We're here to help with another cheat sheet — this time on turning trade show leads into customers.
We're here to help with another cheat sheet — this time on turning trade show leads into customers.
1. Say thank you. Simple enough, yet often overlooked in the post-event process. While understandable — you're eager to get a prospect in the sales funnel — don't bypass a golden opportunity to open the conversation softly. This person had choices on who spend their time with, and they spent it with you. Acknowledging that, versus going for the hard sale, will set you apart from competitors.
2. Connect on LinkedIn. While all social media is powerful, LinkedIn is especially helpful to the business community. So put it to work to learn more about a prospect's background, mutual connections, and interests. Immediately after thank you notes have gone out, send the prospect a connection request on LinkedIn. But make sure you include a message with the request, so it feels genuine. Practical information to include is the names of mutual contacts or details from your recent conversation.
3. Personalize follow-up. Speaking of personalized connections, make sure that any relevant content you're sending is personalized appropriately. Use their name in the greeting and tailor the message to speak to their interests and challenges. Remember, they want to know how you will solve their problems, and content that addresses that from the start is a great approach.
4. Send invitations. Do you have a customer event coming up? Are you exhibiting at another conference? Invite your new prospect to join you. Invitations are an excellent opportunity to build off the momentum of your first meeting and demonstrate a commitment to getting to know your prospect. There's a lot to be gained from hosting someone at a networking event on-site or even paying their conference registration if budget allows.
5. Utilize segmentation. Depending on the size of your leads list, individual personalization gets time-consuming. Segmentation not only makes the work manageable for you but also lends itself to a personalized approach. If you've never segmented your marketing list, it's easy. Simply put prospective customers into sub-groups based on common needs. By doing this, you can go in-depth with your communications and tailor the messaging to meet their unique challenges and maximize your time.
Think post-event, pre-event
As odd as it may sound, having a seamless post-event strategy before leaving for the event will be crucial to conversion. Have email templates, email copy, infographics, eBooks, white papers, or any other content you're planning to share ready on the final event day. The sooner you get in front of a prospect once they're back in the office, the more likely you are to keep them engaged and interested in your product or services.
And one last thought, make sure you're tracking your types of engagement and what is or is not working. Those additional data points will be helpful for future planning.
It's time to put your event leads list to work for you! So, get started today and watch your network grow.
Author: Marketeery delivers on-point marketing services for companies who sell, service, and integrate technology as your business focus. We understand your industry and lift you above the digital noise to differentiate your company from your competitors. www.marketeery.com