An interview with Traveliz about the recent IMSC Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
What was the most important thing you learned? Hmmm, hard to say but I am thinking that the reminder of only doing what is asked was a biggie. It’s both more profitable for the shopper and exactly what the MSC/client wants. I think just answering the questions and not going into additional detail (like I am here) is important to remember.
How did your networking with the MSCs go?
It went very well. It was slow to start and didn’t flow like I wish it would have but I did meet some great people. I think the networking can be the most important feature of a conference but I also think each conference takes on it’s own personality. I did not feel like there was a place you could always find shoppers to mingle with during off times.
Which presentation did you find most interesting and why? I really enjoyed Brad Christian from MarketForce. I thought the things he shared specific to clients were super interesting and gave a real insight to the different things that clients are looking to find out with shoppers.
What was the funnest part of this experience? My niece (20 and compliance only shopper) came with me and I was able to share the conference with her. That made it really fun for me.
Do you expect your business to grow due to your attendance at this conference and why? Absolutely! I am going to buy Streets and Trips (which is something I learned about last year) because this year I got some tips on how to use it just for the routing and then take that information and GPS it in my preferred manner. I also think I am going to give Shadow Shopper a whirl again. I used it years ago as a scheduler and because I go to many different areas I think it might open up some new companies/shops that I have missed.
Anything else you’d like to share about the conference? Unfortunately there were several cancellations and reschedules which made the schedule change up both days and that made it a bit hard to get to exactly what I wanted to do as planned. For some reason that meant I ended up seeing Brad Christian twice…it was the only event Friday night and I think many people didn’t realize it and then he spoke again Saturday morning and I didn’t expect that. Another workshop was cut short for some reason and participants were asked to go into the main hall for the workshop going on there. The workshop that was cut short was the one that was more important to my business so that was odd. I understand these things happen but I had to be on my toes checking the changes and reevaluating where and what I wanted to do throughout the two days.
Would you attend another IMSC conference? Oh, yes, for sure! Time-wise (due to the craft business I also have) Vegas is not good timing for me but that does appear to be the busiest and most well attended conference (or so I heard) so I would like to try that sometime just not sure when. For now those these regional conferences in the spring work best for me so anxious to see where it is next year.