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Global Reach Attends AMA Iowa Experience Event

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People clapping their hands created by Global Reach, one of the best web developers in Iowa and the Midwest.

Posted on 02/17/2017 at 08:00 AM

Global Reach had the opportunity to take part in the AMA Iowa Experience Event held on Friday, February 10th at Prairie Meadows in Altoona. 

The event, which has been an annual occurrence since 2014, featured some well-known, industry-relevant speakers. A unique aspect of the event was that all speakers were based out of Iowa, allowing attendees to hear from speakers and break session leaders from their own backyard, showcasing the tremendous amount of marketing talent and expertise that exists right here in our state. 

The day-long conference was dedicated to networking, learning about new and emerging industry trends, and encouraging all around marketing excellence. This year’s focus was centered on the theme ‘Big Problems, Big Potential!’, and each session offered valuable ideas and insight into the problems facing marketers today. Those of you who did not have the opportunity to attend this event, here are a few things that may be important for you to know.

One heavily discussed theme was the thought that marketers should get back to making marketing and product decisions based on what their customers actually do, not what they say they will do, as very rarely do people actually act in the same way that they say they will. While collecting customer feedback and survey responses may be great for accomplishing goals relating to customer service quality, using this same method to determine the best marketing strategy may fall short. 

We see this tendency often working with our own clients, as many times, our clients will come to us with goals or strategies that are in line with a hunch they may have, a customer opinion they had heard, or a preconceived notion that they hold, instead of basing the strategy on the actions their users are taking.  To make certain your approach is as effective as possible, ensure you are collecting and evaluating customer activity data rather than survey information to strategize appropriately.

Another valuable idea was how organizations should rethink sending their salespeople to tradeshows to represent their organization. The idea was that those who are hardwired for sales find it difficult, if not unnatural, to focus on anything but making the sale. This makes genuine conversation with booth visitors more of a challenge because they constantly have that “sale” in the back of their mind, which means they spend less time listening to and getting to know booth visitors. This ultimately hinders the potential for relationship building. 

Instead, try sending employees who have a knack for relationship building, those who have a genuine interest in learning through conversation and asking questions. We can definitely attest to this, as in our experience, booth visitors tend to remember genuine conversation over another sales pitch.

Both concepts can provide incredible value and help drive organizations to rethink their status quo. Global Reach enjoyed participating in the event and took away some valuable ideas. We look forward to what next year’s AMA Experience Event has to offer. 

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