BEFORE THE EXPO
PURPOSE
Before the expo you must consider what you wish to achieve with your participation at the expo. EOT is a part of your marketing mix and contributes to overall marketing effort that can lead to sales.
Tip! Clarify the purpose of your participation at EOT (branding, sales, customer care or something completely different) and sat clear goals.
CREATE THE FRAME
Concept: You have the visitor’s full attention when they are at your stand; exploit the full potential of your stand and ensure the best experience of your business and products.
Tip! Organize the stand into different zones that follow the customer journey – from welcome and product demonstration to collecting leads.
Activities: Plan activities that can attract guests. It can be anything from contests, lectures, product demonstrations, giveaways and much, much more.
Tip! Decide for yourself whether you want quality or quantity and plan your activities accordingly.
Message: Visitors must be able to decode your messages quickly from afar and feel like visiting you.
Tip! Test your message before the expo. Have a third party look at your stand for a few seconds and tell you what they remember. You can achieve insight into whether the stand delivers the right messages and creates interest from the customer’s point of view.
SHOUT IT TO THE WORLD
Make sure that your customers and partners know that they can meet you at EOT. We will of course help, hence an invitation from you works betters.
Tip! Create interest in your stand before the expo via Social Media, web, newsletters, advertising and MCH’s online profiling opportunities. Create the first potential leads via a direct mail campaign, inviting to and arranging meetings at the expo in advance – with regards to number, distance and hygiene.
DURING THE EXPO
SEND THE A-TEAM
The staff at the stand is crucial. Make sure that you have the right team for this job, where each member has a specific role during the expo.
Tip! Classify your staff into three roles according to expertise: the ‘catcher’, the ‘caregiver’ and the ‘closer’ – thereby ensuring that the salesperson can focus on their job while specialists are doing their thing. Also consider whether they should have individual dress code.
BE A GREAT HOST
It is you who have invited the visitors to your stand – and thereby you are the host.
Tip! Be proactive, accommodating and meet everyone with a smile. Spend time on the visitors, put the cell phone away and take your breaks somewhere else.
KEEP TRACK
There is nothing worse than coming home and missing information about your leads.
Tip! Make an easy system where you quickly can write down the information on your leads and also add one or two things you have talked about, making it easy to keep the track of the conversation after the expo.
AFTER THE EXPO
FOLLOW UP
Do not let your hot leads get cold! A rule of the thumb is, that if there has not been a follow-up within a week, then the visitors har forgotten about it.
Tip! Extend the expo with an extra workday, thereby setting time aside in advance to follow up on the leads you have gathered during the expo.
EVALUATE
Evaluate internally and track your experiences which will help you optimize your expo participation for the next time.
Tip! When following up on your leads, ask them about their experience of your participation at the expo, thereby ensuring specific input from the customer to work on.