Imagine the effort that goes into organizing an event, the trade show ideas, showcasing products, efforts put in by your trade show stand builder, and efforts put in by your trained staff to grab the attention of your booth. So what do you do after the trade show is over? Of course, you would want to nurture the relationships with your old and new customers. Your efforts can convert the visitors into leads in the future and your updates can even make some of the visitors visit the event when organized again. Exhibitors put extra effort to nurture relationships with important contacts. Not only customers, but it also includes other exhibitors you made a connection with during the trade show. You never know when something clicks and gets converted into a great business idea together.
When preparing for the trade show the aspects that need careful consideration are-
Goals and objectives – What are the goals and objectives that you wish to achieve through the trade show?
Exhibition stand – What kind of exhibition stand will best suit your requirement? What is your budget and what best purchase or rental can you afford for your exhibition stand in the trade show event that can help you multiply your efforts?
Advertising – How to publicize your presence in a trade show events to visitors and other exhibitors through social media or other marketing campaigns.
Benefit – What benefit can you offer your visitors if they visit your exhibition booth and what benefits can you draw out efficiently from the time-limited trade show event?
You can focus on the trade show goals while exhibiting but it is also important to focus on after-trade show goals. You can reuse the custom exhibit stands or approach the exhibition stand contractor for rentals for the new future event. Meanwhile, you sit and work on relationship-building with customers and peers. Many times exhibitors focus on the trade fair and management at the time of the trade show while not much emphasis is given to the follow-up after the trade show ends. However, the end of the trade show is the beginning of your business growth. It requires effort on your part to follow –up after the trade show but it can turn around your situation if done efficiently. It can even cover up the gaps that happened during your trade show management and can generate very good business leads depending upon how well-crafted your follow-up approach is.
For the newcomers in the exhibition industry here is a list of important tips for keeping in touch after the trade show ends.
Personalized emails: Add the visitors to your mailing list but while emailing keep your emails personalized to the email address of the recipient to avoid ending up in the spam folder. No one likes impersonal mass emails. The personalized form of emailing makes your recipient more relevant and you make them feel important.
Blog about the event: After the event is over, make an effort to blog about the event and post it on your website or share it with your contacts to refresh their memory about the event. Chances are they are likely to remember what they have experienced and you might end up receiving a query or purchase order from some of the visitors. After all, taking time to analyze what we have seen and making a calm decision to purchase cannot always happen on the exhibition floor. In many cases blogging and slightly more add-on information about the product can help visitors make up their minds about investment.
Nurture relationships: It is possible to remain in the good books of the visitors if you go the extra mile to nurture the relationship with the contacts you have saved during the trade show. A small email wishing them on their birthday or anniversary can help you be in their memory line and you never know how it can prove to be of benefit to you in long run. Consider it as a part of your advertising tool. I remember an incident where I consecutively received a phone call every year wishing happy anniversary from a particular restaurant we visited on our anniversary. It felt so nice to receive a call from them every year that we chose the same restaurant for our anniversary celebrations many times.
Connect via social media: Social media is coming up to be a very efficient tool when it comes to connecting with people. You can create a Facebook page and politely ask your visitors to follow the page where you can post new updates regarding your products and services. You can use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram as marketing tools to reach a wide audience. Several social media tools are available these days which can help you connect with the contacts you have made during the trade show and can communicate effectively about your products and services.
Also include contacts who aren’t your customers: You come across a wide group of people from all across the globe in your trade show event. Not all of them could be your customers. But someone just landed on your booth to enquire about your product to analyze if there’s something new or unique that you are offering. Take this opportunity in your favor by making a follow–up gesture after the show. It will remind them of their visit to your booth and you never know, it’s a matter of chance that they might like to try out your products. You might be more cost-effective or unique for them and they might wish to explore more about your services. Do not underestimate the power of a small follow-up after the trade show in completely turning around the situation in your favor.
Pay attention to your follow-up time: The right time for the follow-up is very essential. Contact your leads the following week after the trade show ends. Contacting when the memory is still fresh about the trade show can impact more than if you contact after a gap of a few weeks.
