Signing up for that trade show is just the beginning. The way you run your booth, the people you bring and even the items you give away will have a big impact on how well you do at the show. How many leads you generate and the overall return on your investment will be directly impacted by the energy and excitement your team can generate.
These tips will help ensure you are the center of attention at your next show and help you capture the most leads to maximize ROI at your next event.
Start Early Capturing Leads
Want a steady flow of traffic to your booth – and to pique other visitors interest? Make sure you get in touch with some of your prospects before the show even starts. Send an email blast (using published attendee lists), start using the social media hashtags for your show and reach out on all your channels to let your prospects and customers know you’ll be in attendance. Let them know you have an awesome gift or giveaway waiting for them and make an appointment. You’re there to get found by new prospects, but having your other leads already waiting to line up and see you will help get your booth buzzing and generate interest.
Fun Booth Design
Make sure your booth is dynamic and compelling – even if your design or brand is not elaborate, you can still conduct fun demos, plan exciting giveaways and do other promotions to gather attention. A boring display with a few employees seated in chairs simply isn’t going to attract much attention. The fun you choose is up to you, but incorporating a few fun touches into your display and planning some attention-getting promotions can help you get the numbers and generate the leads that you are hoping for.
Swag that Stands Out (AKA not another keychain)
Giveaways make it easy to attract guests, but a boring pen or tote bag may not generate much interest. The swag you choose needs to be relevant to your brand, useful or novel in some way and be something that the visitor actually wants to get. Take the time to source dynamic and appealing items that will resonate with your customer – -if you are just buying a promo because it is cheap or because you have to, you’re wasting your money. For guests who fly in to attend, your promo has to not only be appealing enough to pick up, but be liked enough to score a spot in the suitcase on the way home. Think out your promo pieces carefully to be sure you are really going to be able to attract leads with your swag.
Run a Contest
Want visitors to practically beg you to take their information? Run a contest and allow them to play right in the booth. You could just pull a business card out of a fish bowl, but most prospects won’t be impressed. Instead, run an innovative instant win right on an iPad or Android tablet. Your guests will line up to play and enjoy interacting with the tablet and getting instant results. You’ll love the steady stream of traffic and leads that a great prize and a fun entry process can generate.
Eye the Competition
Bring along some extra staffers and make sure they (and you) have time to explore the trade show floor to see what your competitors are doing. From the technology they are using to their demos and even the swag that is resonating with visitors, you can learn a lot just by looking. Whether your visit inspires you to try new things or simply validates your own decision, the show is a valuable opportunity to see your competitors in action.
Follow Up Promptly
The whole reason for attending a show is to gain fresh leads for your sales team. Make sure you are following up correctly and quickly. You’ll need to set aside extra time after the show to follow up with everyone who visited. The follow-up will depend on who the visitor was and where they are in the sales journey. Do they just need some quick thanks, do you need to verify their order or do they need additional information? If you’ve used an iPad lead capture app to capture more that just lead contact information at the show, you’ll have everything you need to follow up and max out your ROI.
Signing up for that trade show is just the beginning. The way you run your booth, the people you bring and even the items you give away will have a big impact on how well you do at the show. How many leads you generate and the overall return on your investment will be directly impacted by the energy and excitement your team can generate. These tips will help ensure you are the center of attention at your next show and help you maximize your ROI at your next event.
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