The report, “Bigger B2B Marketing Budgets Come With Great Expectations,” was based on an online survey of 563 B2B marketers conducted in the fourth quarter.After several years of making cuts, B2B marketing leaders have larger budgets in 2011, but they come with a catch: more scrutiny and greater expectations for results. Budgeting is no longer an annual event; it is an ongoing opportunity for marketing leaders to shift investment to the highest-performing activities. Marketing leaders should look at their budget allocation as a flywheel that when properly balanced can energize and smooth the execution of the sales and product/service portfolio teams.

The report found that as far as budget increases are concerned, the high-tech services area is leading growth (an average 17.0% increase this year), followed by finance and insurance (7.8%), high-tech products (5.9%), business and professional services (4.3%) and manufacturing (4.3%). Marketing budgets for pharmaceutical products and medical devices will be down an average 2.8% this year.

1. Meeting Planning and Production: $109 billion
2. Accommodations: $34.9 billion
3. Food and beverage: $26.4 billion
4. Air transportation: $17.8 billion
5. Venue rental: $10.6 billion
6. Retail: $7.2 billion
7. Gasoline: $6.6 billion
8. Recreation and entertainment: $6.2 billion
9. Car rental: $5.5 billion
10. Travel services/other tourism commodities: $3.4 billion

Find the full report here: www.MeetingsMeanBusiness.com.

1. Understand local customs.

Pick up a book on cultural etiquette so you will know the norms. In some countries it’s acceptable to discuss business over a meal, while in others it’s taboo. In some places business cards are treated casually; in others they are handled with great respect.

2. Follow the money.

Understand the intricacies of foreign exchange rates. Watch out for credit-card fees on foreign transactions. Your best bet: Negotiate based on your local currency. That way you won’t have to worry so much about budgets going completely awry.

3. Know your purpose.

Make sure the decision to leave your home country actually falls in line with the goals and objectives of the meeting.

4. Mind their business.

Business practices vary from country to country. For example, the business day is not 9 to 5 all around the world. And while you may see contract provisions as carved in stone, others may consider them more like guidelines.

5. Pick up the phone.

Communicating strictly through e-mail is often not the most effective way to get your point across.

6. Get the view from the ground.

Do a site inspection, even if it means flying 10 hours for a 1.5-day site and costs you $1,000. It will make a world of difference. (And yes, I have done that.)

7. Be inclusive.

Make sure the destination is one where all attendees can take part. Remember to consider passport and visa issues, flight access, and cost of travel.

8. Tell time.

Time zones can really make a difference when you are on a tight schedule and you need a response ASAP. You may be sending e-mail at the start of your business day, but it may be the end of the recipient’s workday.(Oh, and consider meeting in Latin America, where you’ll have minimal time zone changes.)

9. Read, research, report.

Learn a lot about your destination. Be prepared to answer any questions your clients or guests may have regarding safety, dining, transport, money, language, or other issues.

10. Know thyself.

As the saying goes (and with due credit to international meeting expert Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM): If you want things done the way they are at home, stay home!

The survey showed that the most popular owned giveaway is a writing instrument, followed by shirts, calendars and bags. After that, there is a significant drop, and the next four are caps and headwear; desk, office and business accessories, food items, and glassware/ceramics, a category which includes mugs.  Near the bottom of the survey, we find health and safety products, jackets (hoodies, sweatshirts, fleece included), electronics/computer (probably ranking lower because not frequently given away)and recognition awards, such as trophies and plaques. Automotive, again not a frequent giveaway, was last on the list.

The survey found that writing instruments are most frequently used after the event, while bags and wearing apparel have a high number of contacts beyond the person who received the item.

“Our 2010 study once again proves the undeniable power of promotional products,” said ASI President and CEO Timothy M. Andrews. “It’s important to note that the pass-along rate has actually increased 11 points from just two years ago — which speaks directly to the global recycling trend. Not only do ad specialties make impressions on everyone who sees them, but messaging is reinforced every time the item is used. Even smaller companies can deliver the kind of high-impact punch enjoyed by multi-million-dollar companies.”

