Prepare for a major conference: Conference ROI

We would like to welcome guest blogger, Jared Byer, the Director of Marketing at Paragon Biomedical, Inc. He is also a frequent blogger on Paragon Biomedical’s blog ParaBioPlus.

Partnerships in Clinical Trials™ is among the most highly anticipated conferences in the global research industry because of its high quality content and its focused relevance to the entire clinical research community. And because planners have consistently developed compelling conference programs over the past 19 years, the annual event attracts nearly all major biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, clinical research organizations (CROs), central laboratories, data management shops, and other vendors that provide essential support and services to the industry.

As a full-service, global CRO, (and Gold Sponsor at the 2010 conference), Paragon Biomedical has devoted a lot of time to planning and preparation for this year’s conference. Even though Partnerships is one of the most competitively priced large events in the clinical research industry, it is still important to make sure your company offsets costs by maximizing the opportunities presented by attending.

To help in your planning, I’ll share the following guidelines Paragon Biomedical uses to prepare for a major conference.

1. Identify your overall objectives:
Increase sales opportunities by meeting with prospective clients.
Strengthen existing relationships.
Professional development.

2. Measure success; accurate measurements demand specific numbers, such as:
Meetings with existing or prospective clients.
Requests for a proposal (RFP).
Strategic partners identified.
Competitor assessments.

3. Validate conference alignment with your objectives:
Review the conference agenda outline to verify alignment.
Ensure expected input from lecturers and attendees is defined.

4. Communicate to your community:
After you have decided that a conference is a good fit for your company, develop and launch your outreach campaign.

An effective outreach campaign uses multiple channels. For example, you may combine direct conversations with emails and a press release.
Paragon uses this blog along with other social media, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, to maximize the value of conference attendance.