olympic athletes. However, if this expectation isn’t met, a big, dark cloud will hang over future athletes. In your business, if you are going to make a claim or promise, deliver on it. You need to be golden with every one of your clients and prospects. As the saying goes, “you don’t win silver, you lose gold.”

Elevator Pitch – As a Canadian watching the opening ceremonies, I was disappointed. I understand that the ceremonies were scaled back due to the recession, but the messages did not reflect who and what we are as a country. In your business, if you had the opportunity to tell 3.5-billion prospects your message, what would it be? You, and everyone in your organization, should know your ‘elevator pitch’ and be able to recite it on command. If you don’t have an elevator pitch, listen to your best customers; their words are your foundation. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 12:09 P.M.

2010 Market Report Executive Summary

The results are in for our 14th Annual Market Report – the oldest, and only, benchmarking study for the Canadian meetings and incentive travel industry. In summary, optimism is back for 2010, and the predictions overwhelming.

Here are the highlights. To view the full executive summary in pdf click here.

Industry Averages
Overall, the Canadian meetings industry retracted by 13% in 2009, versus 2008, and is forecasted to increase 14% in 2010, versus 2009, representing a huge rebound back to 2008 levels.

Meetings
Percentage of Canadian meeting planners who feel meetings will stay the same or increase in 2010, versus 2009:

Canada: 77%
U.S.: 55%
International: 52%

Return on Investment
89% of Canadian meeting planners do not measure, or do not have a standard method of measuring, the ROI on their events.

51% of Canadian meeting planners have felt more pressure to calculate ROI on your meetings/events since the recession started. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 12:01 P.M.

5 New Year’s Resolutions for the Industry

Given it’s a new decade, in addition to a new year, it’s time we looked in the mirror and gave ourselves a stiff talking-to. Feel free to agree, disagree, argue or add to my Top 5 industry resolutions…

1. Balance your chequebook – After reviewing the results of our M&IT Annual Market Report Survey (to be published in our Jan/Feb 2010 issue), there is no question measuring the ROI (return on investment) of events is still in the dark ages. The top-two metrics used to measure an event’s success are ‘attendance numbers’ and ‘attendee satisfaction surveys.’ While ‘smile sheets’ will always be important, there is no correlation to the financial impact, gain, or business done at the 673,000-plus meetings held annually in Canada (Source: MPIFC Canadian Economic Impact Study) If we’re going to evolve as a professional industry, then we need to develop and use a common yardstick to measure the events we plan.

2. Take the dog for a walk – Our industry depends on people getting out from behind their computer and leaving the office/home. If we aren’t prepared to attend industry events (for example, IncentiveWorks), then what kind of example are we setting for our clients and attendees? Events for the meetings industry should be some of the largest in the world. We need to be leading the pack (pardon the dog pun) in strong, face-to-face events.

3. Be a good Boy Scout / Girl Guide – Having been raised through Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, we were always taught to leave a campsite the way we found it…or better. The recession has overshadowed the need for our industry to improve its green practices during the past 18 months. As we come out of this recession, we must be aware that our industry is exposed to public criticism regarding our massive carbon footprint. In Canada alone, there are over 70-million participants annually at meetings (Source: MPIFC Canadian Economic Impact Study) . We need to establish best practices, which are affordable, to offset what could be another major attack on our industry. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 2:35 P.M.

How to Be Memorable to Meeting Planners

In our industry, supplier-salespeople can sometimes be about as memorable as the Tim Horton’s counter person who serves me my cup of coffee. In many ways, supplier-sales-people exhibit the same attitude: that I will return as a customer because of your location, unique product or service. While that might be an acceptable business strategy for Tim’s, it is not acceptable in the meetings industry.

Nothing against Tim’s, but I’m going to come back for the coffee regardless if my counter person made an impression or not. And let’s agree…you can’t compare a $1.50 cup of coffee to a $50,000, two-day conference for 300 people. But will a meeting planner return if my salesperson did not make a good impression? Maybe not. But in this economy, ‘maybes’ can turn into a ‘no’ very quickly.

To help you cut through and make a memorable impression with meeting planners, I asked my team of planners here at Rogers what things salespeople do that makes them stand out. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 2:25 P.M.

Happy Holidays from Meetings & Incentive Travel!

Many of you may remember our 2008 video holiday card, and as you know, we like to do things a little differently at M&IT (and have a little fun). So on that note, have a laugh at our two 2009 holiday video cards. From all of us at M&IT and IncentiveWorks, have a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to working with you in 2010. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 5:14 P.M.