For exhibit and event managers, this information is valuable in helping not only to create memorability but also to create a budget. Also, according to the study, “These statistics show marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than almost any other popular media, with a very low cost per impression, high recall among those who receive ad specialty items, and increased intent among recipients to make purchases from the advertiser.”

Global expansion is the next logical step for companies that have already developed a solid footprint in the U.S., and in the current economy, companies are doing all they can to go global, fast. There are, however, several considerations a company must bear in mind. The risks of operating in multiple regions fall into two categories: not meeting the needs of distant regions and not having insight into what they are doing.

In general, prospects are unwilling to make allowances for anything they perceive to be a shortcoming. For example, if your marketing materials are in English only, this will be a significant setback to expansion, even in countries (such as the Netherlands and Denmark) where many people speak English as a second language. The reality is that people want to be able to operate in their native language. It is also a sign of respect to make local offerings reflect the preferences of prospects and customers.

One common cultural mistake is relying exclusively on American executives and managers to run overseas operations. The lack of a local expert or local face puts the newly arrived company at a considerate disadvantage. Just as local representatives are experts on the needs and preferences of their prospects and customers, regional business executives have a much better understanding of the most effective way to do business in their region.

That said, if local teams all over the globe start reinventing the wheel, this will be very costly for a company. Furthermore, communication on a brand level should be consistent and recognizable. A brand is built with much care and effort. This process, usually taking many years, is in danger when local teams start giving their own twist to the related content.

In short, there is often friction between the desires of a company’s headquarters and the needs of a local division or site. But this is not an insurmountable challenge. The most important thing to remember is that the overall feel of a campaign, the brand identity, should always stay recognizable. Within a standard brand identity, it is possible to create localized messages aimed at target groups of a certain country or even a specific region.

There are three key elements to successfully implementing a localized marketing program. First, regional field staff must be able to access and localize core marketing materials. Just having materials translated into local languages does not address local preferences or any differences in how to sell in different regions.

Also, product preferences can change from region to region. Even in the U.S. you can see this with something as basic as food preferences: fried in the Southeast and grilled in the Northeast. Now, factor in disparities in upbringing, political systems, banking platforms, language, and currency, and you can understand why decisions about what offers are most effective and how to word them are best left to the local experts orthe local field representatives.

The second important element for a successful localized marketing program is having an option to include an approval loop. This allows headquarters’ marketing staff to confirm that regional changes remain true to the company’s core brand and messaging matrix.

The third element is an approach that automatically feeds to headquarters intelligence regarding which campaigns are used and their effectiveness, providing insight into field operations that is often lacking. This will enable headquarters to better understand the uniqueness of each region and what is working best.

By using the right combination of solutions, an organization can guarantee consistency of its brand identity while the local sites have the opportunity to adjust their messages depending on the consumer, the market, and the sales teams they want to reach. More and more companies are seeing the advantages of thinking globally and acting locally.

Erik Laurijssen is chief marketing officer/executive vice president of platform, alliances, and channels for marketing solutions provider Luma Technologies.

DIRECT Magazine

While marketers overwhelmingly remain committed to exhibitions and events as a central campaign channel, the trade show industry is still seeing plenty of exhibitor caution when it comes to budgets, according to a new survey conducted jointly by BtoB and expo services provider Freeman.

Exhibitions are a heavily relied-upon channel, employed by 85% of marketers, according to the “The Future of Events,” an online survey conducted in September that collected 545 responses, primarily from general and interactive marketing directors and managers. Of those, 38% exhibit more than six times a year.

And yet the survey revealed an undercurrent of ambivalence about event marketing.

When asked how valuable exhibiting is for meeting market goals, 38% said that results are “about average” compared with other channels; 31% said the channel underperforms, while 29% said events perform better than average.

“I think this reticence about events is natural,” said Skip Cox, president of event marketing, measurement and research company Exhibit Surveys. “There’s still some uncertainty about what the recession will bring. Even though we’re seeing high levels of quality people coming to events, buying plans haven’t yet kicked back up.”

