The Importance of Follow-Up After a Trade Show

Following up with leads after a trade show can help solidify a connection and guide them through your marketing or sales funnel into becoming customers. It can also increase your conversion rates and improve the efficiency of your sales team.

Your first follow up email should aim to jog their memory by re-introducing yourself. It should also offer them something in return.

1. Nurture Your Leads

A well-designed email lead nurturing campaign can help ensure that prospects hear from your organization after the show. This should include a series of messages tailored to their product interests, vertical market or other criteria.

This nurture program should also help to identify and prioritize sales leads. For example, Individual A who proactively sought out your booth and had a meaningful discussion about your products or services is probably a high-quality prospect that deserves significant attention. Individual C, who simply dropped their business card in your fishbowl and walked away, is probably a lower-quality prospect that doesn’t need as much follow-up.

Send a first message congratulating the prospect on their attendance at the trade show and thank them for taking the time to talk with you. Follow up with a short piece of quick-read visual content, such as an infographic or video.

2. Keep Your Brand in Their Minds

The best time to send your follow-up emails is one to two days after the event ends. This is the sweet spot between your recipients traveling home and getting back into their normal work routine. It also reduces the risk of your emails getting regarded as spam and falling to the bottom of their inboxes.

A good email subject line is the key to ensuring that your recipient opens your follow-up message. Make sure that it clearly explains who you are and how they know you.

Make it clear that you want to schedule a phone call or meeting. This can help to make your follow-up message stand out from the rest of the barrage of sales emails they receive. Also, be sure that your follow-up is centered on the benefits they receive from a business relationship with you, not just on what you can provide for them.

3. Keep Your Relationships Strong

A strong sales relationship takes time to develop. You can’t expect to create reliable customers overnight and a follow-up plan after a trade show can help you nurture your new leads.

The first email you send after the event should refrain from expressing your main objective and focus on showing interest in the prospect instead. This will allow the prospect to get a sense of your company and build trust before they reach out to you for a meeting.

Aim to send emails within a few days of the trade show. This gives the prospect a chance to return home and settle back into their routine without having your email buried under a deluge of other messages. Make sure your emails are personalized to keep them from being a mass email.

4. Increase Conversion Rates

Prepping for a trade show and participating in one can be exhausting. Even after the event, your team needs to focus on following up with leads. This will help you increase conversion rates and ensure your investment was worth it.

Your first follow-up email should be sent within a week of the show, while the conversation is still fresh in the prospect’s mind. Be sure to include the show name in your subject line.

You can also send a brief recap of the conversation or include a video in your follow-up to add a personal touch. This will show your lead that you were interested in their business and engaged with them. This will help to build trust and set your company apart from the competition.

5. Build Trust

A trade show can produce a lot of information for your potential customers. If you don’t manage it carefully, it can become overwhelming for them.

To build trust after a trade show, it’s important to keep the conversation moving forward in a way that makes sense for both parties. This includes avoiding sending too many emails that don’t have a clear purpose.

For example, if you want your recipient to schedule a call with you or attend a sales meeting, make sure to clearly request this in the subject line. Doing so will make it easier for them to distinguish your follow-up email from others that might have been sent by other sales reps. This can help to boost your response rate. It also allows them to put your name and face to the conversation.