With January 2020 around the corner, most companies (retailers and vendors alike) are deep into planning industry engagement. Many times, having too many options is more challenging than having just a few options – both in life and in business.
There are more than 50 regional and national programs developed by state associations, national associations, as well as media companies and consultants servicing the industry, as a means in which to engage in the industry. Tactics developed for one business to gain insight, build relationships and ultimately sell to the convenience retail and retail petroleum industry are vast and varied, depending largely on which service or product your company offers.
Different levels of marketers and retailers attend different programs. Where is your best entry point and how can you maximize your marketing engagement dollars? It is important to evaluate shows by understanding the audience at each potential program and determine how that audience aligns with your target audience.
This 3-step process will help guide your company results to better engagement planning and results.
- Evaluation of Attendees at Engagement
- What type of company is your customer? Is the type of company a major oil company, wholesale fuel distributor, company with operated retail sites, company with dealer sites, major fuel brand outlet, proprietary fuel brand outlet, or a combination of all the above?
- Which level of contact is your customer? Is your best point of conversation and relationship building via fuel, technology, category management, HR, or marketing?
- Pre-Event Planning
- Why should someone want to engage with you? Do you know what other options they have related to what you offer?
- What is most interesting / compelling about your product or service?
- Does your attendance package include a detailed listing of attendees and the ability to reach to those attendees to set appointments or coordinate a meal?
- Event Organization and Post-Event
- At the event, remind yourself to participate where those you wish to meet are participating! For example, attending the educational sessions allows you to not only learn about what the retailer or marketer may deem important, but also provides for casual engagement. If you engage only to sell, you will not be as successful as if you engage to learn and build interaction.
- Additionally, come prepared with a plan in place to organize information, thoughts, and contacts to ensure meaningful opportunities for post-event follow-up. I’m sharing an insightful post that my daughter created for Front Office Sports in 2016 that also applies to our sector: “My special trick is to write a note down on the back of a business card or on my phone about my conversation with that particular person. Conferences can be overwhelming and as much as you think you will remember every detail of every conversation, you won’t. Making these notes makes sending a follow up email much easier. … It helps me to remember conversations and connections and builds that initial email chain,” said Arin Segal.
As you outline your strategy and subsequent tactical approach, below are a few major trade associations that may prove beneficial for your involvement if they align with your needs and positioning assessment:
SIGMA, America’s Leading Fuel Marketers
NACS, Advancing Convenience & Fuel Retailing
There are many other regional association events, trade-media developed programs, as well as private programming options. BATeam can help you craft the engagement strategy and tactics which are most appropriate for your niche!
