I prepare for the NRF Big Show like I do a marathon. For me, there’s nothing casual about attending the show or the preparation during the weeks leading up to it. Arguably THE biggest retail show of the year, NRF offers far more opportunities than it is possible to take advantage of in the roughly 72 hours that make up the show.
I always hold a long list of priorities in my hands, from meeting with customers and prospects, to catching up with technology partners, investigating cutting-edge technologies, and attending critical educational sessions. It’s a tall order and, to make the most of every hour at the show, I strategically plan the allocation of my time prior to the event. As January 13th quickly approaches, there’s still time to take steps to optimize your time at NRF 2024.
- Evaluate your 2024 business objectives – Think about your 2024 business objectives. What are you trying to accomplish? Whether it’s increased efficiency, labor savings, greater visibility or a more consistent customer experience, these objectives will drive you to a list of technologies, sessions and information you’ll want to gather at the show.
- Make a “wish list” – The NRF show provides a great opportunity to engage in casual conversations with peers, partners and industry experts. In today’s fast-paced world, there are always fresh insights from those who are pioneering new territory, deploying emerging solutions and evaluating new strategies. Make a “wish list” of conversations that would be insightful to you. Questions about best practices, lessons learned or “ah-ha!” moments can go a long way toward better preparing you for your own strategic endeavors in 2024. Then schedule time to attend social events that allow you to have conversations with an array of stakeholders.
- Make a target list of solutions – The NRF Big Show is a great place to experience the latest technologies live and in person. Make a prioritized list of solutions you’re interested in seeing prior to the show. Engage in some preliminary research or pull in a partner like Telaid to help you organize it. Telaid can arrange a customized “Tech Tour” at the show to introduce you to best-of-breed technology providers and schedule demonstrations to see their solutions.
If you’d like help narrowing down a list of best-of-breed technology providers in computer vision, self-checkout or computer vision, reach out to me at bthompson@telaid.com and I’d be happy to pull something together.
Most of all, I hope you maximize your time at NRF to better prepare yourself to accomplish your most aspirational business objectives in 2024. See you at the show!