INTERVIEW

In Focus: GM OITE Tarek Ali

7 years ago by

Tarek Ali, General Manager for OITE Trade Fairs talks about steps being taken to enhance customer experience at the upcoming events being organized by his company in Oman this year.

In Focus: GM OITE Tarek Ali

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your company and the events that you organize?

Tarek Ali: OITE Trade Fairs has been pioneering events since 1986 and has introduced event concepts to the business and consumer community. Our events enabled leading brands and many companies to promote their business in the country. The local community has also benefited in return by getting access to products and services that were not available widely before. We have helped in activating the market and opened up business opportunities for many individuals and businesses.

Q: Please share with us some details about the upcoming trade shows that you’re organizing in Oman.

Tarek Ali: COMEX and GHEDEX remain to be our flagship events that are held annually together with the Omanization Career Fair. In addition, we are organizing the second editions of Oman Packaging & Material Handling Exhibition and Oman Cleaning & Facility Management. Additionally, we have added two conferences which are Smart City Summit and Middle East Supply Chain Management Summit. Our portfolio of events is increasing annually and new titles will be announced in coming months.

Q: In terms of customer support, how are you going to cater to the vast number of exhibitors and visitors at COMEX and Smart City Summit happening in Oman?

Tarek Ali: This is a very important question since managing the relationship with customers is becoming very challenging considering that events are a sensitive business relying heavily on communication. It was easy before to rely on dedicated internal employees. An example is that we have more than 2500 visitors on the COMEX website alone on a monthly average, we need to rely on service providers like LiveAdmins to enable us to answer online queries and to not miss any opportunity to convert them into long term exhibitors or visitors.

Q: In your opinion, what are some of the essential elements for making an event successful?

Tarek Ali:Good concepts that touch current and future trends, thoughtful marketing and promotion plan, and reliable staff and partners.

Q: What are the latest technologies that your company is deploying to offer better experience at your events?

Tarek Ali: Some of these include online business matchmaking, online registration, smart apps and cloud computing.

Q: What are your processes for measuring customer feedback at your events?

Tarek Ali: Online and onsite surveys as well as direct feedback or through social media.

Q: What is your company’s strategy on offering online customer support during events?

Tarek Ali:We are happy to work with LiveAdmins to support our website visitors with the information they require and any support they might need.

Q: In terms of enhancing customer experience at events, what are your plans for this year?

Tarek Ali:Online business matching, e-badges and smart brochures and collateral in addition to online support for any questions or support required and new features onsite.

About Tarek Ali

With over 14 years of events management experience, Tarek manages OITE Trade Fairs since Jan 2014. Before that, he has worked as event director for leading event organizers including Reed Exhibitions and DMG Events in United Arab Emirates. Through his career, Tarek has managed and launched renowned trade exhibitions across several industries including Metals, Hospitality, IT, Logistics, Education, Facility Management and Leisure.