KEY TAKEAWAYS: Learn valuable strategies for maximizing your exhibit booth’s success
|
This article will help you turn promising connections into lasting business relationships and boost your ROI.
Whether you’re a seasoned exhibitor or new to the trade show scene, there’s always room to refine your lead generation approach.
Trade shows offer a wealth of opportunities:
These events provide direct access to key decision-makers, but success isn’t just about making initial contact or showcasing your offerings. The real art lies in how you nurture those connections after the show concludes.
Effective follow-up is the key to closing sales and converting leads into customers.
There’s much to be said about post-show actions and trade show follow-ups. But before you can think about post-event emails and lead follow-ups, you need to make sure that you’re on track months before your trade show arrives.
There are definitive marketing techniques for trade shows that one should follow leading up to the event. We also suggest creating a timeline for yourself so that you can stay on schedule and not miss any important planning details.
Make sure you start planning months ahead, don’t leave yourself with little to no time to plan what your on-site call to action will be, or how you plan to steal the show with an amazing expo booth design.
Ensure you have clear goals and understand why you’re participating in that trade show. Plan what it is that you’d like to tell potential customers when they stop at your booth display. Simple informative brochures and catalogs in this day and age won’t work (and don’t forget the luggage weight restrictions that airlines now impose–visitors want to keep their suitcases light).
Get the word out. Make sure you tell people you’ll be exhibiting way ahead of time. Harness the power of your social media audience and do a build-up campaign for the trade show.
Perhaps even run a special offer for those who follow your social media and visit your booth, not only will this encourage them to visit your display, but you could use it as a way to measure the impact of your social media campaign.
Smart lead capture is the key to turning trade show connections into valuable business relationships. Start by leveraging digital tools like tablet apps or badge scanners for quick, accurate data collection. But don’t stop at just names and emails–dig deeper into product interests, challenges, and buying timelines.
Train your expo booth staff to qualify leads on the spot, sorting them into hot, warm, or cold categories. This prioritization will streamline your follow-up efforts later. To encourage participation, consider offering small incentives like exclusive content or branded gifts in exchange for contact details.
Interactive show booth displays can do double duty, engaging visitors while gathering their information. Implement a CRM system that syncs with your capture tools for real-time data updates. Always be transparent about data usage and comply with privacy regulations.
There’s no point in placing a brochure rack right at the entrance to your exhibition stand. Hordes of people will simply walk past, grab a brochure, and keep walking. You will want to make sure that you spend enough time thinking about the exhibition stand design and build before you set anything up.
You will want to make sure that you interest people enough so that they stop and engage at your trade show display stand. You don’t want to allow show attendees to pass you up. When designing your booth, think about doing it in such a way that people are invited to come inside, to interact with you and your brand. This way they’re more likely to ask questions, explain their own pain points, and leave their details for follow-up communication.
Ever seen a prize wheel ready to spin? Human nature has you wanting to walk over and spin it. Entertain your booth visitors by ‘gamifying’ your exhibit and making it more interactive for people who choose to stop in. Another great idea is to advertise a simple giveaway that entices trade show visitors to walk in, leave their business card, and grab a treat.
If your end goal is an email follow-up campaign, then obviously your goal during the trade show is to collect email addresses and other contact information. Make this a priority and figure out the best way to collect those email addresses.
Your next step will be to then add them to your mailing list as soon as possible, so you can keep them up to date with your business news. However, before you get too enthusiastic about this step, you may want to learn how email verification works to ensure that your emails are actually reaching “real” people and not invalid addresses. This could help you in the long run.
You’re probably thinking, “Ok I’ve collected tons of email addresses…what next?”
PRO TIP: immediate action is key.
Don’t wait until after the trade show to decide what your follow-up email message is going to be. You’ll want to plan this strategy well ahead of time. You should have the email template designed and ready to launch just a few days after the show. Even a day or two after the show will set you miles ahead of your competition who may take weeks to send out their first line of post-show communication.
Post-event email is a great way to make that first contact and potentially turn your lead into a customer. But make sure that you don’t use the same email for different trade shows. Personalize your email campaign and consider adding something of value.
“Hi Daniel,
It was great to meet you at XYZ trade show yesterday. Here’s a free e-book for you that might be helpful.”
Giving your visitors something useful and free of charge not only gets their attention but it also gives you a measurable way to determine which leads are genuine, and sends back solid information to you (or your sales team) to act on.
PRO TIP: Consider putting an image of your display in your follow-up email so that your recipient immediately remembers who you are. Remember that they visited many exhibits during the trade show, which is a surefire way to help them sift through the chaos. Even better: include what you discussed when you met.
