IMTS Podcasts

A politically turbulent 2016 is closing out and uncertainty still looms for 2017. What’s the current economic situation and forecast for manufacturing? Join AMT’s Vice President of Strategic Analytics Pat McGibbon as he shares with Steve Miller, AMT’s resident Marketing Gunslinger, what he and other top economists see for the future.

Without a doubt one of the most famous, most remembered, and long-lasting brands in history is Santa Claus! He’s a pretty smart business man and has incorporated many very strong branding components in maintaining his place in the minds of children around the world! And maybe we can learn a few tricks from jolly old St. Nick. As we enter the 2016 holiday season, join IMTS’s resident Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller, for a fun and informative session as he analyzes the branding genius and longevity behind Santa Claus.

IMTS 2016 is literally a few days away! You’ll join over 115,000 other participants. You’ll be walking through 1.3 million net square feet of exhibit space. Over 2,000 exhibiting companies will be fighting for your attention and time. In addition, you’ll experience the Emerging Technology Center, the Advanced Manufacturing Center, Today’s Technology Center, drive a 3-D printed vehicles, see the new IMTS balloon…heck, we can’t even LIST everything here. So, yes, IMTS will be huge. And you want to not only enjoy your time in Chicago, but you want to get the most out of your visit business-wise and personally! Join Bonnie Gurney, Director - Exhibitions Strategy & Communications for AMT, and our resident Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller, as they share what’s new and top tips for getting the most out of your time and investment at IMTS 2016.

We know you're scrambling to get ready for IMTS. We also know you REALLY want to maximize your time and investment this year. Join our resident Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller, and Michelle Edmonson, Director- Exhibitions Design and Operations, as they spill the beans on some great last minute tactics for attracting your best prospects! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Although not 100% practiced, it’s pretty much understood that following up on your leads, sales, customer conversations, and other contacts made during IMTS is ... well, kind of IMPORTANT! How are you preparing for follow-up? Got the plan in place? Okay, but you might want to first hear what Steve Miller has to say about this critical component in hitting your highest IMTS ROI. You might find out you're not maximizing those results! Join Steve at 11:00am ET on Tuesday, July 19 to learn a follow-up approach most exhibitors don't practice, but yes, they should. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Have questions about registering your staff or how to invite your customers? Join Karen Lewis with CDS and Rachelle Muckle with AMT, who will review the various way to register your staff, how to register your exhibitor appointed contractor and how to track your badges. They will also review the customer invitation program, touching to the two ways to order customer invitations and how to manage the process. Speaker: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

Join this podcast to learn how UPS can help you at IMTS 2016. Charlie Chung, with UPS, touches on the new UPS IMTS Logistic Centers we will have onsite as well as the new UPS relationship with Coyote.” Maggie Neill with Coyote discusses the advantage of using Coyote and Coyote's relationship with IMTS. Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

Yes, you know social media is huge and, yes, you're probably using it at some level in your marketing. How can you use social media to promote your IMTS exhibit without sounding too "promotional" and irritating your followers? Which social media tools are even best for doing that? Join IMTS's own Monica Haley and Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller as they discuss (and possibly debate) how best to use social media to promote your participation at IMTS 2016. Guest: Monica Haley Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

Commoditized products are impacting prices and margins, thus threatening companies in all industries, including manufacturing. Are you threatened, as well? Almost all industries today are struggling with the increasing commoditization of their products and services. This is putting considerable pressure on prices and margins and leads to fiercer competition. And not only the mass market is being affected: even more complex and innovative products are subject to increasingly technical and qualitative standardization. A 2014 study by Roland Berger and the International Controller Association shows that 63% of the companies surveyed are already facing the commoditization of their products and services, yet 54% have yet to take sufficient action to escape. You CAN separate yourself from your competition, but do you know HOW to do that? In this webinar Steve Miller will share his unique specialty: how a business can create an Uncopyable Advantage. Steve will talk about the three primary business elements that can push a company into the commodity trap and steps you can take to avoid it. Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

With IMTS just 3 months away, learn practical ways to maximize your exposure before, during and after the show. Join John Campos from Gardner Business Media and Bob Kaplan from CMAC as they discuss the various ways to get your brand out there. They will cover sponsorship opportunities that are currently left as well as provide concrete ideas for you to build an IMTS marketing plan that will allow you to maximize your marketing dollars and attendee reach. Guests: John Campos, Gardner Business Media Bob Kaplan, CMAC Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

