Post trade show marketing is vital for acting on the opportunities that arise from interactions during the show itself. Sales don’t always close on the trade show floor. That’s especially true in industries like food and beverage, where multiple decision-makers are involved in purchasing decisions.
Accurate contact information is vital for follow-up efforts. Collecting details from guests at your booth is a good start. This can include social media handles, which can be leveraged as part of your broader marketing efforts. Use the accurate contact information for post-trade show marketing. As an example, have databases that are regularly updated and cleansed. That can help you ensure that you don’t lose out on potentially valuable opportunities.
How do you approach post-trade show marketing?
After you gather all the essential information, credentials of your guests and potential partners you met at the trade show, you should send a follow-up email.
If your company uses a marketing automation system tied to your website, use it. Be sure to load the contacts you made into that system. For the majority of leads, you or members of your sales team will simply be sending a personalized, follow-up email. Be sure to thank them for visiting your booth and provide answers to any questions you promised regarding your products.
Write and Share on your Social Media Channels
Assuming your company already has its content strategy in place, you should know that blogging is the key to that strategy.
After the trade show, write a short article to recap the tradeshow, any speakers, and demonstrations. As an example, you can share an exciting story during the show. Include in your blog any activities you have provided at your booth, such as food tasting. If you hosted a giveaway at your booth, make sure to write about it and capture readers’ attention.
Share any pictures you took at the show, including those of your booth and your team.
Go thru your leads, business cards, and notes to see if there are people you met that you can connect with on Linkedin, or Like their business page. Then, make yourself more memorable by including a personal note or comment along with the connection.
Personalized Post Trade Show Follow Up Emails
When sending a follow-up email, you don’t want to end up in the spam folder that will never open. For that reason, you should prepare a personalized email blast with relevant information and content. Include a thank-you note and anything that you promised to send them at the trade show.
That can be as simple as your speech recording, interesting research, or a third-party blog post you found that is relevant to the trade show you both attended.
As you start sending out emails and newsletters to your prospects, ensure consistency in your send-outs. Above all, try to include in your message a specific marketing aim. Make sure that your replies are regular and the recipients are not held off for weeks to receive a response.
Also, make direct contact information prominent in your replies so that the recipients can easily contact you. In addition to having consistency, you also want to leave a line in your email blasts to opt-out of receiving emails if they are not interested.
Be realistic
It is OK to send emails irregularly. Moreover, you want to make sure you have all the relevant information gathered that will be of value to your recipients.
Not every lead will become your esteemed client after the show. Despite resilient efforts, you may still lose out on prospects due to a change in the prospects’ preference or external influences. The basics of the outstanding lead nurturing approach come down to how efficient you are in persuading your leads about the credibility of your brand and products.
Therefore, maintaining consistent contact and developing trust helps a business in retaining a customer for life. You can run an effective campaign that positions your brand and maximizes your ROI with all the above-mentioned post-marketing strategies. Finally, if this all becomes too much and you need an extra hand, we can help your brand with all digital media and newsletter follow-ups.