Your event looms and you’re all set with a knock-out exhibition stand and campaign message. Everything else looks after itself right?
Wrong. Read on to discover six mistakes that will wreck your exhibiting campaign and destroy ROI:
6 Mistakes to be aware of!
1) Never advertise pre-show attendance
Surely it’s the organiser’s job to look after the event advertising and get visitors through the door? Not necessarily. By failing to promote your presence at the show you may watch and weep as the crowds flock to your competitors stands. If every one of 50 exhibitors at a show registered 10 contacts, there’s already 500 visitors ready and waiting to talk to you but it’s up to you to ensure you’re at the top of every attendees ‘must see’ list.
2) Forget to invite current contacts to the show
If you’re already talking to current clients and prospects, why do you need to see them at the show? It can be rewarding to personally invite valuable customers or hot prospects for some on-stand hospitality as it’s the perfect opportunity to upsell products or convert prospects.
3) Don’t create interesting content to whet the appetite of visitors
If your brand and product benefits are clear for visitors to see, what more do they need to know? Try igniting their imagination with pre-show engaging content such as blog posts, competitions and email campaigns so at the event they come running to find out more.
4) ‘Hash’ out a poor social media plan for the show and fail to link with the organiser
Don’t snap pics of engaged visitors or tweet about the great competition you’ve got running. Surely everyone who walks past your stand will see! However, you miss a valuable magnification tool if you if you fail to tap into the power of social ‘buzz’. It can really assist injecting some excitement into your presence. Don’t miss the opportunity to join in the conversation via the organiser’s own hashtags, handles and campaign.
5) Fail to create engaging on-stand content to make your exhibiting campaign message memorable
The sales team are raring to speak to visitors and your stand looks inviting. So why worry about engaging games, clever animations, fun apps and content to intrigue visitors? The answer – because your presence at an event should be magnetic to attendees, deliver a memorable on-stand experience and facilitate valuable data capture.
6) Ignore visitors after the show
Why reiterate your campaign message post-show to those who visited you on stand? They’re bound to remember who you are and get in touch when they’re ready… maybe? Even if your sales team contacts each lead from the show, some simply won’t be ready to convert yet. Why not add them to your CRM platform and send them great follow up content and personalised messages so you’re at the front of their minds when they are ready.
Do things the right way
If you don’t want to see your exhibiting campaign crumble and ROI plummet, see how we did things the right way at Marketing Week Live.
