You’ve planned this company event in excruciating detail. You’ve powered through the vendor complications, navigated the awkward interactions, forded the stream of steady hiccups that arose the day of the event. Once you’ve finally sighed in relief, it’s time to reap the benefits of your labor. Those hot leads aren’t going to mine themselves, and you don’t want to be responsible for leaving them as neglected as the unclaimed leftovers in the breakroom fridge, especially after all that work.
Whether your company’s methods involve individualized emails, email newsletter campaign signups, phone calls, direct mail, or some combination of all of them, here are some of the most effective ways to stay in front of those who matter most:
Load up that lead database faster than your booth supplies into the van.
When entering information into the system, be as detailed as possible. The sales experts can decide what’s relevant to them and ultimately worth keeping around. Either way, the sales and marketing teams should be so integrated that they are the Siamese twins of company departments.
Get personal with your followups.
No matter the method, incorporate the lead’s name, company and any unique details from the event. There’s no need to list a full summary of the trade show schedule or corporate event catering menu here, but make sure the lead can associate your communications with a face-to-face interaction. You may want to include a photo of yourself and/or your team, whether from the event or a professional headshot.
Be fast without the furious.
When contacting leads post-event, you need to have nearly instantaneous response time. For one-day trade shows, it’s recommended to reply within 48 hours. For multi-day events like SXSW, intersperse your contacts a little bit each day for continuous engagement. Do a lot of the prep work in advance so you can simply review and hit send in order to increase your speed.
Show ‘em what you got.
Provide a compelling offer on your initial approach. Display value right out of the gate to get attention and win them over. Typical assets include: whitepapers, case studies, infographics, e-books, invites to other events, special offers, etc. Clearly and directly state the next step in the lead nurturing process and make the call-to-action as specific as possible. Rather than “For more information,” try something like “Request an in-person demo.” If you’re emailing, craft a subject line that prompts leads to actually open the email.
Stay fresh in the minds of your target audience and essential event connections with proper followup tactics. Pixperience offers Data Capture & Lead Generation services so that you can have the most crucial event data at your disposal. Complete with opt-in, permissions-based marketing, you can finally make informed, valuable connections that will lead to an uptick in company ROI.
Whether you need 360 degree photo booths, photo and video activation, microsites and reporting, or data capture and lead generation, let Pixperience cover the experiential marketing resources for your next event. We specialize in creating memorable experiences that give your branding the platform it needs to thrive in a competitive market.