As we all know, the real work doesn’t being until we get back to the office.
We’ve talked about how you can prepare for a trade show and what to do during the show. Now we continue our trade show series discussing what you can do after the show to ensure you get the maximum return for your efforts.
1) Keep Your Promises
If you told someone during the show that you would send him or her a brochure, make sure you do it. The same goes for if you promised to follow up with other information or to set up a meeting.
Up to 80% of trade show leads aren’t followed up on, so just being in that 20% puts you one step closer to closing the sale.
While I’m a big believer in following up on all leads, hot or cold, people who request a brochure or other information should get your initial attention. These are strong leads that need to be followed up on quickly.
2) Measure Your Success
After following up with your important leads, get together with your team and revisit your goals. How did you do? Were the goals appropriate? Should they be adjusted going further?
Consider evaluating your performance both right after the trade show and a couple of months down the road.
Short-term evaluations can be helpful when preparing for the next show. You can brainstorm what went well, what didn’t, and how you can improve. Sometimes a small tactical adjustment can make a big difference.
Long-term evaluations help you analyze how those leads turned into sales.
3) Publish Your Experience
Share your experience with everyone. Write a blog post. Tweet about your favorite moment, and share pictures of the event with your followers. Get as many people involved as you can by tagging clients or companies in relevant comments and pictures.
Not only is this a great way to say thank you, but it also reminds prospects about your brand, which is important, because you probably weren’t the only company they talked to that day.
Trade shows can be chaotic and exhausting, but you have to finish strong to see the best return possible.
How do you measure your trade show success?