After the Show
One of the biggest complaints from visitors is that exhibitors do not follow them up. Can you believe it? After all that work you fail at the last hurdle. Here are some tips to ensure that you follow up visitors effectively and get the best return from your investment:
1. Make sure you are collecting visitor details during the event. It might be using a scanner, filling out lead forms or just collecting cards. It does not matter as long as you capture details and some notes.
2. Straight after the show get all the leads into a single database. Work quickly and outsource the data entry if necessary. If you don't have a cutomer database system then just put it in a spreadsheet.
3. Send an email to every lead thanking them for their interest. If you don't have a customer contact system then you can use the mail merge feature in Microsoft Office. For more info click here.
4. Allocate leads to salespeople and let them know you will be tracking the results. They should respond immediately to any specific requests, or simply jump on the phone and see how they can help customers.
5. Have your sales people report their results at sales meetings. Use your original database or spreadsheet to ensure that everyone is contacted. Don't let regular business stop you from contacting these new customers.
6. If you are a one-person band then it is even more important to push yourself. Set targets, block out time for making calls and monitor your results. Use technology and outsourcing to make yourself more efficient .
7. What else? Add the names to your newsletter mailing lists, and if you are active on social media then you might consider connecting with customers on Facebook and Linked-In.
Don't be the exhibitor who puts all the cards in their desk and does not look at them for months. You should be the one that surprises your customers by getting back to them quickly. To make this happen you should be planning the follow-up before the show even starts. Good luck!
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