Meetings

Daily Buzz: A Shout-Out to the Solo Exhibitor

Exhibitors who are at your tradeshow alone are under a lot of stress, an association CEO notes. Also: Twitter brings back a popular feature.

If you’re cruising a tradeshow floor, odds are that you’re going to get pulled in by the big, flashy displays, the ones with the free food or maybe even alcohol.

Eric Lanke, president and CEO of the National Fluid Power Association, wants you to spare a thought for the not-so-flashy exhibitor, “the solo staffer working the anonymous 10 by 10”:

You’ve seen them. They’re tired. They got there early and set up the booth themselves, and they’re going to tear it down by themselves at the end of the show. They’ve been on their feet all day, and their only breaks have been a few quick dashes to the bathroom. They have, in my humble opinion, the worst and most impossible of all jobs. Lost in the basement of some exhibition hall, squeezed into a row of 50 other booths just like theirs, they are there to sell, sell, sell.

But Lanke notes that if solo booth workers pull all that off and still have smiles on their faces as they engage with the crowds, they can really stand out.

His post hints at some interesting questions for meeting planners, especially: Are there ways to make the pain of the booth a little easier for those who are rolling solo? It could make the difference between a one-and-done exhibitor and someone who comes back with a little more help in future years.

Back to Basics

Twitter has heard complaints about a lot of things lately, but one lingering frustration for many users has been its move away from a feed that always shows the latest tweets first. Yesterday, the company announced it was reversing course and would make it easier for users to opt to see new tweets at the top of their feed. If you’re an old-school tweeter, that option might make you pretty happy.

Other Links of Note

Considering a customer strategy? On his blog, Marketing General Senior Vice President Tony Rossell explains the downside of aiming for customer growth instead of membership growth.

If you’re running an old iPhone, you should upgrade to iOS 12, which is getting good reviews. The Verge tells why even old phones should make the leap.

Speaking of Apple, Quartz has a neat anecdote about how Steve Jobs once made a split-second decision to license Amazon’s famed one-click patent for $1 million. Talk about decisive leadership.

(p_saranya/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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