How to Follow Up After a Trade Show

Posted by Cat Virca in Tips, Trends

After the event is finished and your exhibit is being packed away, the work isn’t over yet. Complete your post-show analysis as soon as possible after the trade show while the experience is still fresh in your mind. A recent article by Trade-show-advisor.com offers effective follow up strategies that can make a drastic difference in your trade show results.

Focus on High-Potential Leads. Prioritize outreach based on high quality leads. If possible, assign each lead to the person he or she spoke to at the trade show. Phone calls are the best course of action when following up, but all leads should receive an email from you shortly after the show. Whether the lead turns out good or bad, it’s an easy way to thank them for stopping by your booth and provide them with additional information. If a qualified leads responds well, you can follow with a more detailed email campaign or business proposal.

Determine ROI. After contacting your leads and starting the process of converting them to customers, you can analyze the data to determine your return on investment. Divide the cost of the show by the number of leads to define the cost per lead. This figure will give you an estimate of how profitable the event was and help you budget for future shows. Calculate how much revenue was generated from each converted customer to determine your profits from a given trade show.

Plan for the future. The data collected from an event helps you identify what needs to be done for your next trade show. Think about what went well, what went wrong, how well you captured leads, and any unexpected issues you faced. Were your leads useful? Did you achieve your goals for this event? Answering these questions will build a foundation for future improvement.

Read the full article.