Event budget plans reflect exhibitors’ caution. When asked about planned exhibiting expenditures for 2010 and again for 2011, by far the largest percentage of respondents (45% and 49%, respectively) said spending is or will remain flat.

Even looking five years out beyond 2011, exhibitors are taking a wait-and-see attitude, with 42% saying they expect to keep their events budgets “about the same.”

“It seems to me it’s more of a steady-as-she-goes situation,” said Ken Demith, director-customer innovation with Freeman. “When you think about all the traditional media that have declined for the most part, that’s an extremely strong message.”

FACE-TO-FACE IS KEY
But for the nearly one-third of respondents who remain devoted to events as one of, if not the, best-performing channel, there’s no substitute for face-to-face marketing.

“Trade shows we host and those we exhibit at are the best source of business for us,” said Kathy Vogler, marketing manager with SMS proTech, a telecom and wireless systems integration company. “I recently did three shows in three weeks and for good reason; there’s always something good that comes out of every show we attend.”

Lead generation is an important or very important goal for 88% of exhibiting marketers, according to the BtoB/Freeman survey, with building brand awareness (79%) and engaging with current customers (77%) also key objectives.

“The main objectives of the trade show haven’t changed so much, which is to obtain leads,” Demith said. “The question is what to do with those leads. There’s still an opportunity to enhance and improve on that.”

And there’s a strong belief that attendees gain a lot from exhibitions: 83% of respondents said “getting educated about your industry, products or services” is the main motivation for attendees.

“We host an educational series around the country and, even if they attract just 50 people, [attendees] care about what we’re talking about,” Vogler said. “They want us to solve their problems. We arm them with education.”

Only 15% of respondents had not exhibited in the past year, and most of those—51%—said they had no plans to exhibit in the future. The primary reasons given: their products or services are not conducive to events and the costs of exhibiting are too high. Fully 35% of those with no exhibit plans simply said they “do not see the value.”

Even among regular exhibitors, almost a third (31%) feel the value of exhibitions is suspect, a sentiment that may fuel general caution about the channel.

“There is not enough measurement being done to really know what the value is,” Cox said. “Whether you’re talking Fortune 500 companies or smaller exhibitors, people don’t do a good job of tracking what kind of results they get from a show. The bottom line is almost always based on gut feelings.”

Sixty-three percent of survey respondents said collaboration and networking—which don’t lend themselves to measurement—were highly important goals at events.

“Networking is probably the most important component for us,” said Amanda Carroll, marketing manager at Briefings Media Group, a human resources training company. “We do a lot of partnering with other companies, and probably the most beneficial part of exhibiting or attending is talking about what they’re doing.”

Carroll said she employs other channels, such as e-mail and direct mail, as her prime lead-generation techniques.

VIRTUAL UNCERTAINTY
Virtual events are an intriguing option for many. In the BtoB/Freeman survey, 71% of respondents said virtual events—completely online experiences with cartoonlike “booths” populated by avatars, and with an assortment of audio and video presentations in place of in-person educational sessions—help attract more participants; 62% said they can be valuable for extending geographic reach.

“Virtual shows are on our front burner for 2011, and [the channel] is something I’d like to explore,” said Joshua Fuhrmark, managing director of LegalFish, a lead-generation company for attorneys. “But at the same time, nothing substitutes for a handshake and a smile.”

Fuhrmark said his participation in any virtual show would be to augment live activities, not as a substitute for them.

“People are coming to the conclusion that virtual events are ways of extending the reach and life of a live show,” Cox said. “Their advantage is leveraging what you’ve developed on the live side, in particular the content.”

However, as an emerging alternative, virtual events still aren’t catching on with many people. Only 30% of respondents to the BtoB/Freeman survey said the tactic was “somewhat effective” in helping marketers reach their goals, and 48% stated that they “aren’t sure yet” about virtual events’ value.

Among those marketers committed to exhibiting, large annual exhibitions and conventions are a favorite, with 62% citing them as their most valued type of event. Other findings from the survey include:

Lead management at trade shows remains basic: 65% simply collect business cards for follow-up contact, although 56% have used electronic readers offered by show management.

