What you do after a trade show is arguably the most important step towards making sure you get as much as possible out of the experience: follow up! If you don’t follow up with your new leads, you can’t convert them to the contacts and sales that make your trip worth it.
We’ll walk you through the art of an effective follow up so that you can generate better ROI after a trade show.
Trade Show Tips: Following Up Is Crucial
Be prompt: The goal here is to stay at the forefront of your contact’s minds. Follow up with trade show contacts within 48 hours after the show ends. If you wait too long to reach out, they may lose interest or may move on to work with another company.
Tailor your follow ups: The goal here is to build stronger relationships with your new connections, so take the time to tailor your follow ups. Make sure to identify who you are, what company you’re with, and which trade show you met at. Touching on the conversation you had on the trade show floor makes the follow up more personal and inviting.
Follow up with a killer call-to-action: You want to keep your new contacts interested in your brand. Creating a specific, interesting call-to-action will really help here. You might send them premium content to download such as an ebook or a white paper. You can also try inviting them to connect with you on social media. This will allow you to continue building on your relationship.
Follow up with your team: Finally, touch base with the people you went with and those you left back at home base. How did it go? What were the goals you set for the trade show? Did you meet them?
Determining your success will help you decide what you did well and what you did better. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start crafting a plan for your next trade show!
Attending a trade show is a great way to build awareness for your brand and generate new leads. That said, trade shows are just one component of a well-rounded marketing strategy.
Give us a call to discuss other ways you can make your marketing more effective!