Diana Wolff, President of LRG Marketing Communications explains how B2B companies can maximise the value of their tradeshow participation

B2B companies make tremendous investments in attending trade shows, conferences and other events. And while there is a lot of value in having the opportunity to interact directly with your audience, you might be leaving even more value on the table if you don’t take the right steps to capitalize on your investment. Here are a few basic tips.

Awareness:

Your booth should communicate your messaging and be eye-catching enough to attract potential customers who were previously unaware of your brand. While at-show promotions can be great to drive interest and booth visits, make sure they’re relevant to your products and services. Once you grab their attention through signage and graphics, your team should be ready with useful information and demos that will leave a lasting impression.

Leads:

Because events can generate a lot of leads, it’s important to segment them immediately. This way, your team will know who merits a sales call, who should be nurtured with additional information and who’s clearly a tire-kicker. This is even more relevant if you are running a promotion, since these can bring in people interested only in the contest. You want to be responsive where needed, without wasting your team’s time on useless outreach or annoying prospects who are not ready to hear from you.

Marketing:

Before the event, let everyone in your community know you’ll be attending and would love the opportunity to meet them. Social media is a great channel for this; you can even expand your reach to new prospects with a strategic boosted campaign. Set up a landing page to book appointments and use social posts to drive traffic by offering added value through relevant content. At the venue, use event hashtags on social posts; people follow these to get live on-site updates.

As every B2B company knows, trade shows and conferences can be one of the biggest budget items you have. However, with the right strategy, you can greatly expand the value you get from your attendance at an event.

www.lrgmarketing.com

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