Facebook – What You Need to Know

At a number of various industry meetings I’ve participated in recently, the question of Facebook has come up a lot. Are you on it? How are you using it? Is it working? New privacy settings? I’ve done the work for you…here is what you need to know.

Why be on it? Facebook is widely accepted as being a more social site than LinkedIn or Twitter, and this may be why you are not on it. However, I would argue that ours is a very social industry. None of us work 9-to-5 jobs and often, we pull long hours ‘in the trenches,’ side-by-side with clients and suppliers. Facebook allows you to share more about yourself than your business card and resume. We all like to work with people we like. Facebook is one opportunity to stay connected with your clients socially.

What’s the marketing strategy? Once you are on Facebook, you absolutely need to start a group and/or a page for your organization. This allows other users (clients and prospects) to follow you and lets you publish news and information to your audience. Be careful, though. Facebook is a social site, so I am not joining your Facebook page to be sold to; I am joining because I have a relationship with you and want to stay current on your organization. The best application(s) I’ve seen for Facebook pages/groups is not a marketing strategy, but an HR strategy. Organizations have figured out how to use Facebook to attract new talent and retain top talent. The retention comes from using Facebook to increase morale and bonding amongst your team. As we come out of this recession in 2010 and move into 2011-plus, there will be a serious labour shortage in our industry and a Facebook HR strategy might just separate you from your competition.

New Privacy Settings. Last week, Facebook updated their user privacy settings. Overall, the new privacy settings are much simpler to manage and some new features are much needed. For example, you can now exercise privacy settings on each and every update you post. But beware…the default privacy settings that Facebook recommends goes something like: “transmit all your status updates and uploads to everyone on the Net, not just your friends.” Since Facebook estimates that only 15-20% of users take the time to adjust the privacy settings to suit their needs, this is most definitely going to lead to people sharing too much information, or accidentally leaking out stuff they thought was semi-private. Simply put, if you are going to be on Facebook, do not use the default privacy settings. We all know the ramifications of “inappropriate” content being shared publicly (think Tiger Woods). > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, December 1oth, 2009 at 12:09 P.M.

Online Video Marketing

Has your organization produced a video? Is it sitting on a shelf collecting dust? Here’s an idea to put it to good use…send it to me. MeetingsCanada.com just inked a partnership that allows us to post videos on our site and I will post your video on our site, for free.

Here is what I’m offering: Send me any videos that promote your destination, organization, venue, product or service. I will post your video on MeetingsCanada.com, for free, and anyone of our 15,000-plus monthly visitors can view it, for free.

Best Practices: Ideally, your video should not be any longer than 5 minutes – 3 minutes is ideal. Online users will not watch a 30-minute video. I understand that your video may not be ‘meetings specific’ and that’s OK. For example, I recently viewed a 3-minute video from Tourism Kelowna; the video was about the destination in general. Meeting planners interested in learning about a destination want to learn about what the destination has to offer – beyond meeting space. If they are sold on the destination, they will figure out a way to bring their meeting there.

Next Steps: Since video files are typically very large, you will likely have to mail me a DVD. We will not return your DVD unless you request it. Here is my contact information; I look forward to receiving your video! > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, December 1oth, 2009 at 3:00 P.M.

Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada Update

As volunteer interim chair of the Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada, I am frequently asked, ‘How’s the Coalition Coming Along?’

Background: The Coalition is a unified voice representing Canada’s strong and vibrant business events industry; it is an umbrella organization comprised of the following business events industry associations across Canada:
Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM)
Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CSPEP)
Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS)
Canadian Hotel Marketing & Sales Executives (CHMSE)
Convention Centres of Canada (CCofC)
International Special Events Society – Canada (ISES)
Meeting Professionals International – Canada (MPI)
Site – Canada (Site)
Other industry associations have been involved in the development of the Coalition and are on the verge of becoming a founding member of the Coalition.

Update: Since the coalition concept was born in May of this year, we have retained professional services of a management firm and PR company, filed for incorporation, developed bylaws that will govern how the Coalition will operate, launched a website, developed key messaging for the industry (on the website), had a booth at this year’s IncentiveWorks show, and met with dozens of industry and non-industry leaders to (a) educate them about the Coalition and (b) develop an effective go-forward strategy.

The Coalition will evolve from an Interim to Official status as of Jan. 1, 2010. We are in the process of formalizing the individuals who will comprise the board, executive, advisory board and management team. This will all be in place in the next couple of weeks. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, November 2oth, 2009 at 12:10 P.M.