E-mail is a favored method of promoting an exhibitor’s presence at trade shows, with 83% rating it as their most or next-to-most important technique. Direct contact by salespeople (74%), website promotion (66%) and special offers (47%) also are widely employed as marketing tools. Direct mail (34%) lags these other channels.

Smartphones are increasingly useful tools on the show floor. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they will use mobile technology in some form at future events, primarily to communicate with attendees and network.

Road shows are considered somewhat or very important by 63% of respondents.

The BtoB/Freeman survey was completed primarily by companies with fewer than 250 employees (56%), although 22% of respondents work for companies with more than 2,500 employees. Most (56%) work in smaller marketing departments with fewer than five staff members.

Industries represented by the respondents included high tech and communications (30%), non-tech manufacturing companies (13%) and financial services companies (9%).

“I think the events industry will experience a slow recovery, with the flagship shows in particular already making a comeback and leading the way,” Cox said. “What we’re seeing is [that] exhibitors aren’t saying they don’t like shows; they just want to go about reaching people in a different way at shows, such as off-the-show-floor activities as part of the educational program.

“It’s all about reaching the audience in the most effective way, not how much square footage you buy,” Cox said.

This brief observation got me thinking.

I have said many times over this course of my career that technology needs to be easy enough for your grandmother to use in order for it to be fully adopted into the business process.  Ease of use is THE key to adoption!

The question arose as I watched the grandmother user her iPhone, have we finally arrived in terms of using technology? Has technology become pervasive enough and easy enough to use, that society has made it over this adoption hurdle? Are we there yet???

Society’s Technology Adoption:

Society is making progress in this digital revolution to adopt technology:

* Most people in business in the industrialized world have broadband internet access, a website and an email address.
* The mail box has given way to the email box… the yellow pages have given way to web pages… classified ads have given way to Craig’s List.
* Most people have text-enable mobile phone at the minimum and an increasing number (especially business travelers) have web-enabled “smart” phones.
* These smart phones are quickly morphing into “widgets” (wireless internet devices for geo-positioning, ecommerce and telecommunication) far more capable than mere “telephones.”
* Computers have become much easier to use than just a few years ago. What once was “plug and pray” now truly has become “plug and play.” Many applications are web-based and easier to use.
* Google is the first stop for research for many or most people in the industrialized world.
* More than 350 million people are using Facebook – if it were a country it would be the third largest country in the world behind India and ahead of the United States.
* Television has gone digital – one more step in the convergence of all data to IP (internet protocol) based systems.

In general, the technology infrastructure (broadband, the web, computers, mobile phones) has been built.  Applications have become easy enough that most people (even grandmothers) can use them and society is adopting quickly many of these new technologies.

Meeting Professionals’ Adoption:

The meetings industry has not been especially known for its early adoption of technology. However, things are changing rapidly.

Here is where we are now:

* Online registration has become commonplace.
* Online housing is common for meetings, especially for large, multi-property room blocks events.
* Speaker management tools are used by many associations for their large, multi-session conferences.
* Exhibition management and show floor plan applications are widely used – especially for the larger tradeshows.
* Web-based video and web conferencing tools have become easy to use, inexpensive and reliable adding virtual meetings as another tool in the meeting planner’s tool chest.
* There are hundreds of applications to help manage web sites, scheduling, banquet seating, event logistics, procurement, site selection, surveys/audience polling, travel and more. Increasingly these are being incorporated into the business process of running events.
* Hundreds, if not thousands, of mobile phone applications are emerging to make meetings more efficient for planners, suppliers and attendees.
* Meetings planners are beginning to use social media tools to connect with suppliers, attendees, exhibitor and other stakeholder to manage, market and improve events.

Where do meeting professionals still need to go with technology adoption?

Despite these advances, we still have a ways to go. Here are some key steps that must be done for this technology revolution to be fully implemented.

