TIPS FOR POST-TRADE SHOW FOLLOW-UP

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve likely been to a few (or for some of you, a few hundred) trade shows. You know the routine. You spend weeks, most likely months, preparing for the show. It finally arrives, it’s exciting, you meet tons of people, gather leads and then in a matter of days it’s over. When you get back to the office, how do you make sure you capitalize on your interactions with the prospects you just met?

Companies spend a lot of time and money preparing for and attending shows. However, the greatest returns only happen when you take action afterward.

1. Categorize Your Leads

Not everyone you met at the show requires the same action and urgency. Some prospects might be ready to buy and require a phone call ASAP, while others are better candidates for email campaigns or follow-ups further down the line. But just because someone isn’t a “hot” lead doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Categorize your leads into hot, medium and cool groups (or whatever lingo you want to use) and then determine which follow-up methods are right for which group.

2. Respond Promptly

The sooner you can respond to your prospects post-show, the better. According to a 2012 study by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, less than 50% of exhibitors send an email to their leads within a week of the show. With every day that passes, the likelihood of your lead forgetting your interaction, losing interest or getting too busy back in the office increases. Make it a priority to follow up as quickly as possible.

3. Be Personal

When possible, a personal response whether by phone, email or both is proven to be more effective than mass communications. Not every single lead will require a personal follow-up, but for your most important ones, it is worth the time. In the same study referenced above, its conclusion states:

Customizing follow-up email communications, tailored to attendees, who they are and what they articulated interest in, makes sense. It demonstrates to the attendee that an exhibitor was listening. It motivates an attendee to pay attention. In today’s marketing environment where consumers demand personal attention, targeted communications are a must.

And that was three years ago! The same truths are more apparent today.

4. Have a Call-to-Action

When you follow up with your leads, particularly via email, give them a clear call to action. Of course, the end goal is to purchase your product, but for high-dollar items, that may take some time. In the meantime, maybe your goal is to get them to visit your website, sign up for your newsletter, or have them follow you on social media. All of these actions build your connection with the prospect and give you another way to reach them. Whatever your company’s goal may be, give the prospect a clear and easy way to take the action you desire. Bombarding them with too many options can backfire.

5. Include Content!

Adding value to your follow-up communication by providing useful content can be a great way to nurture leads. You had a great conversation about a particular product? Send the prospects a link or maybe a video with more information. Someone expressed a particular problem on the job site? Send them solutions you can provide or a tutorial on that subject. Of course, to do this, you need to have a method of remembering the discussions you had with specific show attendees. Jotting a few notes on the back of a business card can help, or, if you have a lead-gen service, add a note when you scan their badge.

What methods have worked best for you when following up on trade show leads? Feel free to share your tips in the comments below.

THE HOT "NEW" TREND IN ADVERTISING? PRINT.

There’s a new trend in advertising sweeping the nation. And as the author of this marketing blog, I feel compelled to tell you more about it.

This advertising medium is driving web traffic, helping brands separate themselves from competitors and leaving an impact on niche audiences from wood flooring to antiques. So what is it?

It’s print.

That’s right, trusty old print advertising is the “New ‘New Media’” according to the Columbia Journalism Review.

“Print is beautiful,” author Chava Gourarie writes in this piece published on CJR’s website.

She continues:

It can’t notify you when a work email arrives, can’t be tweeted mid-sentence, and won’t die without a charger. Even better, it’s finite.

It’s also supposed to be dead. For years, the new media vanguard has preached “digital first” and the death knell has sounded again and again for print, as legendary magazines moved online or ceased publication altogether. Now, 20 years into the digital revolution, print is making something of a comeback.

In fact, 2015 saw the launch of 204 new print magazines according to Samir Husni, the University of Mississippi professor known as “Mr. Magazine.”

This article underscores a trend we have seen at Wood Floor Business, as well.

Many clients I work with are surprised to learn print advertising is the most popular form of advertising among our customers, but Gourarie has a great theory for why that is. Magazines, especially those with niche audiences (such as B2B magazines), foster tight niche communities that are appealing to subscribers and advertisers.

“People want to be part of a tribe, and magazines with tailored content for an ardent readership reinforce a strong sense of community,” Gourarie writes.

In our industry, I believe it can also be attributed to the visual, tangible nature of hardwood flooring. When it comes to marketing your brand, there’s nothing more impressive than a fantastic room scene of a well-done hardwood floor.

The importance of print advertising is just one of the reasons we recently invested in rebranding our magazine.

A magazine is “like a membership card you receive once a week, or month,” says Husni.

This sentiment is backed up by Wood Floor Business’ own subscribers, 77 percent of whom are the owner, president or CEO at their company.

And as an advertiser, the print magazine gives you a unique opportunity to connect with that community in a setting where the reader is not distracted by the chime of a new email or the next “to do” popping up on their computer.

Of course, integrated marketing remains important. Digital advertising can help you reach tens of thousands of prospects in addition to those who receive the magazine. But the next time you’re looking do something special with your marketing budget, take a hard look at print advertising. Your prospects are doing the same.

4 THINGS TO EVALUATE BEFORE YOUR MEDIA BUY

There are many marketing options out there, and it can be overwhelming to sift through the information and determine the best fit for your company. There are several key factors to consider that will help you compare apples to apples and identify the most appropriate and effective marketing vehicle for your company and the outcome you are looking to achieve.

1) Define Your Goal Are you looking to generate brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, gain “likes” on Facebook, promote a new product, maximize your trade show investment—or all of the above? Who is your target market? Are you looking to target specific business types or geographic areas? Outlining short- and long-term initiatives will help set the scope for your marketing plan and allow you to evaluate options more effectively.

2) For Print Circulation: Is It Audited? It’s important that your media partner is able to guarantee that your message is reaching the intended audience. The best way to ensure you are connecting with the most qualified, engaged prospects in the industry is to look at a publisher’s audit statement. The auditing process is done through a third party and verifies each reader is a qualified industry professional who is a decision-maker in their company and has requested the publication. View WFB's recent Publisher's Statement and check out the graphic below to see the Wood Floor Business audience breakdown for our printed publication.

3) For a Digital Audience: Evaluate Integrity In today’s world, your prospects are consuming information on many different platforms, from email to websites to social media. To ensure you’re connecting with your best prospects, you must evaluate the integrity of the audience you are paying to reach. Some important questions to ask:

• How many visitors and/or page views does a website receive?

• ​How many monthly impressions are your ads guaranteed?

• How many qualified industry professionals are on an email list?

• How are those lists cultivated and managed?

• Have recipients opted in to receive the emails?

• What open rate can you expect to receive?

Click here for an overview of WFB’s digital audience.

4) Seek Proven Statistics One of the wonderful things about digital advertising is that it is trackable. By asking the questions outlined above, you will have a good idea what to expect going into a campaign. If a media partner is unable to provide you with proven average statistics over a period of time, that should be a red flag. A reputable media partner will often partner with a third party to track the analytics of your campaign and should provide a stat report on a regular basis. Click here to view WFB’s digital stats.

---

Want to learn more about how Wood Floor Business can help with your marketing needs? ​Contact:

Kendra Griffin

​National Account Manager

(608) 467-1084

Kendra has been dedicated to Wood Floor Business since August of 2010 and worked for our sister publication, Athletic Business, prior to joining the WFB team. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in marketing and a double minor in retail merchandising and business management, she now helps companies recognize opportunities to exceed their sales and marketing objectives. Her passion is helping companies determine a strategic marketing plan to drive sales and help grow their business. In her free time Kendra enjoys being active, traveling, cooking and spending time outdoors with her husband and Harper, their Golden Retriever.