Protecting Your Interests: Using Competitive Intelligence Gathering Techniques at Tradeshows To Safeguard Your Bottom Line
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Free Download - 3 Ways to Have Virtual Events Work with Physical Events By Susan Friedmann |
"This looks absolutely amazing!" The attendee was smiling, eyes bright, a wide grin. "If this is what I think it is, I'm pretty sure this piece of equipment will solve all of our problems." He turned to the booth staffer, a young woman at her very first show. "Could you tell me how it works?”
The staffer, thrilled at the possibility of selling a piece of equipment that sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars, was more than accommodating. She answered every question, even the most technical. When the prospect wanted to take some pictures, she helped him get good shots -- from every conceivable angle.
When the prospect left, he had every relevant piece of sales literature. He also had a dozen great digital pictures, the card of the booth staffer, and a promise that someone from the exhibitor's company would be following up directly after the show.
However, the attendee didn't let the grass grow under his feet. His organization was in touch with the exhibitor's organization within days.
However, instead of a purchase order, the communication was coming from the attendee's legal department -- who had a pretty good case that the exhibitor's display model was based on their proprietary design!
Tradeshows offer the most overt intelligence gathering environment imaginable. There is no other place where you can find all of the companies in one industry gathered in a convenient location, with all their offerings on display. Helpful booth staffers will answer questions, often those questions that should raise red flags among an exhibiting team.
This can work against you, or, as illustrated in the story above, it can work for you. The world is getting smaller every day. Ideas are stolen. They're copied, reverse engineered, you name it. However, as the owner and originator of these ideas, you may have no idea that this has happened -- until you stumble across the results at a tradeshow or industry event.
In an increasingly competitive world marketplace, you can't depend on chance discoveries! Savvy tradeshow exhibitors and attendees know that they have to take the initiative, and carefully approach tradeshows with one eye toward protecting their own intellectual assets.
Determine a goal for your staffers or employees you're sending to attend a show. Make it clear to them what type of thing they're to look for: products that duplicate your own, for example, or that incorporate proprietary technology without permission.
It is never your employee's role to have a confrontation about these topics at the show. Instead, their role is, as illustrated above, to gather as much information as possible about the product and company, and relay that data back to your headquarters, where it can be acted upon by the appropriate personnel.
Preparation is essential. You can't send your staffers in with the command to protect your interests without equipping them to do so. Here's how you start that preparation:
Prior to the show, study the exhibitor list. Identify which companies you already know, and make special note of any new names. It is far more common for emerging, smaller organizations to engage in unscrupulous activities -- if only because the larger, behemoth firms have legal firms that keep them from getting into trouble! Sometimes show organizers make this easy by listing exhibitors by industrial categories, but other times you're left facing an alphabetical list.
Create a 'hit list' of companies that you absolutely have to see. Of course you'll want to visit your major competitors – but don't be myopic. It is important to pay careful attention to any unfamiliar exhibitors, even if they are only tangentially related to your industry.
Augment your target list with pre-show research, including what readings from trade publications and industry knowledge. This will generally give you a starting point for your investigations. Pinpoint those items you definitely want to know more about, and include these on your team's list of goals and objectives.
At the same time, it is vitally important to remain aware and open to any information that may arise serendipitously. It is impossible to know ahead of time what your team will encounter while they're walking the show floor.
Having the skills and wit to recognize copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, no matter what form it takes, is a valuable asset in any employee. Make sure you recognize and reward your team appropriately!
Protecting Your Interests Using Competitive Intelligence Gathering Techniques at Tradeshows To Safeguard Your Bottom Line - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Michiel JonkerAs a Certified Information Systems Auditor, Michiel assists businesses in a professional capacity by evaluating the threats to their businesses. He acquired the necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques to minimize a business owner’s risk of business failure and to maximize his chances of high growth and success. He strongly believes that you CAN maximize your chances of business success, by implementing the business solution he has advocated for more than 12 years in your business plan and planning. Michiel has decided to share his experience with business owners by putting almost everything he knows in a business plan and survival guide (compiled in an e-book format) and written as a high growth SMB coaching course for SMB business owners, directors and managers - titled as the “Survival Kit for Small and Medium Businesses - Profit from your Business Risks!” According to Michiel, his goal was to add new techniques to a business owner’s business planning survival kit and instruct him or her in using these in the future - without any help from a consultant! For more information about the benefits of implementing profit protection planning in your business, please visit: http://www.business-around-the-globe.com - Visit Michiel Jonker's Website |
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