Small Biz Expo 2023 - Review
9 weeks ago, we booked in to be part of the Small Business Expo 2023. It's been two weeks since it ended, and just enough time to reflect on the event.
How did it go?
It was good. It was long. My feet were killing me - my fault for not wearing comfortable shoes. But everything considered, it was a well-put-together event that placed Storytime in a different light. Mainly by telling people we existed.
What was good?
The quality of conversation.
Meeting other businesses and finding collaboration partners.
Our booth saw two types of people. The first mistook us for wallpaper and couldn't care less about what we had to offer and walked right past. The second type would wait till one of us (I was not alone) was free because they wanted to talk to us. It was humbling and gratifying to be recognised in this way.
What was less good?
The setup day (Tuesday) was chaotic, and nobody really knew who was responsible for what.
Cost. This is not a reflection of the organisers. It's more a reality of what's involved with going to an expo. Even our tiny and very basic booth - which a real estate agent would probably label "minimalistic", cost several times more than the space at the expo. That's because, on top of the booth, you need to develop branded materials, print them, and pay for staff, parking, food, and random unforeseen and last-minute purchases from Office Works.
Attendance numbers were quite below forecast. Of the 3,000 expected attendees, I'd say we - at most - had half of that across the two days, with the second day being significantly quieter than the first.
What were the goals for the expo?
Tell people about Storytime - tick.
Do free audits for people's marketing - tick.
Collect feedback on our offers - tick.
We went in with four offers. 1) we'll audit your brand for free, 2) big building projects, 3) workshops, and 4) our Studio Decks (this is a working title), which are the "quick start kits" for brand building originally created for Storytime branding workshops.
Surprisingly, all of these were well received, especially the Studio Decks (again, this is a working title). It turns out that listening to what customers want and creating services to reflect those demands, though not easy, does seem to work.
Top, unsolicited tips.
Over-prepare.
It was thanks to a borderline paranoid level of overpreparation that we were able to get so much out of the event.
Don't sit down.
To be clear, we did have chairs, but because of either ethnic guilt or just being a sucker for punishment. We stood. But it was noticed and appreciated. Like going into Ted Baker, even though I go in there to giggle at the extra zero's they've added to the price, their staff, like in any retail shop, are never sitting.
Be clear.
Storytime is small. Bespoke. Boutique. That's not what I should say, but it's the truth. Though we could probably do the same work, some projects are better suited to other agencies. The point is that we are/were not different to the five other agencies at the expo. What we were, though, was clear.
We no longer try to do all of your branding or marketing. We specialise and focus on explaining concepts and planning out what to do. How to get started. What to do next.
This is a clarification that stands out. We don't work to take work away from other creatives or agencies. We're trying to work with them because the end goal for all of us is the same, to help clients tell their stories and build their brands. We focus on the planning part of that process. We recommend people fill in the roles we can do but don't specialise in (SEO, building websites, running ads, videography… it's a long list).
The only catch is that I won't make a recommendation unless we understand the project and won't recommend a partner unless I've met them, talked to them, or worked with them in the past.
What I'm hoping for next time.
Normalise wearing sneakers. I stood, for 2 days, in the most uncomfortable shoes I own, and my feet were killing me.
Next time I'm wearing sneakers.
