Trade Shows
Get the Most From Your Booth - Part 3

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Get The Most From Your Trade Show Booth - Part III - The All Important Follow-Up
In this, the third part of our trilogy of tips for a successful trade show exhibit, we will discuss not only following up on the leads or prospects you have received from the show, but also tracking those leads through the course of your business year.

We can't stress enough the importance of follow-up. We'll harp on it just one more time (we promise). You don't want to be perceived as sitting down on the job. If you or your staff made a contact at the trade show and said you will be in contact with that prospect soon, make it sooner rather than later. You are interested in their business. So go get it!

The Basic Follow-Up

1. All leads should be contacted within one week - No exceptions.
2. Your hot leads should be contacted first, then your warm leads, etc.
3. You can contact your leads either by phone or by mail, but contact them.
4. Whether by phone or mail, when you contact them, don't assume they remember you from the show. They probably came into contact with many people at the show (and elsewhere during their normal course of business.) And, unlike you who subscribes to The Marketing Partner, they may not have been taking notes when they met you. Therefore, when you contact them, make sure you include:
   • Who you are.
   • Where you met.
   • What you spoke about. (See, all that note taking does make sense.) Include references to your conversation. It helps personalize the contact and differentiates it from a cold call.
   • Thank them for coming to your booth.
   • Include a next step. If writing, let them know you'll be calling within a week. If calling, try to arrange a meeting, etc.

Follow Up on Show Promotions

1. If you mailed out or distributed a coupon or other redeemable promotion before or during the show, make sure winners are notified in a very timely manner.
2. Track the show promotions to determine how many people participated and how successful they were.
3. You might even consider notifying all the participants about the winner(s) being awarded.

Track All Leads from the Show

1. There's no secret here, just good business sense. Track how many sales resulted from meeting someone at the show compared with just being seen at the show. Also compare with leads and sales that have nothing to do with the show.
2. The short-term comparison will help you determine if you need to beef up your staff at the show for next year or keep the status quo.
3. A long-term comparison over a number of years will help you determine if you want to have a larger presence, a smaller presence or no presence at all.

Prior to Trade Show Follow-Up, The Marketing Partner offered tips about pre-show promotion and preparation; and about conducting business the day of the show. If you missed one or both of these trade show tips, please visit the Marketing Partners website at mpus.com. You'll be able to access those and previous issues of The Marketing Partner.

The Marketing Partner comments and submissions to info@mpus.com.

Previous issues are on our website at http://mpus.com/tmp/index.html.

Marketing Partners Incorporated
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Columbia, Maryland 21046-1561 USA

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Revised July 2011