It is reported that 80% of the leads taken at trade shows by exhibitors are never followed up on. That has been my observation too. And, given the investment made on tradeshows, this is astounding.
But when you look at research showing how tradeshow attendees buy from exhibitors, Yomiko classics this lack of follow-up becomes even more distressing.
90% of attendees use exhibitions as the #1 source for purchase information
48% need to hear from an exhibitor only 1x to make a buying decision
57% will make a purchase decision within 12 months
Here are three follow-up strategies to make sure YOU don't fall into this wasteland of tradeshow madness:
1. Promote Your Presence: Compile a report on the show. What was hot? What was not? Who was there? What are the industry takeaways? Distribute this report to all of your company's prospects by email or mail. This allows you to promote your presence to those who did not attend the show, and gives you another touchpoint that establishes your credibility with information they would be interested in. Be sure the report includes show-wide coverage and not just what your company was up to.
2. Follow-up Within 5 Days: All leads should be immediately responded to by phone, email, and/or phone. As I've mentioned before, I recommend you send a follow-up package to your hottest leads from the show, so it arrives before your prospect returns. Then have the sales team call these leads within the first two days of returning to be sure they received the package and to set next steps. For the remaining leads, divide the contacts into two types 1) Booth Visitors and 2) Show Attendees. ALL booth visitors must receive a phone call from someone. You can further divide visitors into true leads (looking to buy) and warm prospects (have need, but not ready to buy). Sales should follow up on leads. Marketing can do a lead qualification call campaign on prospects. For show attendees who did not visit your booth, send a direct mail piece to drive them to your website. One lead magnet idea would be to promote your show review on your website and drive attendees who didn't visit you to download their copy and receive a show promo item.
3. Show Analysis: I know it sounds morbid, but conduct a trade show post mortem meeting where you review trip reports, results, and anecdotal data from all company representatives who attended the show. Have each employee give a go/no-go rating for whether you should attend again. And, if they vote go, find out what would they change to improve the results next time. Tuck this information away and use it the next time you begin planning for this tradeshow!
While tradeshows are a lasting and important piece to most companies' marketing mix, they are also an expensive bite out of the budget. Make sure you do determine your follow-up strategy well in advance...and then FOLLOW THROUGH...and you'll be ahead of the pack! Go-To-Market Strategies is a resource center for sales and marketing professionals and business leaders. Our tools, templates, and services help companies achieve big aspirations with limited budgets.
Visit our website for [store-templates.com]sales and marketing templates and access to free downloads or browse more articles.
No comments:
Post a Comment