After IMTS 2014 featured the world’s first 3-D printed automobile many people left Chicago asking, “How can IMTS top THAT in 2016?” See for yourself in this interview with Peter Eelman, VP of Exhibitions and Development for AMT. Peter will share many new and exciting attractions you won’t want to miss! Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

If you've followed Steve's last two webinars, you've learned how to clearly identify those attendees who best fit your prospect profile, as well as how to create the most effective message that attracts their attention. Steve closes the loop in this session by taking you through a list of the best Media you should use for communicating your Message to your Market. If you're serious about having your best IMTS 2016, you must understand the fact that preshow communications can have a HUGE impact. Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

Concerned about the global economic outlook and how it affects key markets in the U.S. economy? Join Pat McGibbon, AMT VP — Strategic Analytics, for an update on the latest data and trends. He will discuss both the current and future outlook for the U.S. Host: Steve Miller Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger

Maximize your time on the show floor, build ROI and drive results with IMTS’ official lead retrieval solutions. It’s opening day at IMTS 2016 and attendees walk into your booth. Are they a hot lead? How will you collect their contact information and what will you do with it? Let us assist you and your staff in learning how to effectively qualify, capture and manage your leads, all before you get to Chicago! It’s not too early to start thinking about which lead retrieval system will work best for you. Join Holly with Convention Data Services, our official lead retrieval vendor, as she reviews the latest technology in lead management that are available to you at IMTS 2016. Holly has 17 years of lead retrieval experience and she’ll share best practices that will help you make this your most successful IMTS yet! Speaker/Host: Holly Gosnell, Senior Exhibitor Services Account Manager, Convention Data Services Steve Miller, The Adventure

Another Secret Weapon: Shock & Awe Sometimes we aren’t looking to blast out marketing and advertising to a big list, right? Sometimes we have those handful of highly qualified prospects we want to make a BIG impression on. Sometimes it’s just ONE person. That’s when Shock & Awe Marketing can be your best tool. Completely opposite of the military “shock & awe” parlance where the objective is to paralyze an adversary’s will to keep fighting, the business marketing definition involves sending prospects a package of materials and goodies that is unexpected and so impressive it takes their breath away. Join Steve as he explains how you can use Shock & Awe to grab the undivided attention of a top prospect, clearly separate yourself from your top competitor, and close more big deals! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Social Media Advertising for IMTS We all know social media is the Godzilla of the Internet. But one of the most difficult tasks for B2B businesses is figuring out how to connect participation with ROI. There is another way you can use social media that might actually be more powerful and profitable — advertising on social media! If you are using it or aren’t familiar with it, make sure you attend this eye-opening webinar on how to use this incredible B2B tool for both building results at IMTS 2016, as well as pumping up your daily marketing efforts. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Big IMPACT Exhibiting Join Bob Ryley and Mike Jeewek with GES to discuss the process of building a booth before any work is done. They will be touching on the following topics: Engagement, Creativity, Design & General Planning, Technology & Data, Graphics & Messaging, The Design Brief/Design Process. Speaker/Host: Bob Ryley — Vice President, National Sales, Global Experience Specialists (GES) Michael J. Jeewek — Director of Client Relations, Global Experience Specialists (GES) Steve Miller, The Adventure

Electrical 101 for IMTS 2016 If you need electricity for your booth at IMTS (and we’re guessing you will!), be sure to watch this special presentation from Derrick Munro of Freeman Electric. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

400% ROI? Part 5: The Message In this important part of achieving the highest ROI from your exhibiting dollar, Steve talks about how to communicate the best MESSAGE for attracting the attention of your top prospects before IMTS even opens. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Using EI Technology to Create a Focused Innovative Workforce Are company hotheads costing you money? Join Dr. Jim Kestenbaum and learn how the basics of EI (Emotional Intelligence) can help and hurt your bottom-line. He will help you determine the sweet spots to put EI to work in your business to increase profit and drive down waste. To get the most out of this webinar, consider buying this inexpensive book, “EI 2.0” by Bradberry & Greaves (Amazon) , and taking the short EI assessment. Get your own EI scores and start learning specific ways to create more effective leadership and culture Speaker/Host: Dr. Jim Kestenbaum and Steve Miller, The Adventure

Have you logged into the e-Kit and have some questions? Join Michelle Edmonson, Exhibitions Operations Director at AMT, and learn how to make your IMTS experience efficient with our newly redesigned IMTS e-Kit. The IMTS e-Kit includes all vendor forms, your company profile and the payment portal, as well as important messages from Show Management. Speakers: Michelle Edmonson, CEM, Exhibitions Operations Director, AMT Rachelle Muckle, Exhibitions Operations Coordinator Steve Miller, The Adventure

