Maximise event investment in four steps
In-person events are a fantastic way to build your relationships with current, new and prospective clients. They also come with a significant price tag, so you want to do everything you can to maximise event investment.
In the world of B2B sales, events like trade shows and exhibitions are a great marketing tool, and one of the best ways to connect with a huge pool of current and target customers in a short period of time.
However, a lot hinges on that short period of time – usually just one to three days – so to amplify the results from your investment, you need to have a solid plan in place to extract maximum impact.
Here are our top four tips to ensure you maximise event investment.
- Don’t skimp
A common mistake exhibitors make at events is opting for a budget stand set-up.
We’ve all seen these stands, home to little more than a table, some chairs and a few brochures.
But it’s not enough to simply have a stand at an event – it also needs to look appealing, warm and inviting. People need to want to stop, spend time there and talk to you.
Your stand gives potential customers a split-second impression of your brand – you need to make sure that passing traffic clocks you as someone they want to engage with and invest their time with.
2. Have the right people on your stand
Similarly, there’s nothing worse at an event than walking past stands where the staff working at them have their heads buried in laptops.
You need to ensure you have the right team available to work at the event – engaging team members that can draw people into your stand, then engage in the productive conversations that give potential clients the right impression of you in a limited timeframe.
3. Connect with prospects pre-event
In the lead up to the event, ensure you’re marketing your attendance, booth and sponsorship with the people you want to engage with at the event.
There are several ways you can do this, including:
- Emails to your network advising of your involvement and inviting your contacts to meetings at the event
- Marketing your attendance through event-related materials, such as show guides, brochures and other collateral
- Promoting your stand through industry publications that are read by the show attendees you want to target
4. Follow-up far and wide
While getting organised for an event will involve a flurry of activity, it’s incredibly important that your activity after the event is just as well thought-out, and ready to be actioned as soon as the event closes.
Most important is having a plan in place for direct communication and follow-up with people you met at the event. A schedule of emails and phone calls to all prospects, summarising your conversations and reiterating your value proposition, are essential in the first week or two post event.
Equally important is ensuring that these prospects continue to hear from you even after this period. The B2B sales cycle is long – up to 12 months! – and it can take time post-event for deals to land.
Because of the long sales cycle, it is integral that your marketing is “always on”, meaning your marketing efforts are consistent and engaging for an extended period – or ideally, indefinitely.
Ensure your key selling messages are repeated in places your target market will see them – in industry publications, newsletters and web sites, on LinkedIn and through other digital marketing platforms like solus EDMs and remarketing.
That way, when your prospects do hit “buying mode”, you’ll be in the box seat to capitalise and get the sale.
Plan your message
Events, trade shows and exhibitions are one of the best tools in the B2B marketer’s arsenal when it comes to building the relationships that are essential to securing sales.
They also come with a premium price tag – so you need to do everything in your power to get the most out of every cent invested.
Don’t think your work is done once you sign off on the stand – make sure you’re taking the right steps pre-, during and post-event to maximise event investment.