Optimism Fuels the Industry

Let’s face it, if our meetings and travel industry is not optimistic, then the Canadian economy is in a pretty bad state of affairs. There is a small mountain of recent research that demonstrates the power and ROI of business events as a key driver for generating and retaining business. If we are not optimistic about our future, then who is?

The following industry and non-industry recent research can help you demonstrate the power and value of business events:

1) The recently released Canadian Economic Impact Study Update (CEIS) provides concrete economic data about the meetings industry for 2006, 2007 and 2008. Overall, the data shows that our industry was very stable over these three years and generated billions in industry output and hundreds of thousands of full-time equivalent jobs. The Executive Summary can be downloaded at www.mpiweb.org/foundation
SPECIAL NOTE: MPI is running a Free Webinar about the findings of this study on November 30 and yours truly is one of the presenters. To register for the webinar click here

2) Forbes 2009: Business Meetings, The Case for Face-to-Face Study is rich with data. Overall executives surveyed prefer face-to-face meetings when the decision-making process was fluid, requiring the kind of give-and-take typical of complex decisions and sales. To download the study from MeetingsCanada.com click here.

3) The U.S. Travel Association, in conjunction with Oxford Economics, has, for the first time, established a direct monetary link between business travel and profit. One key finding is that for every dollar invested in business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue. To download the study from MeetingsCanada.com click here.

> Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, November 2oth, 2009 at 11:40 A.M.

The _ _ _ _ Hits the Fan; a.k.a 2009

Have you noticed recently that when you attend industry gatherings people have stopped asking “how’s business” and instead ask “how are things?” I’ve come to the conclusion we have all thrown 2009 under the bus and are crossing the days off the calendar until Dec 31…at which point there will be one big collective ‘good riddance.’ So after hundreds of conversations, here is my answer to the question “how are things?”

First, (almost) every business in Canada is down; yes there are exceptions but that is why we call them exceptions. There is no shame in admitting to being down and no gain by lying about it. I’ve found that by being honest about how you are down has allowed open and honest dialogue about how other organizations are managing through their challenges. I have gained real insights and ideas that I have applied to my business this year as a result of this sharing.

I believe 2010 will be better than 2009 but not until the fall. I do not see any real increase in meetings activity in Canada happening for another 10 months. Admittedly, both planners and suppliers are optimistic about 2010 but both are being very realistic and conservative in their budgeting. I have yet to hear of one organization that is budgeting “up” for 2010; best case scenario is flat over 2009. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 4:41 P.M.

Don’t forget to ask “Why”

Have you ever answered an RFP with the question “Does your meeting really need to be face-to-face?” Likely not and I don’t suggest you start unless you have a virtual meeting solution. However, the meeting planners on my team very rarely get asked from our supplier partners “What is the purpose of your event?” Don’t forget to ask your clients and prospects Why before replying to that RFP.

Far too often a planner will call a venue and the conversation goes straight into the mechanics or details of the meeting: dates, rooms & rates. As a result of this recession, all planners are expected to deliver a return on investment (ROI) on their events – you can bank on this. The definition of ROI could be any combination of qualitative and quantitative metrics; profit, revenue, exposure, impressions, learning/education, etc.

If you want to be a true partner in the event, you should understand Why the event is happening and what its objectives are. Why should you care? After all, you may book the business regardless and it’s not in your job description. But by understanding the event’s strategic objectives you can help the meeting planner manage and plan the event to ensure success. You may discover a new need and be able to up-sell them on additional services. A planner will never know your products and services as well as you do, nor will she understand what partnerships and depth of resources you have to contribute. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 4:34 P.M.

What Planners Want…from your website

From our M&IT research, we know that 93% of planners research venues and suppliers online before contacting you. We’ve done additional research of what planners are looking for from your website when they do their research.

With 9 out of 10 planners using online to research and plan their events, your website is as much a part of your sales team as it is your marketing team. As a salesperson, you probably have a pretty good idea of the questions planners ask of you in a face-to-face meeting. But do you know what they want from your website?

What Planners Want

Make it easy to find the meeting planner section of your site. Ideally, you should make this a permanent link on every page, preferably in a prominent navigation bar.
Map Locator – make sure you have a link to Google Map (or other map tool). Even if I’ve been to your venue 1,000 times, I might be bad with directions OR want to forward the directions to my attendees. 68% of meeting planners are looking for this tool.
E-Brochures/Pictures – if we’ve never been to your venue or used your service, please have several pictures that show meetings/groups in action. Having photos of an empty ballroom is not very helpful. 65% of meeting planners are looking for this tool. > Read More

Posted by Steve Dempsey on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 4:08 P.M.