Sep 02 2008

What NOT to Do When the Meeting Industry Turns from a Sellers’ to a Buyer’s Market.

Published by chuck at 1:44 pm under Venues

Meeting Planner Joan Eisenstodt and venue-supplier Grace Markum share 10 things venues should NOT do when the market begins to shift from a sellers’ to a buyer’s market.

  1. Don’t offer deep discounts.
  2. Don’t cut the advertising and marketing budgets.
  3. Don’t make your marketing sound like a fire sale.
  4. Don’t cut the number of people on the sales team.
  5. Don’t fall off buyers’ radar screens.
  6. Don’t become invisible.
  7. Don’t overlook the SMERF market.
  8. Don’t stop learning.
  9. Don’t overlook your local and regional market.
  10. Don’t take a business-as-usual stance.

Add to this list! Let’s hear your thoughts on what you are doing (or not going to do) during this shift in the meeting industry.

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4 responses so far

4 Responses to “What NOT to Do When the Meeting Industry Turns from a Sellers’ to a Buyer’s Market.”

  1. # Corporate Eventon 09 Sep 2008 at 4:49 pm

    You hit on a lot of misconceptions people have that could cost them a lot of money. I think the biggest one, that may shock some people, is to not offer huge discounts. It may seem like a way to lure in customers but you will need to sell four times as much product to compensate for the discount.

  2. # Sam Jonason 12 Sep 2008 at 2:56 pm

    I have to agree with these comments and suggestions, it’s EASY to offer huge discounts to hopefully get more business but can one still deliver on Quality, Service & Dependabilty when it comes to delivering on service.

    I sincerely feel that with challenges comes opportunities as well and this is when the core-values will be required to retain customer loyality as well new opportunities.

  3. # Alli Gerkman (Next Generation Event)on 15 Sep 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Thanks for starting the list! I would add “Don’t cut corners at the expense of attendee experience.” Experience is our greatest asset in live events. nextgenerationevent.com

  4. # Conference Coordinatoron 18 Sep 2008 at 7:51 pm

    Don’t ignore your closely networked and connected people.

    If there is less trade that at a particular time, use the time wisely by ensuring all contact details of important people are upto date, that your email newsletters etc are better than ever. (u shud have more time to perfect everything!)

    Regards

    Clive

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