Is Your Business Missing the Personal Touch?
These days, so much marketing is done on the web that we can often forget, as businesses, that there are any other effective ways to reach our target audiences. Social media, search engine advertising, blogging and all those other good things can certainly have a huge effect on how many people hear about your brand, but most businesses, especially those with a local focus, find that their marketing return on investment improves dramatically when they throw something more personal like telemarketing or face to face marketing into the mix.
Here are three reasons why it is well worth adding some more personal direct marketing to your business’ strategy for reaching the people:
Online Saturation
People see literally hundreds, if not thousands of adverts, promotional tweets and Facebook posts, and thinly veiled marketing messages every single day on the web. There are ads in their email, in their Google search results, in the apps they use on their smartphones, and all over the sites they use regularly like Facebook. While you can target people very easily with social media or search engine marketing, what you can’t do is force them to actually read your messages when they are displayed. Much as many of us fast forward through commercials when we watch shows we have recorded on our DVRs, or go to make a coffee when they are on on live TV, people have subconsciously gotten used to simply ignoring certain parts of websites they use a lot because that is where the commercials are.
This means that no matter how good your offer, or how relevant it is, someone may simply tune it out as a result of the constant stream of advertising they are now accustomed to being exposed to. Direct marketing is harder to ignore.
If somebody engages with someone from a company, they are taking in far more of the branding exposed to them than when they see a social media post. What the representative is wearing, the phrases they use, the design of the mall pop up or exhibition stand they are using – all of this contributes to a far stronger brand impact that will make your brand far more memorable to the people who encounter it.
Trust Issues
By representing your business with real people that potential customers can chat to and ask questions of, you instantly appear more trustworthy. An online ad can promise anything, but when there is somebody right in front of you who can assuage all of your doubts about buying or signing up, you are naturally going to be more compelled to trust the business they represent.
You can do face to face marketing in all kinds of ways, for example you can contact Westfield Specialty Leasing to arrange to have a presence in a local mall, you can attend conventions and exhibitions as a business, or you can even get out on the street and start talking to people. Whatever you do, consider face to face advertising as a powerful weapon you could be adding to your business’ arsenal.
Image Credit – bplans.com
How to Improve Lead Generation at Your Next Exhibition
It’s important for you to have more than a big pile of leads from your next exhibition. You also want high-quality leads, which are more likely to convert to sales for you. Fortunately, there are some great ways in which you can increase your leads’ quality. Keep reading to find out more.
Attend Shows Where Your Prospects Are
Instead of attending all the local trade shows, make sure you look at the attendees’ demographics (e.g. job titles, as well as their company’s size, location, and annual budget) first. This way you can see what percentage of the people in attendance fit your company’s needs. Make sure to look at each show before you attend them so you only attend those shows that are relevant to you and at which you’ll spend most of your time talking to people who are likely to buy your products or services.
Focus on Pre-Show and At-Show Promotions
Offer giveaways and gifts your target audience is actually interested in instead of things that appeal to people in general. This works if you stop spending your budget on a lot of low-quality items and starting spending it on items big-time buyers will want instead. While this means you may not have as many people crowding around your booth, you can rest assured the ones who do visit are actually interested in what you’re offering. You and your sales force can then focus on reaching out to these people more effectively after the show as well.
Better Qualify Your Leads
Talk to your sales people to learn what information they need about each lead so you can get it for them. This way you’ll know how to define hot, good, and unqualified leads. Once you’ve ranked the leads for your sales team, they can do a better job of following up with them
Invest in Your Booth Staff
The better you train your booth staff, the better your leads. Don’t use trade shows for on the job training. Instead, it’s important that they’re ready with open-ended questions, know how to record their answers, and be comfortable with your company before attending the show. Also, teach them to raise the most common objections instead of waiting for someone else to raise them. Of course, you also need to know what to say to overcome such objections.
Design a Great Trade Booth Experience
Make sure your booth engages multiple senses. Create demonstrations that are engaging instead of leaving attendees bored. Also, make sure your perspective clients know exactly what niche you fill. A great way to do this is by designing graphics that are specific to the trade show you’re attending. All of this will work together to help bring you leads you can close, but don’t give all your leads to your sales force. Instead, only give them the leads that are sales-ready while you continue marketing to those who aren’t ready.
Using these methods will bring in higher quality leads from your trade show exhibitions.
Image Credit – gotomarketers.com
Sure Fire Ways to Keep Your Exhibition Visitors Engaged
Regardless of what type of business you’re in, exhibitions are your mainstay. For this reason, there’s a lot of pressure on you to do well. Fortunately, there are many ways you can create a memorable and engaging exhibition stand.
Set up Your Booth Right
It all starts with the way you set up your Booth Design. There are so many different types of stands available today, you’re sure to find one that works for you whether you need three walls or a way to integrate technology. Of course, technology is definitely a great thing to have at your exhibit. At the very least, make sure you have something that moves and captures people’s curiosity. Even if you have to throw something in the air and catch it, create some activity in your exhibit area then make sure you put down a carpet so people will stand around and watch without worrying about their feet hurting.
Give Your Visitor Something Valuable to Take Home with Them
It’s equally as important to give your guests something valuable to take home with them (e.g. a white paper, e-book, free access to a paid service). Make sure you ask them for their business card or have a fish bowl available for them to drop it into. Give them a reason to do so, like a small contest they can enter simply by leaving their business card there. This will allow you to build trust while building your email list too. Also, don’t forget to attach your business card to it too.
Host a Demonstration
Appealing activities will get the greatest amount of attention. So, if you can find a way to highlight your product or service in a way that’s both engaging and hands-on, do it. This isn’t as difficult as you think. You can simply show those at your booth what your service or product’s market-relevant benefits are. Of course, being somewhat entertaining in doing so will also really help.
Connect with Your Visitors
Don’t start off by asking your visitors how you can help them. If you’re awkward, the entire presentation will also be awkward. Even if the folks at your booth are only looking at what you’re offering, ask them questions so you can try to start a dialog. In order for this to work well for your company, you must have enough people at your exhibition booth to answer everyone’s questions. The worst thing you can do is make someone wait.
Don’t Forget to Follow Up
Make sure you have an effective follow-up action plan in place before attending the exhibition. Once you successfully collect people’s business cards, you don’t want to let those go to waste. These folks want you to contact them so don’t waffle in doing so. This is when your time pays off. Of course, folks’ business cards aren’t your main goal here, engaging people is. Nonetheless, you don’t want to end the engagement when the exhibition ends when it’s so easy to keep it going.
