Marketing Tips – After your Event
Marketing Tips for Exhibitors
Exhibiting successfully is more than just turning up and setting up your booth! Being part of an exhibition is a lengthy process that requires a lot of work, before and after the show! There are many tools you can use to add to the success of your show but one of the most effective is marketing (if done correctly). Here are some tips on how to achieve this before and after the show.
AFTER THE EVENT Follow-up
With any shows not all of the results will be immediate- some will, but some will not. Take for example the 5 minutes you put into building that relationship with James the young bar manager. He may have not had any money on him at the show, but after falling in love with your cider, he may want it as his drink of choice. Next time he goes out with his friends, he might share it with them, who could love it as much as James and you now have 2 more long-term customers! So… be patient! (Word of mouth is more powerful than any ad or sales pitch)
Follow-up on all prospective customers that you said would. 9/10 they will remember that you said you would send them an email with more information on their product etc. Make sure you do it, as this is crucial to maintaining relationships built at the show. Make a list at the show of all legitimate prospective customers and the follow-up with a free cider when they come to visit your brewery etc. (Keep the relationship going, show your product availability to them, remind them of the positive impression you left).
AFTER THE EVENT Evaluate your objectives
As mentioned above, setting your objectives is as crucial to evaluating them. Maybe you chose the wrong target market, maybe some of your staff weren’t friendly enough, maybe your stall was too similar to the rest. Evaluate your objectives, find out what you achieved and what you didn’t, then research why so in future shows, you are able to make it more successful than your previous!
Exhibiting can provide great opportunities to launch new products, enter new markets, meet new prospective clients, create a database for your product etc. They can be very rewarding when planned well and executed correctly. Marketing is a great way to achieve this, it can create long-term opportunities and successes for your product.
Exhibitions are an exciting and unique experience that is different from your day-to-day trading, so have fun with and make the most of it face-to-face marketing!