In preparing for an incredible marketing opportunity, like IMTS 2016, it’s critical to know exactly who your best target market is. With almost 60,000 professional buyers attending, only a fraction of those are the right people for you. In Part 4 of his “How to Hunt Moose” series, Steve shares the questions you need to answer to help find the exact right target to attract to your booth. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

In 30 years of working with businesses in 126 different industries around the world, Steve Miller, IMTS's own Marketing Gunslinger, has seen one common mistake. Almost ALL marketers and small business owners approach their marketing BACKWARDS. As a result, they often waste both time and resources with little to show for it. Join Steve as he shares with you his Marketing Diamond™...how to use it...and how it can dramatically improve your marketing results. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

The 2016 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop is once again expected to be a smashing success with more than 500 exhibitors attending the event in Chicago. World-class speakers, IMTS service providers, and IMTS leadership are gathering to provide a learning experience like no other. Peter Eelman, VP of Exhibitions & Communications, and AMT’s resident Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller, will recap the highlights from this year’s meeting. Listen to what you missed and how you can still access some of the information shared at the world’s largest single event exhibitor workshop! Peter Eelman, VP of Exhibitions & Communications, AMT Steve Miller, The Adventure

Every year technology brings us new and improved tools designed to help us grow our business, capture new customers, communicate with current customers, and be more productive. Some tools are brand new and others are amped up versions of oldies, but goodies. 2015 has provided businesses with a plethora of these tools and Steve is going to share with you the SEVEN tools he strongly recommends to clients. In addition, he will share those tools YOU submit as being the best you found this year. After registering, watch for a follow-up email for sending in your own Top Tools of 2015! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, Kelly’s Dad, Marketing Gunslinger TheAdventure.com

Pat McGibbon, VP of Strategic Analytics for AMT, shares his quarterly economic update.

In today’s commoditized world, your customer’s experience with you can make or break your future relationship. Listen to Steve Miller interview customer service and experience expert, Shep Hyken, about how you can deliver an amazing customer service experience that turns satisfied customers into customer evangelists. Our most powerful weapon against our competition is the experience and service we deliver. We want loyal customers who will talk about their great experiences with their friends. Shep will introduce you to the concept of creating Moments of Magic®, a concept for managing every customer interaction. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller TheAdventure.com

In this webinar Mitch will discuss things he’s learned over a 20 year industry career that culminated in him being President of four Teledyne companies combined with what he has learned as a consultant working with companies across many industries. If you’re not growing faster than your competitors they are either gaining on you or you are treading water, which usually means profits suffer. Mitch will share usable ideas in this webinar. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Everybody has a beautifully designed website. Well, maybe not every site is beautiful, but most are designed by pros. But most design professionals are not marketing pros, and they often miss FIVE great marketing opportunities when designing a business website. Want to know what they are and how you can easily add marketing firepower to your website? Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Creating an Amazing Customer Experience In today’s commoditized world, your customer’s experience with you can make or break your future relationship. Listen to Steve Miller interview customer service and experience expert, Shep Hyken, about how you can deliver an amazing customer service experience that turns satisfied customers into customer evangelists. Our most powerful weapon against our competition is the experience and service we deliver. We want loyal customers who will talk about their great experiences with their friends. Shep will introduce you to the concept of creating Moments of Magic®, a concept for managing every customer interaction. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, The Adventure

Are you retargeting? Yes, you think you are, but it’s not really working for you? No, you either don’t know what it is, or it’s too complicated, or it probably takes too much time? If you’re using SEO, Google Adwords, Facebook Advertising, or just plain getting traffic to your website, you NEED retargeting! This is one of the most powerful tools created for online marketing in the last couple of years, yet most B2B companies are not maximizing it’s usefulness. Join Steve in this session as he fully explains what retargeting is, share examples, and shows you set-by-step how you can develop a solid retargeting plan. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

Broadcast Live on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 Podcasts are all-new for IMTS 2016! We want to be sure you get all the information you need for the upcoming show — even if you’re on the go! In our first ever podcast, join Steve Miller and Peter Eelman, VP — Exhibitions & Communications, as he discusses the IMTS Exhibitor Workshop in January and other marketing tools so you can start your show year off with a bang. We’re also discussing the e-Kit, registration, hotels and transportation around McCormick Place, which will be undergoing some construction during show time. Finally, you’ll hear about the exciting changes to the show floor! Speaker/Host: Peter Eelman — Vice President of Exhibitions & Communications Steve Miller— President, TheAdventure.com