* Eliminate nearly all paper in your office:  One of the quickest ways to identify organizational inefficiencies it to look for the paper, and work out digital methods to manage these data. Paper (and flat files such as Word/Excel) are still central to many meeting planners processes: especially for event logistics and supplier procurement.  Paper and Word docs are terrible ways of storing, using and sharing event logistics data! Alternatively, web-based processes for planning tasks can put everyone one the same page.
* Eliminate nearly all paper at your events: Meetings and trade shows have historically been awash with paper (programs, exhibit guides, exhibit brochures, course notes, and others). Technology can provide more efficient ways of accessing and transporting these data, it will help reduce the environmental footprint as well.
* Eliminate email as a significant logistics communication tool for events:  Invented 40 years ago, email is interruptive, non-threaded, and inefficient – especially for tracking the thousands of details surrounding events. Wikis (online, collaborative websites) and new collaboration tools such as Google Wave can provide all documentation sequentially in the same place and are much richer and more efficient ways to sharing meeting data.
* Meetings technology companies should step up to the plate and incorporate APEX standards for meetings logistics: Millions of dollars have been spent and tens of thousands of people have met in working groups to develop meeting industry standards. Yet, APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange from the Convention Industry Council) standards are not fully implemented (especially in the very time-consuming process of exchanging event logistics data).  The meetings technology companies must step up to the plate to provide the connecting tools to make this happen. The CIC should not be the technology developer or provider and should emphasize the open nature of standards allowing all technology companies to participate. Both planners and suppliers need to push for standards with their technology suppliers.
* Figure out social media and use them to engage attendees and improve event content: Meeting professionals are just getting their toes wet with social media. There are huge opportunities for meetings to use the wide range so social media tools (social networking, video sharing, slide sharing, blogs, podcasts, social review sites, social calendaring, social bookmarks sites and more) to engage prospective attendees before/during/after an event. They can be used to market, design and manage events. They can be used to make better purchasing decisions. This drastic change from business as usual will feel uncomfortable to many, but, like it or not, this is the direction things are going.
* Transform your event website (and other sites) from Web 1.0 (static) to Web 2.0 (interactive): Meeting attendees and association members will increasingly expect the ability to interact with you online… to respond to blog posts, to make suggestions for meeting content, to engage with speakers, to consume a variety of content, on their terms when and how they want it.  Associations are among the original means of networking. Meetings are the original social media. Social media tools at your website are a natural fit.
* Embrace mobile technology:  Mobile devices, a huge emerging force for meeting technology change, will be used for registration, micropayments, lead exchange, way-finding, surveys, ticketing, networking, audience polling, and more. Move your company toward the adoption of these tools for events

The benefits of this technology revolution include more efficient and less expensive meetings with greater impact. As we move into a decade where technology infrastructure has been built and technology is easy enough to use that your grandmother can do it, we need to take these final steps to fully digitize our business processes. Digital Darwinism is alive and well and the “race” for meetings and trade show business will often go to those who use technology to be nimble, reduce cost and provide superior customer service.  We’re not quite there in terms of full digital adoption, but we are making progress.

Corporate travelers nominated services, products and ideas that help to make business trips easier and more productive.

Submissions were categorized, and the public voted for their favorites.

The winner of the Travelers’ Choice Award, presented to the innovation that received the highest number of votes, and winners in each of the eight categories, will be honored at the 2010 NBTA International Convention & Exposition on August 9 in Houston.

Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, NBTA President & CEO, said, “In today’s new corporate culture of cost containment, business travelers welcome innovations that help to make their trips more efficient and enjoyable.”

“While necessary to conduct successful business, life on the road can be challenging, and travelers have let us and others know that the products and services we’re honoring with the first Business Traveler Innovation Awards help them to maximize benefits gained from corporate travel.”

Travelers’ Choice Award
The 2010 NBTA Business Traveler Innovation Travelers’ Choice Award will be presented to Continental Airlines for the Mobile Boarding Pass. Continental Airlines introduced paperless boarding passes in December 2007, becoming the first carrier in the United States to offer this innovative product.

