Good trade show follow through means meeting after the show to review with your colleagues.
The show is over. Everything is in storage, ready for the next event, and you’re back at the office. Now, it’s time to get your return on investment. You’ll need a good trade show follow through plan. Start with organizing all of the contacts and personal information, or notes taken during the show. These may have already been entered into your CRM. If you don’t have a database, then use a spreadsheet. Either way, it’s time to get in touch with these folks.
Here are 8 steps to follow through with all of your contacts and leads.
- Bring everyone together: Each team member has information, too. It’s time to pool together their information. This is where you can assign order of importance for each lead. Timing is important, so don’t let those hot leads cool off.
- Divvy up the work: A team meeting will get everyone on the same page and make the load manageable.
- Practice your pitch: The sales pitch after a show should be easy to remember, quickly delivered and friendly. It also needs to be passed on and rehearsed.
- Continue the conversation: Give them a call and try to reconnect, using the personal and professional notes from the show.
- Connect on social media: Connections with show attendees grows your market reach and provides new-quality leads.
- Marketing activities: One way to grab attention is to send e-newsletters with interesting content. This may include statistics on the trade show, who was in attendance, and anything that happened while there. You can sneak in a product announcement in there, as well.
- Be respectful. There are ways to make negative impressions, such as being pushy and rude. Stay positive and maintain a respectful approach to garnering attention. Be respectful and be persistent, not aggressive.
- Debriefing meeting: Sharing the success, shortcomings, and failures is a great way to improve for the next show. The only way to do this is to be honest and mission focused, leaving personal issues aside for the sake of the bigger picture.
One of the goals for every show is making it a positive experience for visitors to your booth, as well as your employees working there. Maybe it’s time to try something new, like technology and interactivity, to add to your experience. Some of the things on your list after your trade show follow through may take several months, such as additions to the booth or redesign. Plan your next show well in advance and you’ll be able to capitalize on the things you learned.
ADM Two staff are experts on display design and fabrication, so give us a call at (813) 887-1960 and one of our knowledgeable staff can assist you with your display, no matter where your event takes place. Also, check out some of our other articles to get more information on trade show booth layout, trade show graphics, and etiquette.