Getting your team together for the process of collaboration can drive creativity and put strategies into place that ensure a successful exhibition marketing program. Here are a few tips to get the process started.
1. Map out strategies for individuals and the team
Each team member should be given an equal opportunity to share their goals, expectations and ideas in an environment that is both positive and open. All new ideas should be welcomed and discussed to ensure that each of the team members feel open to discussing change, taking risks and communicating new ideas.
2. Choose Ideas to Work With
As new ideas are discussed, choose a few which are aligned to your company's objectives to discuss further. This is a great opportunity to make sure you that the objectives of your company and understood by your team. Encourage feedback from the group to determine if the ideas raised are viable, so that they can be further progressed.
3. Develop a Plan to Implement Ideas and Delegate Responsibility
You have the idea… but now you have to make it happen. Someone will have to lead this part of the meeting, and someone else will have to take notes as the plan for implementation is developed. Start at the beginning and work through to the end… step by step and the more detail the better. This is where the collaborative environment is at its best, because team members can speak up and to make sure nothing will be forgotten. Responsibilities should be delegated as you go, ensuring that everyone understands their responsibility and that roles are well balanced within the team.
4. Set Deadlines
Completion dates for responsibilities should be worked through and set for each step. After a task has been given to a team member, let them set their own personal deadline. The great things about setting a deadline for goals are that it gives team members direction, and motivates them to get the job done. Don’t forget to follow up to make sure tasks have been done and deadlines met because it’s easy for tasks to fall by the wayside when people get busy. Know what’s going on so that you can revise deadlines as time goes on, to make sure that everything is ready before the beginning of the trade exhibition.
Innovation is a great by product of collaboration, so as your begin to think about your exhibition marketing strategy, I encourage you to get together with your team and collaborate. You will never know what you come up with until you put your heads together.