Paperless boarding passes enable customers to display a 2D bar code along with passenger and flight information on their mobile phone, eliminating the need for a paper boarding pass.

Category 1: Sustainable Practice
Criteria: Outstanding and original environmental efforts in the travel industry.
Winner: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Innovation: Energy Efficient Thin Client Terminals

Enterprise’ new rental transaction system streamlines the company’s rental processes and offers significant environmental benefits in the process. The new system – ECARSTM 2.0 – connects the reservations, billing and reporting operations of more than 7,000 Enterprise rental offices around the world.

Use of the technology will enable Enterprise to cut its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 6.5 million pounds – a reduction of nearly 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per branch office per year.

Category 2: Travel Personalization
Criteria: Innovation and excellence in customizing the business travel experience for the individual.
Winner: Continental Airlines
Innovation: Mobile Boarding Pass

Category 3: Traveler Comfort and Well-Being
Criteria: Products/services that focus on travelers’ ease and well being.
Winner: Westin Hotels and Resorts
Innovation: The Heavenly Bed.

Westin jump-started the hotel-retail phenomenon in 2000 following tremendous guest feedback to the launch of its plush Heavenly Bed. To date, nearly 40,000 Heavenly Beds, 100,000 pillows, more than 32,000 sheets, and more than 10,000 signature Heavenly spa amenities have been sold. In late 2009, Westin furthered its commitment to shut-eye when it launched a sleep study and sleep hotline with the National Sleep Foundation to help travelers troubleshoot common sleep problems while on the road.

Category 4: Meetings & Conventions
Criteria: Solutions that optimize event success for corporate planners and/or attendees.
Winner: Hyatt
Innovation: The Hyatt Meeting Promise

The Hyatt Meeting Promise is a written guarantee of flawless event execution to ensure businesses get the most out of their corporate meeting experiences. The policy states that if the meeting planner’s expectations in terms of the service and/or quality of a meeting at a hotel are not met, Hyatt will immediately take steps to resolve the problem to the satisfaction of the meeting planner, and/or refund a portion of the master account with a credit for future use.

Category 5: Outstanding Apps
Criteria: Applications that help business travelers organize and/or make best use of their time on the road.
Winner: TripIt
Innovation: Travel Organizer

TripIt invented the Itinerator to help make it easier for busy travelers to organize and share their trip info.  Users can forward confirmation emails from over 1,000 different booking sites to automatically get a master itinerary with all travel plans, plus maps, directions, weather and more. TripIt has free mobile apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, as well as a mobile website that’s compatible with all mobile devices.

Category 6: Travel Convenience & Efficiency
Criteria: Services that expedite the travel process.
Winner: National Car Rental
Innovation: Emerald Club

Membership in The Emerald Club provides benefits and services designed to get travelers on their way faster than before.  Members can earn their choice of free rental days or hotel or airline points/ miles with National’s frequent travel partners.

Category 7: Business Collaboration
Criteria: Platforms that keep business travelers connected to people and projects around the world.
Winner: Cisco Systems
Innovation: Show and Share

Cisco Show and Share is a social video system that helps organizations create and manage highly secure video communities to share ideas and expertise, optimize global video collaboration, and personalize the connection between customers and employees with user-generated content.

Category 8: Traveler Productivity
Criteria: Solutions that keep mobile executives productive.
Winner: Apple, Inc.
Innovation: iPad

iPad is the first tablet computer, a portable device intended to fill the gap between the smartphone and a traditional computer. It supports HD video and offers 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR support, as well as an accelerometer, compass, speaker, microphone and Apple standard 30-pin connector. At 0.5” thick and weighing 1.5lbs, it may just be heralding the start of a new era in portable computing.

Judges’ Selection Award – To Be Determined
Ten of the top submissions will be featured at the Business Traveler Innovation Pavilion at the NBTA Convention, where attendees can demonstrate and learn about products and services recommended by their colleagues.

A panel of travel celebrity judges will evaluate the featured innovations to determine the 2010 Business Travels Innovation Judges’ Selection Award winner, which will be honored with the nine other winners on August 9.