You heard it. A simple thank you goes a long way with the visitors at your exhibit booth. Bombarding them with a post-event email crammed to the max with information won’t get you very far.
But, a simple, “Thank you for visiting our booth,” will leave a lasting impression.
Few people remember to remember people.
Confusing, right?
Not really.
Thousands of people visit trade shows every year. How many businesses really place importance on thanking people for their time, at all?
A “thank you” to your visitors is a genuine and heartfelt message that can definitely set you apart from your competitors.
In order to measure your success, you need to document everything. Try this post-show checklist so you don’t miss a thing.
Make sure you have a record of marketing collateral used, pre-event and post-event correspondence and the results it gained.
Report on your goals and how close you came to achieving them or how far you overshot them.
Keep your budget clear. Ensure you know how much you spent on pre-event, during-event, and post-event marketing and branding. This way, you’ll see how well you’ve done and if your exhibiting experience was worth it.
You’ll be able to quantify whether the leads you gathered gave you a good return on investment. Also, you’ll be able to decide which trade shows have worked for you and your brand and which you should skip the next time.
There’s no point in returning year after year to a trade show that hasn’t giving you the results that you’d hoped for. Documentation of everything to do with your trade show will allow you to tweak disappointing campaigns or overhaul your whole strategy if the results are extremely poor.
The trade show you decide to participate in is bound to have a few companies who do exactly what you do. They will appeal to the same audience but for a different reason. For example, if your company installs fireplaces and another exhibitor installs fire alarms, you’ll have the same target audience, but you’re selling something different.
In this case, trading leads and contact information is a win-win situation–this is a great trade show tip in terms of return on investment.
PRO TIP: Coordinate your post-trade show email campaign with complementary exhibitors. Or go on the show’s floor plan prior to the show to even offer a giveaway together if you can contact this other business before the event day.
One email is not enough.
Many companies make the mistake of sending one simple follow-up email. This is wrong. Most sales are made on the third or fourth attempt.
Your follow-up email campaign should be in stages.
Don’t give up on your first email sent. Plan for a slow roll-out of different follow-up messages, enough to keep your leads interested without overwhelming them.
There is a fine line between smart marketing and irritating marketing. Make sure the messages in your email campaign aren’t overbearing; ensure they show the benefit to the reader and that they don’t just say sell, sell, sell.
Don’t forget that staffing at your trade show booth is also important. Having your best salespeople engaging with the show attendees is a guaranteed way to keep the conversation going. It can be one of the deciding factors whether or not an attendee will leave their information with you.
If you must hire promotional staff to man the expo booth, ensure they’ve attended a pre-show briefing and understand your service or product.
There’s nothing worse than visiting an exhibit where someone sits on their phone and isn’t interested in engaging with their visitor. There’s no better way to see your leads walk away than this.
Your exhibit staff should be able to speak in depth about the product or services you are offering, as if they were founders of the company. They need to be able to treat people with utmost respect and attention, whether they are an employee of your company or not.
Your trade show journey doesn’t end when your booth is dismantled. Transform your successful event experience into lasting business relationships through strategic follow-up. Craft personalized, value-driven emails that resonate with your new contacts. Remember, quality trumps quantity–each message should offer something meaningful, whether it’s exclusive insights, special offers, or solutions to discussed pain points.
By delivering relevance instead of spam, you’ll nurture leads effectively and maximize your trade show ROI. Stay persistent but respectful and watch as your thoughtful follow-up campaign converts promising connections into valuable partnerships. Find yourself overwhelmed with trade show planning? Check out our blog for more trade show tips.
Emails are powerful tools for personalized follow-up and provide a non-intrusive way to maintain contact with potential customers. You can easily share additional information about your products or services, addressing specific interests or questions that arose during the trade show. This method is cost-effective for reaching many leads simultaneously, and the process can be automated and tracked for optimal efficiency.
Popular and effective software options for email campaigns include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and HubSpot. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces, customizable templates, automation features, and robust analytics.
Follow-up frequency depends on your industry and the lead’s engagement. Generally, send an initial email within 24-48 hours post-event, followed by 2-3 emails over the next month. Space them out to avoid overwhelming leads. Adjust based on response rates and unsubscribes. Always provide value and respect preferences for communication.
Want to gain an edge? Get ideas, tips, and
resources from the exhibit industry's top experts.
Key Takeaways Booth staffing is critical to your trade show success, from exhibit traffic to lead g...
According to the Small Business Administration. there are more than 33million registered businesses ...
[email protected] Key Takeaways • Effective planning and goal-setting are essent...
Our Work 
Advice From The Trade Show Floor 
About 
Locations 
Our Team 
Careers