Anticipation is the best kind of excitement!
That positive feeling when you’re looking forward to something fun is simply unbeatable. Whether you’re checking out the lineup for a festival or exploring new attractions at the Efteling, the thrill of anticipation adds to the excitement.
The same goes for trade show visitors. They eagerly look forward to the event, whether they’re scouting for innovations, seeking solutions for their new menu, or simply enjoying the great atmosphere, inspiration, and tasty snacks.
As an exhibitor, you can capitalize on this sense of anticipation. Create your own buzz by announcing your participation in advance. Use social media, email, trade magazines, and a well-crafted landing page on your website to give visitors a sneak peek of what you have to offer. By personally inviting your clients and prospects, you significantly increase the chances they’ll visit your stand. After all, wouldn’t you be more likely to respond to a personal invitation than a generic one in trade media?
Example: How to Attract People to Your Stand
In your pre-event personal invitation, create an incentive to draw customers and prospects to your stand. Consider adding a creative action as an extra trigger in your invitation. Here’s an example:
Send your invitation email for the trade fair to all your clients and prospects, inviting them personally and explaining why they should visit your stand. Add an extra incentive, such as: “Register your visit to our stand in advance and enter for a chance to win a hot air balloon ride.” Simple yet highly effective.
A great bonus is that you can use the hot air balloon theme in your post-event communication, reinforcing the connection and keeping the engagement going.
Hospitality, Experience, and Quality
At the trade show, make sure your visitors enjoy top-notch hospitality, immersive experiences, and quality interactions. Before the event, clearly define and document your trade show goals—whether it’s introducing an innovation, deepening relationships with existing clients, attracting new customers, or pushing high-margin products. You don’t want interested visitors to leave your stand anonymously. With the organizer’s scan system, collecting visitor data is technically straightforward, enabling you to follow up after the event.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
With hundreds of exhibitors at a trade show, visitors are bombarded with impressions. Set yourself apart by thanking your visitors the same day. Send a follow-up email with a photo of your stand, your offerings, or a profile picture of the relevant sales rep to ensure they remember you.
In your follow-up, differentiate between those who placed an order and those who showed interest. At least 50% of your contacts will be prospects with potential—keep them engaged and advance them in their decision-making process. Send them a follow-up email two days later with a clear call-to-action. Entice them with options like watching a video, downloading an inspiring online magazine, or signing up for a demo, depending on your objectives.
From here, continue providing valuable information at regular intervals, such as bi-weekly or monthly. Maintain engagement with calls-to-action, like requesting a sample or scheduling a sales call. This could be through your regular email newsletter.
Sales Follow-Up
The day after the trade show, the sales follow-up begins. Allocate sufficient time for this task, as post-show follow-up can be a multi-day job requiring prioritization. Start with the prospects showing the most potential. Use any additional notes or questions from the visitor registration app to guide your approach. Prospects who interacted more with your emails, such as opening or downloading content, should be given priority in follow-up calls.
How Can We Help?
We can assist you in extending your trade show experience and maximizing your results. Whether you need strategic advice or help with specific tasks, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Let’s work together to make your trade show participation a success!
- What do you want to achieve?
- What is your concept, and why should customers or prospects?
- Through online communication, we familiarize customers and prospects with your concept.
- We announce your trade fair participation so that customers, contacts, and prospects know you’re there and, more importantly, understand why they should visit your stand
- You personally invite your customers and prospects to visit your stand. This invitation can be enhanced with an additional call to action, as mentioned in the example.
- Together, we ensure the effective translation of your objectives into the trade show days using digital tools and your trade show team.
- We work with you to create the appropriate thank-you email following their visit to your stand.
- After sending the thank-you email, we don’t stop there; we ensure the right follow-up communication to help move the prospect further along in their decision-making process.
- Through a structured process, prospects are followed up with via online communication. ‘Hot leads’ are passed on to the sales team for personalized follow-up, with the ultimate goal of converting them into customers for your product or service
The investment involves both your time and that of your team. You’ll handle the content, as you know your product or service best. We will ensure the right tone and call-to-actions to generate the desired responses from your campaign.
Don’t worry if you don’t have an email system; we can handle that for you if needed.
The final amount will depend on your specific needs and what you choose to outsource to us.
Keep in mind that significant work is involved: a working session, campaign development, campaign execution, and evaluation. We’re committed to working hard for you, using our proven, unique method.
In our initial conversation, we’ll review everything with you. There’s no obligation until you agree with the approach outlined in our proposal.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research 2017