Email is the one tool everybody has embraced as the #1 way to communicate. But, as we all know, the Law of Unintended Consequences has reared its head and now the volume of email in our inbox (and our prospects' and customers' inboxes too) has reached tidal wave proportions. Still, email can be a powerful marketing and communication tool when used correctly. This webinar will share what you CAN do to make email effective, how to avoid spam filters, how to get your emails opened and read, AND some the things you must avoid so you don't get in trouble! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

We all love using the Internet because it's FREE, right? Guess what other marketing tool is free -- PR. You might think PR stands for "press releases," but, in fact, that's just one tactic of "Public Relations." Smart marketers have used PR for years, and it's just as powerful for local marketing as it is for national. So if you've never used PR, or have tried it with no results, join us on Thursday, April 17 to learn the different ways you can incorporate PR in growing your business. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

Do you rely on organic SEO for generating most of your online leads? Maybe you’ve used Google Adwords? But are you aware of the new power of advertising on Facebook? Obviously, we all know Facebook is BIG. As the largest social network in the world, it has more than 1.23 billion active users, 62% of whom log in on a daily basis. You can bet your ideal market is using Facebook nearly every day. But so what? Can you, B2B company, use a social platform like Facebook to build your business? For many, the surprising answer is yes, but you need to learn how. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

There's an old saying about achieving success in business: Look at what everyone else is doing and do the opposite! Which marketing tools are overused by EVERYBODY these days? Email and social media, right? Everybody blasts emails to anybody who can fog a mirror simply because they can and because it's free. They think that's good marketing. And everybody's chasing that big shiny object called social media. Hey if everybody else is chasing it, then we should, too, right? But smart marketers do the opposite. They look for ways to effectively and profitably reach their targets that fewer and fewer competitors use. And guess what that is today? Here's a hint. Where does everybody still go every day to PROACTIVELY accept incoming communications? Answer? Their mailbox! We ALL go our mailbox Monday through Saturday wondering what surprise (besides bills) awaits. And with more and more marketers sending less and less mail, that means it's easier than ever to stand out from the crowd and get the attention of your prospect. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

Below is the list of twenty+ Cool Tools Steve shared: 1. 1Password 2. Anti-Social 3. Freedom 4. Focus @ Will 4b. Focus Booster 5. Evernote 6. FreeConferenceCallHD 7. Trello 7b. Basecamp 8. Google+ Hangouts 9. Spreaker 10. 99Designs 11. 99Copywriters 12. Canva 13. Fiverr 14. IFTTT 15. Google Alerts 16. SurveyMonkey 17. LeadPages 18. Screenflow 18b. Camtasia 19. Overcast 20. Moleskine notebooks Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

You requested it! You got it! During a recent IMTSedu Attendee Webinar there were a lot of people asking for help getting more out of trade shows. IMTSedu's own Marketing Gunslinger, Steve Miller, just so happens to be the author of the #1 selling book in the trade show industry and he will share with you his own tips and tricks (and some true Secret Weapons) for maximizing your ROI from exhibiting at trade shows. From pre-show promotion to post-show follow-up, this will be a full, content-packed hour! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

We all KNOW we're supposed to show how different and superior we are to the competition. But that's easier said than done. Everybody says they provide the best customer service! Everybody says they sell top quality products and services! Everybody says their prices are fair! How do you actually develop a meaningful and congruent difference that will help build your business? That's what we're going to talk about in this IMTS Webinar. Learn the exact steps you and your team can go through to identify your important uniqueness and how to communicate it to your top prospects. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

David Ogilvy once said the best copywriters worked for mail order catalog companies. Why? Because their job was to SELL something. Copywriting, very simply, is the ability to put words on paper that get people to send you money, or ask you to contact them, or give you their name and email. Good copywriting creates tremendous leverage, because once you get the right words on paper…in the right order (and this is key), all you have to do is use the right media to deliver that message to the right person. Whether you do the copywriting yourself, or have someone do it for you, you'll want a better understanding of what makes good copy. Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com

One of the biggest mistakes companies, large and small, make is thinking that simply "announcing " a product is what marketing is all about. "Announcing our all new 2013 shiny, blue Widget!" Uh no, that's not marketing. Marketing actually helps make the sale and there are proven steps and tactics to use in marketing that can help make that happen. In this session, Steve shares seven important ingredients you should incorporate in all your marketing messages. (Just implementing ONE of these might make a HUGE difference in your results! Speaker/Host: Steve Miller, TheAdventure.com