Follow up after a trade show is just as crucial as your actions during the trade show. Our friends at Nimlok describe 7 important tips for trade show follow up below (original article here).
Respond with a Follow Up within 24 to 48 Hours
The absolute best tip for following up after a trade show is to do it quickly. A prompt response may be exactly what you need to set your company apart from the competition. If you have a follow up campaign already set up and ready to go, it will make things much easier. In fact, if you’re collecting emails via tablets or kiosks, you can have your follow up emails scheduled and ready for delivery.
Fully Qualify Leads with Options
When it comes to following up with the leads you gain from trade shows, qualifying the leads will help. You want to offer options, such as white paper downloads, demo requests, estimates or something else matching with your company’s sales process. This will help to uncover the hottest leads, which may be missed without using this stem.
Vary Your Follow-Up Email from Show to Show
When you send out the same follow-up email after every trade show, you won’t get the same response you’re hoping for. Make sure you identify the show and the location of the show by name in the subject or in the first paragraph with your follow-up email.
Keep the Follow-Up Specific
Trying to promote too many things in one follow-up isn’t going to gain you more paying customers. Instead, you want to use one of the marketing best practices and make the follow-up laser focused. Use only one call to action and one offer in the email. If you have multiple things to offer, do so in additional emails or through your website.
Include Your Booth
A picture of your booth will go a long way to reminding prospects of your company and what you offered at the show. This will also help you to stand out, but don’t make the picture too big or it may take forever to load when the email is opened.
Personalize the Email
Not only should you include the prospects first name, if possible, but you should also include the name of the assigned sales rep for that specific prospect. They may remember the person they spoke with at the show better than they remember your company. This can go a long way to ensure they become a customer.
Have a Follow-Up Plan
The follow-up process doesn’t end after the first email or even the second email. You need a full follow-up plan allowing you to take as many prospects and turn them into customers as possible. Two or three emails quickly after the show are just the start. From there, you can get any leads not becoming customers into a second follow-up system with newsletters or regular emails to keep them engaged with your brand.
There are several ways to ensure your follow-up system helps you gain the best ROI possible from every trade show. The biggest mistake you can make is not following up at all.
