Event and Trade Show Marketing

Why Are You Attending?

Before you choose the show are attending you must understand what you are looking to achieve - to raise your profile, to introduce new a product or service or to find new clients with your existing portfolio.

Plan Your Promotion

You must plan your marketing for pre-show, at-show and post-show. Define a budget and develop a meaningful theme or message which will help you have a good Trade Show. Use your CRM solution to target the contacts you want to invite and have promotional material for both customers and prospects relating to each product or service you are going to be exhibiting. Marketing could include direct mail, broadcast faxes, e-mail and the Internet.

Give Visitors An Incentive To Visit You

When marketing your Trade Show make sure that you give visitors a reason to visit you. Customers will be looking for a "what's new!" and you will attract visitors if you are promoting a new technology or service. If you do not have anything different find an new angle to make prospects want to see you by using giveaways and promotions - remember once they are talking to you have your sales opportunity.

Your Staff Are Your Leads

You will see a lot of prospects at the Trade Show so your staff will be the difference between success and failure. Every staff member should have a target of leads with the correct contact details and interests. Find a good balance between selling your company and spending too long with one customer - your staff should be able to sell the key features, your company and take the lead without letting too many other prospects walk away without being spoken to. Don't forget you will have all the time you need after the show!

Use CRM to Follow-Up Leads Quickly

The key to your tradeshow success is in your lead-management process and the best time to plan this is before the Trade Show. Once you have returned to the office sales leads often take second place to other activities as you have been out of the office for several days. The longer leads are left unattended the harder it will be to book an appointment and the more chance a competitor will contact them before you. Have a structured approach to the follow-ups and use a lead handling system such as ACT! by Sage or Microsoft Dynamics CRM, set time lines for follow-ups and measure your results.

Contact Redfoot Solutions to see how CRM can help track your Trade Show leads