When does your trade show strategy actually begin? Is it when you finally have your exhibit set up? Or the moment your first visitor walks into your booth?
The truth is, your trade show strategy goes into action long before the convention hall doors open. That’s why it’s important to have your lead nurturing strategy planned thoroughly, thoughtfully, and well in advance of the event.
Here are five tips to nurture trade show leads before they visit your booth:
1.) Use targeted ads to reach your trade show audience
Facebook and Instagram ads are an effective way to reach a specific audience with information about your business and your trade show exhibit.
Keep your ads simple and direct, making sure you touch on the topics that a brand new audience will find most important:
- The problems and challenges your product/service helps solve
- Showcasing satisfied customers (consider linking your ad to a case study)
- How your company differs from your competition in terms of customer service, warranties or guarantees offered, and the overall quality of your product/service
Plus, remember to offer an incentive to visit your booth. Free consultations or estimates, helpful resources, and savings opportunities are all offers that incentivize your audience to visit your booth during the trade show.
2.) Reach out to past attendees
If you’ve exhibited at this trade show before, be sure to contact any leads you gathered from that event. Let them know you’ll be there, and what benefits they might enjoy if they were to stop by your booth.
Even if previous leads have been unresponsive in the past, there’s a good chance that new business needs have arisen since you last reached out. These prior attendees also have some level of awareness of your brand, so it may be easier to encourage them to visit your exhibit.
3.) Let your current customers know you’ll be there
Even though your current customers are not new sales leads, visiting with them at your next trade show is a good way to strengthen your business relationships. So, make sure your current partners know to look for your booth.
Another piece of this strategy is to ensure that your booth staff is up to speed on current projects and knows how to respond to potential questions from current customers.
4.) Work with an exhibit house so you can focus on marketing, not booth issues
Partnering with an exhibit house means your team can spend time and energy on nurturing leads rather than on the logistics of getting your booth designed, built, shipped, set up, taken down, and stored.
With those details handled, you can place more attention on developing and executing a lucrative trade show marketing strategy.
5.) Make sure you have a solid follow-up system in place
Once the trade show doors close and you have generated a list of brand new sales leads, one of the most important phases of your strategy begins. These leads now need to be smoothly transferred to your sales team, with all necessary notes and details intact.
Additionally, your sales team should have the strategy and tools they need to follow up with the leads. This includes using a CRM, access to sales materials and media, and a clear understanding of the sales cycle. Proper follow-up is essential to turn new leads into customers and customers into brand advocates.
Ready to start designing your trade show booth? Exhibit Options can help! From booth design to the trade show floor, we understand that your exhibit is an important piece of a larger marketing strategy for your business. Don’t hesitate to reach out today.
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