We don’t know where we’re going yet,
but we promise it won’t be boring.
OK, so you have successfully exhibited at your trade show. You feel tired but good after a busy couple of days showcasing your business. Now remember, you’re not quite finished yet…
Many businesses spend considerable time planning the exhibition itself but neglect to map out the follow-up process after the show, which, for many, can be the most crucial stage!
In this article, I will take you through a couple of points that you might consider when it comes to your post-exhibition follow-up.
1.Collect Data on Your Stand:
On your stand, you should be collecting data in some shape or form. This could be from a sale made to the customer on the stand or it could be a visitor filling out a contact form to receive further details after the show.
2. Be Proactive in Preparation of Follow-up Communications:
Ideally, you want your post-event communications prepared and mapped out before you go to the exhibition so that you and your teams can follow-up quickly while your brand is still fresh in attendees’ minds.
3. Segment Your Leads
When you return to the office, the first step is to gather your sales and marketing teams and review the data collected to identify who on the list is hot, warm or cold based on the conversations they had and/or interest they displayed on the contact form.
For those labelled as “Hot Leads”, I recommend you put a member of your sales team in charge of contacting them directly to arrange further discussions.
4. Personalise Your Communications
So, you have a general email prepared for reaching out to your warm leads. Before sending that, I suggest that you tailor this communication with their first name and, if possible, reference a point they made in discussion with you to personalise the communication even further.
McKinsey & Company reported that 71% of consumers say they expect personalised marketing.
5. Give Back Something of Value
For those who might be warm or indeed cold leads, offer them something of value via a downloadable or case study that addresses their pain points and how your company can solve that problem.
6. Follow-up on Your Email
While maintaining a balance, it’s also important to acknowledge that people are busy and might need more time to consider your email when it comes through. I would advise mapping out a series of communications spread over a month to follow up. Furthermore, if you have a CRM system, then absolutely add these leads to the system so that you can follow their progress in one place.
7. Utilise the Power of LinkedIn
LinkedIn continues to be the top professional network globally, so another approach you might take, depending on your business, is to connect with individuals on LinkedIn when you first meet them at the stand and then follow up with them with a personalised note afterwards to arrange a coffee.
8. Coordinate Your Sales and Marketing Efforts
Bring your sales and marketing teams together once a week for a month after the event to check in specifically on the follow-up effort to ensure both teams aren’t conflicting and that any notable results are being recorded to work out the actual ROI from the event.
I hope you have found my exhibition’s top tips series of use. If you are signed up for an exhibition and require assistance with designing and building your stand or even your marketing communications, be sure to say hello@journeycreative.ie. We would be delighted to assist you in making your exhibition experience a great success.
Dermot
