What is a Product Training Roadshow?

A product training roadshow is hosted to announce the release of a new product, updated product, or a new business unit. These trainings often include demonstrations of the product for customers and prospects. This is a great opportunity for companies to create hands on experiences and trainings for their attendees.

Purpose of a Product Training Roadshow

Conducting product training roadshows provide companies the platform to not only announce their new product to their audience but to also train them. A roadshow series creates buzz around the new product and provides the detailed training that is necessary to sell the product. Providing the proper training increases understanding of the product, and in the long run, increase sales.

Typical Audience

Product training roadshows are typically held for current and prospective clients. These clients are either looking to purchase the new product or service, or they could be distributors for the host company. When catering to an external audience these events should be easily accessible for the attendees and provide an exciting element to increase attendance.

Sourcing Requirements / Budget Drivers

It is best to choose locations based on regions where the product will be offered and where you have local staff to help facilitate the training. Utilizing local staff to teach each training or demo the product, will cut down on travel costs.

Once the locations are confirmed, the next step is to determine the type of venue to use for the training. Hotel meeting space is a great initial option. Hotels offer not only the meeting space, but the food and beverage, A/V, and sleeping rooms if needed. This can allow for one contact to arrange all the logistical aspects of the meeting.

More creative options to look at when sourcing venues can include local museums, restaurants, breweries, or even rooftop patios. When utilizing a unique venue, outside vendors might need to be procured to bring elements these types of venues do not provide. This cannot only increase budget but also the amount of time needed to source and procure multiple vendors. Although using a unique venue can increase costs, they also create buzz and interest in the event.

Services

  • Sourcing for accommodations, meeting space, A/V
  • Full program creative design with brand integration
  • Full scale, flexible registration websites
  • Name badges and signage
  • Presentation templates and branding
  • Meeting kits and fulfillment
  • Promotional products and attendee incentives
  • Professionally designed confirmations and reminders
  • Comprehensive cost reconciliation
  • Post-event attendee evaluations

Challenges

Most product training roadshows are offered complimentary to current and prospective clients. One of the most important things to remember with free events is that even if an attendee registered for the event, they can still no show the day of the event. This can be one of the biggest challenges when planning a roadshow and it is best to expect a 50-70% attendance rate. Incorporating industry association or continued education credit is one way to offset the day of attendance drop.

Creative Tips

Training materials, product demos and content are all very important when operating a product training roadshow. Unfortunately, those are not always enticing to potential attendees. A unique venue or experience is a great driver for attendance and can instantly upgrade a product training roadshow. When looking at unique venues, partnering with a multi-location brand cannot only provide potential cost savings, but can also decrease the number of venue contacts throughout the roadshow.

Why Brightspot?

Product training roadshows are unique events and can often require additional resources in the sourcing and planning phases. Partnering with Brightspot, provides the additional manpower to get through those phases in a faster timeframe. With databases of potential venues across the country, Brightspot can leverage long-standing relationships with many hotels and venues to source and contract much faster than a company can on their own.

Additionally, Brightspot’s partnerships with trusted vendors for all merchandise, printing, and shipping needs allows our team to ensure the quality of work. A Brightspot meeting planner is involved in every step of the process and is ready to create smooth sourcing, planning, and executing processes. Drop us a line, and let’s start thinking up bright ideas!