A Simple and Realistic Dialog from a Senior Staff Meeting

President: Our strategic plan identified the need to increase tradeshow efficiency. How are we doing?

VP Marketing: We have identified a flexible software platform that supports the implementation of an end to end strategic process. We intend to implement the platform as a baseline process to support our drive to higher efficiency.

CIO: Have my people evaluated the software?

VP Marketing: No need. This was another factor in selecting this solution. Everything can be operated outside of our firewall including the e-marketing aspects on the web platform which is executed through their servers including the hosting our graphics. Also the tradeshow laptops managed by our exhibit house are rarely if ever on our network.

President: Given our budget freeze how can you implement this platform – what is the cost?

VP Marketing: Because we attend approximately 30 events, we have been spending $24,000 on tradeshow lead retrieval. This platform saves the company $14,000 in lead retrieval cost and offers substantial software functionality improvements. The Total Cost of Ownership is very close to $0.

President: What is the time to implement?


VP Marketing: We can be up and running within a week for e-Marketing and would look to be fully conversant with the software in 3 months. Support from the company is provided at no cost to us and they have 24x7 tech support.

President: Isn’t the e-Marketing function redundant with our plan for a marketing automation system?

VP Marketing: Strategically, no. We have unlimited e-marketing available to us to support tradeshow activities at no cost at zero cost. We consider it important to partition this aspect in order to collect tradeshow specific metrics to support the ongoing effort to evaluate what shows produce the best results. The system also allows dynamic merging of specifically selected product information to be sent to each attendee. This aspect alone will save on marketing material production, shipping and drayage with the ancillary tactical benefit of supporting of our environmental strategic goals.

Importantly, the platform leverages our marketing automation platform with better data input on potential clients which is one of the objectives of the new Service Level Agreement between Sales and Marketing.

President: This is the first I have heard of this Service Level Agreement. Explain.

VP Marketing: Remember the last Leadership Retreat? We heard from the VP of Marketing from MathMarketing, the consulting firm that presented those statistics about alignment?

President: Right. Yes I remember but refresh the rest of the team.

VP Marketing: If you recall, businesses that achieve alignment between Sales and Marketing are growing 5.4 points faster, closing 38% more proposals and losing 36% fewer customers to competitors. The Sales team and I felt we could do a better job of defining what the sales team needed from our in-booth lead qualification. This platform excels at rapidly collecting qualification information and delivers to our CRM custom imports using a software function they developed for HP. Sales information can be in the CRM and available to the sales team within 24 hours.

President: I am happy to see a collaborative environment developing between Sales and Marketing. What is the company?

VP Marketing: Capture Technologies is a New Jersey based company with a very strong client list. Essentially, they are supporting events for the majority of the Fortune 50 including HP, the largest information technology company in the world and John Deere, the largest agricultural company in the world. And they have worked closely with two of the largest private companies in the world, Maritz Travel and Mars North American Chocolate.

I would like to take this opportunity to publically commend my team and the sales team for identifying this opportunity and bringing it to my attention.

President: Excellent work and please keep us informed on your progress for both Marketing and Sales results.

Our process driven web platform will allow your company to dramatically improve tradeshow performance. Contact me or have one of your team call me. I know we can help you improve your tradeshow ROI.
Steve McWilliams
VP Sales & Marketing
973-890-7600 Ext 117
smcwilliams@captureleads.com