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Escaping the Trade Show Money Pit
March 28, 2008
Stop settling for sub-par trade show leads
By Susan Pascal Tatum
More business technology marketers use trade shows to generate leads than any other marketing tactic. According to a 2007 CMP survey, over 75% of respondents use trade shows for this purpose. Yet the inability to generate enough leads for the sales force is the biggest problem these marketers face.
B2B companies invest enormous sums of money on trade shows, yet are rarely satisfied with the results. Why is this? Are they using the wrong tactic or are they simply not doing it correctly? The answer could be both.
Trade show participation is an expensive undertaking, but most companies spend far more on exhibits and show services than connecting with prospects and customers or nurturing prospect relationships once they return to the office. As a result, trade shows often fall flat when it comes to measurable ROI.
The good news is that with proper preparation, and by adding a lead-nurturing component to the back end of trade show initiatives, marketers can turn questionable trade show expenditures into solid demand-generation investments.
The single biggest reason why trade show participation fails to deliver desired results is that marketers view trade shows as stand-alone events rather than elements of an integrated marketing process. For B2B companies, a trade show is more likely one of many interactions customers and prospects will have with your company prior to making a decision to buy your product or service. As such, it must be preceded and followed by other marketing activities including a pre-show traffic-building campaign, a well-organized and executed follow-up plan and a mini Web site that speaks directly to the show's attendees.
So, how do you ensure your trade show investment pays off? It starts with the following:
• Set the right objectives. Achieving and maintaining visibility with prospects is one of the most important lead generation tactics for a B2B company. Trade shows are an excellent way to do this. But lead generation should never be the only reason to participate in one.
Trade shows are great places for face-to-face interactions with customers and prospects. They also provide opportunities to connect with media, industry analysts, investors and suppliers. Many companies approach trade shows primarily to connect with existing customers and prospects over generating brand new leads.
• Pick the right show(s). Many companies make the mistake of selecting a trade show based on the conference title, without regard to who will actually be attending. This results in an empty exhibit with no exposure to buyers. To avoid this, make sure the trade shows you consider will actually attract people central to the buying process in your target market. Ask your customers and prospects which shows they currently attend.
When considering specific trade shows, ask show management about expected participants. Trade show audiences change over time. Even though a particular show worked well last year, don't assume it still will.
While you're talking to show management, it's also worth asking what they are doing to encourage attendees to visit the exhibit hall. Some shows serve lunch or cocktails in the hall. Others plan the layout so that attendees must past through it to get to keynote speeches. Beware of any trade show lacking such a plan.
• Invest in pre-show marketing. Just being on the show floor isn't enough to ensure a steady flow of prospects to your booth. The trade show organizers will conduct a marketing campaign to build attendance for the event, but even that won't necessarily drive the right prospects to your booth. That's your responsibility.
Like any other marketing assignment, reaching trade show participants has become more challenging, and Web 2.0 has changed the way many of your prospects communicate. In the past, the most successful companies marketed their trade show participation through e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing and press releases.
Today, it also makes sense to invite attendees via blogs, social networks and community forums. Messages that reach your prospects through multiple communication channels have a far better chance of being recognized and acted upon.
• Choose quality over quantity. When it comes to lead generation, the quality of the leads is far more important than the number you generate. Qualified prospects are those people who hold the right jobs at the right companies who potentially need your product or service and are able to purchase them. Meeting a handful of these individuals is infinitely more important for your future sales than collecting the names of 100 people who couldn't care less about your product or service.
With trade shows, as with other marketing programs, it's critical to have a company-wide definition of a sales-ready lead. This definition identifies the requirements a prospect must meet before he or she is assigned a sales rep. In B2B companies, this generally includes criteria such as the person's title, industry and the size of his company; the existence of a budgeted project; a timeline; and an executive sponsor.
The trade show offers a great opportunity to pre-qualify visitors to your exhibit. Ask as many questions as you can to determine whether each visitor is really an eligible prospect and how far along he or she is in the buying process. For example, you would collect the visitor's title and company name, whether or not they are actively seeking a product like yours, and what their timeframe for a decision is. You might also ask who else is involved in the buying process.
• Sorting leads. The first post-show duty of the marketing team should be to process the contacts that were gathered. Only those that are truly sales-ready should be sent to the sales team. Contacts not yet ready should be nurtured. Some prospects will want to learn more before agreeing to talk to a salesperson; they're likely to respond to offers of special reports, Webinars, tips sheets and an informative, persuasive Website.
For some long-term prospects, the timing just isn't right. These prospects require a long-term strategy of staying in touch to ensure they remember you if and when the need for your type of solution pops up. Regularly distributed, permission-based e-mail newsletters and blogs with RSS feeds are a good way to do this.
Since over half of the B2B companies who participate in trade shows don't bother to follow up with contacts they met there, you'll already be ahead of the competition. Your results soar even higher when you segment your prospects according to their level of interest, then follow up with customized messages.
Odds are you'll be be participating in at least one trade show this year. By following the advice herein, you'll ensure the experience isn't a waste of resources, but rather, a formidable lead generation vehicle.
Susan Pascal Tatum is the co-founder, president and CMO of Tatum Marketing Inc., a marketing consulting firm dedicated to helping business technology firms use marketing to grow faster. She is the author of numerous articles on marketing and blogs regularly at TechnoBuzz (www.technobuzz.tatummarketing.com).
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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