In this slideshare, discover 10 proven tips on maximizing your results from tradeshow follow up campaigns.
In this visually engaging presentation, you'll learn:
- why prompt response to tradeshow leads is critical
- how to successfully qualify leads by offering a range of "next steps"
- what you should and shouldn't do in your follow up email
- why ongoing nurture is a necessity after your initial follow up email
...and more.
Research has long suggested that the majority of leads generated by trade shows never receive follow-up by company representatives. Don't let that be you!
3. Leads have a short shelf life. Have your follow-up campaign
designed and ready to launch so that response emails can go out
immediately upon leads entering the system. A prompt,
professional, tailored response is a great way to make your
company stand out from the competition who may take days or
weeks to respond.
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5. Most trade show leads are routinely ignored by sales. The best use
of a follow-up campaign is to qualify leads by offering a range of
options for further engagement. Any response (e.g. a white paper
download, a demo request) can help uncover hot leads that might
otherwise be missed, or at the very least can help sales prioritize
which leads merit being called first.
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6. A follow-up email should be targeted and relevant to a
specific show.
7. Using the same follow-up email to every show is the surest way
to get your message ignored. Be sure to always identify the
specific show, by name, in the subject line, and in the first
paragraph, at minimum.
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9. Never say “to learn more” or “for more information.” Instead,
provide the prospect specific, tangible options for engaging with
your company: “download our free white paper,” “request a
personal demo,” “watch our 3-minute overview video.”
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11. Follow-up emails are a great place to remind the prospect of
announcements you made at the show. But don’t overdo it. The
last thing a prospect wants to read is a re-hashed press release.
Make sure that your email is designed to drive action, not just
spread the gospel about your new product.
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13. Usually, marketing best practice dictates that an email focus on
one offer and one call to action. Trade show follow-up emails are
the exception to that rule. For example, if the only option you
provide attendees is to request a demo, you’ll only hear from a
small subset of leads, albeit those most sales-ready. Provide 2-3
options that appeal to a range of prospects at various stages of
the selling cycle, for example: request a demo, download a white
paper, subscribe to our newsletter.
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15. Personalize each email with the name of the assigned rep (or SDR)
for that prospect, and include the rep’s phone number and
personal email address at the end of the message. Someone who’s
attended a tradeshow may be ready to contact sales directly.
Make it easy to do so.
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17. Including a photo of your booth, crowded with eager, interested
prospects, can help remind attendees who your company is
amongst the hundreds they talked to at the show. Just keep the
photo relatively small so that it doesn’t force more valuable
selling copy down the page.
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18. Develop one, core email template specifically for
trade show campaigns.
19. One well-designed email template can do double duty and
cover both show leads (those prospects who registered at your
booth) and also any larger list of show attendees (provided to
you as an exhibitor). Design, key message and calls to action
can be the same; just change the introduction and any other
associated language from “thank for your visiting our booth” to
“sorry we missed you.”
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20. Have a specific, tailored plan for ongoing nurturing to
follow your initial email.
21. Don’t just dump show leads into your marketing database or sign
them up for your monthly newsletter indiscriminately. At the very
least, point leads into an email track tailored for their specific
product interest or vertical market. Consider a triggered program
of 2-3 emails in the days following the show (offering varying
types of informational content) so that prospects don’t wait weeks
until they next hear from you.
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22. Spear Marketing Group is a full-service demand generation agency
that helps B2B technology companies generate, nurture, and
convert leads to revenue. Our services include email marketing,
search engine marketing (SEM), content syndication, lead
nurturing, digital advertising, social media, and content
development. For more information, visit us on the Web at
www.spearmarketing.com
Additional resources:
White Paper: Top 10 B2B Email Marketing Mistakes
White Paper: Effective Lead Generation Offers for High-Technology Companies
Blog: The Point – Best Practices & Principles in B2B Demand Generation