Driving Traffic and Sales Leads at Trade Shows

Product and service companies exhibit at trade shows to give their sales reps in-person opportunities to start conversations with as many relevant attendees as they can. The end goal: nurture quality leads toward a sale. Good money is spent for the booth space, travel, giveaways and all the logistics, so it shouldn’t be expected that conversations will simply happen when the attendees pass near your booth. Attendees are often racing to sessions. And, it can be overwhelming for them when all vendors are vying for their time. Often they are seeking solutions like yours but can be hard to find even with the great booth design and message. Slowing attendee traffic and directing it to your booth starts with creative marketing programs that are conceived before the event, then further executed during your days there.

(Let’s not forget that attendees can also include your customers who may be going to the conference for the sessions or to update their industry certifications.)

Our firm manages marketing for a software company who attends a series of a Disaster Recovery conferences each Spring and Fall. Here are some examples of traffic and lead generation programs that has given attendees reasons to flock to their booth and want to learn more about their offerings:

Exhibit floor contest that creates buzz among attendees

We have seen great success giving out Gift Cards every half hour to attendees who are spotted wearing branded paraphernalia on the exhibit floor—mainly things that light up or blink, which gets attention from a distance and gets attendees asking each other “where did you get that?” This makes your booth staff more approachable. Sales reps can use the time to explain the contest and ask some qualifying questions to attendees about their goals at the conference, like “looking for solutions?”, “catching up at the sessions?”, “new to the industry or your company?”, etc. Taking pictures with the winners makes great Twitter promotions when using the specific conference hashtag.

Afterhours receptions that bring prospects and customers together

You will never waste money when you have an opportunity to entertain your customers and invite select prospects to come along to hear why your offerings are so special. Recently, we organized an invitation-only Karaoke Night at a Disney resort restaurant in Orlando. We limited it to 40 people to keep it intimate. We controlled the crowd (and the consumption) with number-stamped invitations and wristbands that were given at the door. Altered personalities come out during Karaoke 🙂

For the same company, we held a two-night Whiskey Tasting that toured the four regions of Scotland atop a popular San Diego hotel that overlooked the bay and city. We anticipated around 50 people for each night, but the word got out at the conference, and more attendees flocked to the booth to ask about the venue, which doubled attendance—forcing re-orders of special scotch whiskeys for the second night. This is always a nice problem to have allowing you to connect with more clients and prospects. We’ve even done Salsa Dancing (with lessons) which is great for attendees who bring their spouses and partners. You have to do what makes sense for your audience and make sure you time it right.

Lasting impressions made with a captive audience

We like to gather a large crowd around the booth on the last day of the event, especially when the attendee lunch is located adjacent to the exhibit floor. A TV (that can also be used for software demonstrations) has always been a big hit. There are so many great ideas for under $500. Although attendees are made aware of the drawing while at the booth, guerrilla marketing should be used to increase traffic by working the attendee lunch tables and handing out entry forms 15-20 minutes prior to the drawing. We have found that attendees appreciate the awareness and convenience because they can simply stop by the booth on their way out of the exhibit hall. While you have a captive audience around the booth waiting for the drawing to go off, it’s best to use one of the top executives to do brief shout outs about the company and to stir up some fun with the attendees. Wait, it’s not over, you just can’t give away one item and limit the exposure of your brand. Save some of the gift cards (from the above contest) and have some company-branded items ready. This also makes good photo ops for social media.

The forethought and hustle doesn’t stop at the conference

The entry forms should be used to supplement the lead device or App swipes and the business cards collected, which can double or triple your output. This gives your sales and marketing team more contacts to follow-up with that you would not have normally obtained without such a program. Immediately after you get back from the conference, start your lead management process: 1) merge/purge your swipes, entry forms and business cards; 2) scrub out contacts you do not want; 3) amend the sales Notes; 4) upload to your CRM to get a ratio of new vs. existing prospects; and 5) stay top-of-mind by sending a marketing email to support your sales reps. Most likely your sales reps will have already started following-up with the hot leads before your email goes out.

Final note: Attendees will talk up memorable marketing programs during and after the conference—making it easier to remember you when following-up. It takes some forethought and hustle at trade shows to yield better results.

Case Study: Better Data Improves Email Marketing Results

New approach needed to meet aggressive quotas

TME was engaged by its longstanding client, an international non-profit organization with a member-base of 15,000, has provided benefits and services to senior-level financial executives worldwide since 1931, to recommend a new approach to its member acquisition email campaigns that would help meet its aggressive 2016 member acquisition goals.

The non-profit’s prospect database was comprised of almost 18,000 records, many of them procured over the last decade. While the database size was robust, there was very little insight into who those contacts were and are. All that was known is that, according to the data supplied (when it was supplied), the contacts would qualify for membership. However, after ten years, was the data still valid?

Furthermore, were all prospects still engaged? What was the likelihood that they were ready to convert from prospect to member? This database of more than 17,000 had been receiving regular deployments with prospect messaging and calls-to-action, yet few were converting and it was unclear why. It could have been a data issue or it could have been improper messaging and weak incentives. Or both.

It was impossible to make inferences because the size of data was far too large to interpret. And yet, the non-profit was very hesitant to take any steps that might reduce the number prospect records. A lot of comfort was derived in database quantity, so quality had become secondary. As long as campaigns were deploying to great numbers, the non-profit felt secure that its email campaign strategy would succeed.

Reframing organizational thinking

TME set out to change its client’s mindset to embrace a “quality over quantity” approach; first thoroughly cleaning the prospect database, then targeting only engaged prospects.

TME quickly determined that the amount of “noise” in the pre-existing prospect database of roughly 18,000 was merely a distraction. Member acquisition efforts could not be targeted or refined with so little understanding of who made up the database. To quickly scrub the database, TME processed the list for real-time email verification and, in 30 minutes, determined that 61% of the records were invalid.

Once invalid and duplicate records were removed, roughly 7,000 contacts remained. These records would be the starting point for our member acquisition pilot. The smaller database represented significant cost savings because the email service provider used charges per email address. Additionally, TME knew it would derive greater intelligence from campaign results because starting data was cleaner.

Data transparency enables targeting of most engaged prospects

TME’s email strategy required that its client approve a valuable incentive to drive conversions then combined this offer with a compelling event—the non-profit’s anniversary—an ideal choice because it underscored the organization’s longevity and value. Discounted membership and attendance at an annual event were approved for use in the campaign and were central to its calls-to-action.

To ease conversion, TME determined that its client’s traditional online membership application was simply too long and bulky. Knowing that the audience is comprised of extremely busy individuals, the formal application would certainly have provided a barrier to conversion. Instead, TME created an abridged “Quick App” to collect only critical data needed for hand-off to the Membership Team.

Finally, a drip campaign approach was used, in combination with A/B testing, to determine the best combination of message and design, sent to only those who remained engaged throughout the campaign’s lifecycle. Conversions were removed prior to each deployment and emails were sent only to those who had opened (which includes clicks) the previous email deployment—the most engaged.

Cleaner data speeds conversion rates, value realized in just 3 weeks

The non-profit’s dramatically improved database integrity and targeted outreach to highly-engaged prospects succeeded in quickly yielding many conversions—9 new members in just 3 weeks.

By prioritizing quality of data, email strategy, and conversion mechanisms over quantity of contacts and emails deployed, TME was able to assist its client in acquiring 9 new members in just the first 3 weeks of its pilot member acquisition program. More importantly, the success of TME’s recommendations helped to change organizational “big picture” thinking vis-à-vis data management and email strategy.