Future of plumbing, HVAC trade conferences

Feb. 10, 2014
What is FOMO? FOMO is a relatively new term associated with today’s high-tech millennial generation, which includes those born after 1980. Their perceived social media addiction is partly driven by the fear that they’ll miss out of something more fun and interesting than what they’re presently doing. FOMO is a powerful force and it correlates to people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Conference planners should focus their marketing message on what you’d lose by not attending a conference. A compelling message to a contractor results in more careful consideration and loss aversion based on FOMO.

An interesting, albeit disastrous plumbing and heating phenomenon that exists in our industry.  It occurs like clockwork and the outcome is almost always the same. It begins with an invitation from a plumbing and heating supply house to conduct a customer service seminar for their contractor customers.

“They need help,” the supply house manager says. “About half of our contractors are good at service, but the other half has employees with poor telephone skills and their technicians’ soft skills are non-existent.”

And so it begins. We schedule a date. The supply house markets the seminar to local contractors and guess who shows up? If your answer is: the 50% of contractors who are already good at serving their customers, you are correct! Plumbing and heating companies who are good want to be better.

And the contractors who stink view training as an expense, not an investment.  These contractors will remain in a state of mediocrity or get worse.

This phenomenon is called “the preaching to the choir” and it is pervasive. The contractors who would benefit the most are the ones who are not there. 

This same phenomenon occurs at national conferences and it occurs for the same reason.

Benefits exceed costs

The benefits for attending an educational or trade conference far exceed the cost according to Tracy Threlfall, executive vice president for Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) of California.

“Conferences combine the foremost of PHCC’s two major benefits, training and networking in a way that cannot be duplicated by any other method,” said Trelfall.  “Some of the most valuable information is shared at the most unlikely time.  A conversation at a cocktail party yielded a new code column for our chapter’s membership bulletin.”

No doubt that the human factor reigns when people are face to face. And the synergistic energy can occur in an elevator, a corridor or during a leisurely walk outdoors. Woody Allen said that 80% of success is showing up. The key is to be there. 

Leadership matters. PHCC California won the 2013 Distinguished Chapter Award from PHCC National.  Threlfall’s 24 year career in the trades along with her innovative leadership style enables PHCC California to deliver value to chapter members.

Fear of missing out

As in most business interactions, whenever price and expense become an issue it’s usually because there is a misunderstanding about the value. More contractors would attend conferences if they perceived that it was in their best interest and if the pre-conference buzz creates enough fear of missing out (FOMO).

FOMO is a relatively new term associated with today’s high-tech millennial generation, which includes those born after 1980. Their perceived social media addiction is partly driven by the fear that they’ll miss out of something more fun and interesting than what they’re presently doing.  

FOMO is a powerful force and it correlates to people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains.

Conference planners should focus their marketing message on what you’d lose by not attending a conference. A compelling message to a contractor results in more careful consideration and loss aversion based on FOMO.

Brian Baker, president of CustomVac Limited in Winnipeg, Canada, has been attending trade conferences for 30 years. 

“I attend conferences to gain technical, marketing, teaching, networking, knowledge and anything that will assist me in meeting my goals in life and business,” stated Baker.

And while Baker still attends conferences, he also sees room for improvement. “Some conferences are unwilling to video tape or stream live sessions for those who cannot attend.”

No doubt Baker’s complaint probably mirrors the concerns of the millennial generation. Our younger counterparts are used to a media rich experience and not a 45 minute lecture.  Audience interaction should include real-time surveys, with attendees sending their response via smartphones and then immediately tabulated results on the PowerPoint screen. Sound far-fetched? It’s more common than you think.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) urges conference hosts step up their technology implementation. PCMA also reports that the value of face-to-face interaction at conferences is irreplaceable, even among millennial attendees. Being there matters!

The future of trade conferences may depend on how well associations can leverage technology and articulate the value so that we speakers will spend less time preaching to the choir.

Steve Coscia helps contractors make more money, boost upselling and increase customer retention. He is the author of the HVAC Customer Service Handbook and a soft skills college curriculum that is taught at more than 80 trade schools worldwide.  To learn more about Steve Coscia go to www.coscia.com.

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