Tip of the Week #18 - More Tips for Maximising Your ROI

In last week's post we gave you some practical tips that could help you maximise your return on investment (ROI) from exhibitions, here are a few more tips that can help you further boost your level of returns.

Train your exhibit staff

Choose exhibit staff based on their ability to excel in a chaotic and highly social situation. Let them know your company’s purpose in exhibiting at the trade show and tell them what their roles will be and what is expected of them. 

You should spend some time discussing with them the questions visitors may ask them and make sure that they either have the answers, or know where to get them if they don't. Train your staff on information about your products or services and stress the importance of recording all leads and their information, from what they were interested in to phone numbers and email addresses. 

If you want to boost productivity, you can give out staff incentives, as their performance is central to the success of your exhibition.

Advertise your show participation

Before the exhibition opens, do some research on social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to find customers or prospects who are planning to attend the trade show and invite them to visit your stand. You can also look for journalists, discussion groups and exhibition organisers to connect with before the event and invite them to stop by your booth. If your company issues e-newsletters, put in it a small section about upcoming events your company will be exhibiting at. Many companies also publish press releases about new products they will be showing at upcoming exhibitions.

Post-show follow-up

So you've gone to a lot of effort and expense to collect leads and contacts during an exhibition. It is vital that you follow up with each of them promptly after the show so your efforts don't go to waste. Ideally, requested material should be sent to prospects within 24 hours. That 24 hours is your window of opportunity to get ahead of your competition and leave a favourable impression on prospective clients. The sooner you follow up with a professional and personalised call or email, the better your chances of arranging a follow-up meeting or even closing a sale. And don't forget, always include ways to contact you or your company on any material you send out so that it's easy for prospects to take the next step!