How to Turn Your Trade Show Booth Into a Lead Magnet
Being part of a trade show is exciting. Bringing visitors to your booth at a trade show is nice and meeting people can be enlightening. However, it is easy to forget that the purpose of participating in a trade show is to connect with potential customers and capture leads.
If you put in the preparation and execute on your plans during the show, then you can gather those leads, and perhaps even convert those visitors into lifelong customers. Consider these five simple ways that you can make your trade show booth or presentation a lead magnet.
• Have the Manpower — Trying to run your booth with a skeleton crew is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you have plenty of people available who are excited about your brand, products, and services. Everyone who is present and working the booth should be able to hold a demonstration and conduct sessions with booth visitors. Make sure you have the staff available to cover breaks and to give all participants a chance to check out the rest of the event.
• Set Goals — Just being there isn’t enough. What do you hope to accomplish? Create measurable goals for the show so that you can compare your results to your expectations. When there are goals in place (and perhaps a proverbial carrot to reach for), your staff will work harder and be more excited about participating and making things happen.
• Consider a Giveaway — The traditional eBook or whitepaper giveaway works well online as a lead collection strategy. The same principal can work well at your trade show too. Make sure you have something worth giving away and make sure you collect the information needed to get in touch with your customers later. You don’t have to use this as an opportunity to annoy visitors, just reach out in a friendly way after the event.
• Make Info Collection Easy — If your booth visitors have to go through a long, drawn out process to connect with you and join your mailing list, contact list or other means of connection, they will move on before the deed is done. Consider QR codes, social media profiles and other simple ways to get people in your contact list.
• Get Creative — The most creative, eye-catching and exciting booths will gather the most leads. It is as simple as that. If you do not have the skills on staff, don’t be afraid to hire someone from outside the firm to make your booth one-of-a-kind. After all, you can’t capture leads if no one is looking at your booth or stopping by in the first place. Creativity goes much further than you would think — even in traditionally “stuffy” industries.
No matter what methods you use to gather leads at a trade show, the most important thing to do is to take advantage of every connection you make. Don’t let too much time slip away before you reach out to the people you meet and the leads you gather at the event. You do not want anyone to forget your booth, your brand or your message before you have a chance to turn up the juice and try to make a conversion. When you DO connect and gain some momentum, every bit of effort you put into your trade show experience will be well worth it.
Originally published at QuickTapSurvey Blog.
