How To Build Efficient Trade Show Follow Up Emails

During a major Exhibition event like TOSSE, optimism and motivation are through the roof. You talk with lots of people, receive valuable feedback and hear promises of future orders.

But as the trade show ends and you return to your office, what happens?

On an average, it takes 5 working days to follow up on potential customers. . In many cases, there is no follow up at all and the business cards end up in a folder somewhere.

Exhibitions are resources consuming hence, it’s important to maximize gains immediately.

Follow up emails must start with instant follow up – the best way to do this to send a “thank you” message. Just after your discussion, send a short email with basic background information, making sure that your potential customers remember you.

Continue with thorough follow up – send in personalized messages that remind them of your business and answer their business questions.

Make follow up emails Stand out – leverage on the conversation you had with your potential customers in the stand, make them know you care.

Record Customer data using the right business tools – this simplifies you email dispatch and helps you understand the chronology of your data. There are various online tools like “myfairtool”.

All this process will succeed in helping you transition efficiently from trade show setting to daily business schedule and activities.

https://tosse.ng/tosse-visitor-information/visitors-registration-form/

Apr 19

How to maximize your Brand presence at Exhibitions

It takes a lot of marketing efforts to sell-out innovative products/services to key decision makers in most sectors.

Event hosts will propose a value driven partnership that will offer your organisation different opportunities, but you must also know what you want to achieve with your marketing objectives.

Here is a checklist to help you maximize your brand presence at exhibitions, trade shows and seminars and generate .

Branding of Seminar Room: With sponsorship, your organisation has the opportunity to brand any of the seminar rooms making your brand visible to thousands of participants and other exhibitors at the event.
Official Bag Branding: Your organisation’s logo on official bags to be given to all participants. The below-the-line advertising keeps your brand name in the minds of the audience.
3m by 3m Well-located Stand: Your organization should be allocated a 3 meters by 3 meters exhibition stand in a unique position that is open to the traffic of visitors and prospective clients.
Presentation Opportunity: In-event speaking engagement to boost your brand equity. It is best practice to get a time slot to make a sales pitch to thousands of participants at the event.
Press Conference Right: A special mention and participation at the exhibition’s press briefing will further put your brand out there to the prying eyes of the media.
Ushers Branding Right: Your Company’s logo at the back of the T-Shirt of all Ushers will give your brand 360 degree awareness at the event.
Pre and Post Event Advisory Service: Get pre/post event advisory services on how to better chart your path in the Education sector for greater customer conversion.
Pre and Post Event Brand Publicity: Pre-event offline and online promotional campaign for brand presence at the event will drive footfall to your exhibition stand. This will create some form of familiarity between your brand and prospective clients.

Get access to over 7000 attendees at Africa’s biggest education show, register here

The list is not exhaustible but your organization can use this checklist to negotiate for the best deals that will maximize your brand presence at exhibitions which will ultimately convert to quality leads for your business.

Furthermore, organizations also need to recognize the value of leads acquired to put that information into use after events. You can read more about this here.

To exhibit at TOSSE 2022, register here to apply for stand.

May 30

5 Steps to attract more customers to your exhibitions booth

It is said that to be outstanding, one must do things differently. This is a trait in any business/organization that is currently dominating the market, especially when it comes to exhibitions.

Perhaps, your business or organization has been exhibiting at events and have not seen the desired results on your investment there. Then it is time for a change.

As organisers of the biggest trade show in Africa with over 7000 attendees, we have listed 5 steps to help your business/organization attract more potential customers to your booth at exhibitions.

If you want to get a good return on your investment, then you must be able to separate yourself from the crowd of other exhibitors at the event by attracting the majority of the traffic to your booth. Below are the steps to help you achieve that.

Steps to help you attract customers to your exhibition booth

Create a buzz factor: One feedback every marketing executive would like to hear from customers at exhibitions is that they saw their stand and patronized them at the event. One way to maximize this is to create a social media buzz even before the exhibition day. Use your social media pages to tell your audience that you will be part of a particular exhibition and begin to warm your prospects up by showing them irresistible offers and packages you have prepared for them at the exhibitions. This way, you have aroused their interest, and they will be on the lookout for your exhibition booth at the event.
Use mini-influencers: You may wonder what this means? This is basically getting your best customers or people around you with a strong following both online and offline to promote your presence at the exhibition. Remember, this is a 5-step list and they are to be followed semantically. You will be getting a customer or good friend to post something like this: “(name of product/service) has helped me develop myself in so many ways. They will be at (exhibition name), make sure you check out their stand at the exhibition”. Remember, nothing travels faster than word of mouth whether online or offline. With these testimonials, you are beginning to build the interest in your booth.
Pre-event Follow-up: Before a tradeshow starts, usually, there would be a buzz weeks before and depending on the magnitude of the exhibition, people may have been posting their attendance confirmations online or offline, and this is another goldmine where you can trap leads from. One easy way to do that is to simply follow the hashtag on social media e.g #TOSSE2022, and see all the posts of people who have signaled their interest, and begin to filter them to see those that fit your customer description. Then send them personal invites and materials to educate them about your products to show that you want to see them in your booth at the exhibition.
Get inbound traffic: Note that we are talking about doing things differently to attract potential customers to your booth. One of the traditional things done at exhibitions is that exhibitors get one of their staff to distribute their flyers or brochures to the attendees. This still works, but there is something better, which is using challenges, contests, giveaways, mystery games and other ideas that naturally calls people attention. People love freebies, and these kinds of things, hence increasing the amount of leads you are getting into your booth and that also increases your chances of converting them while they are inside.
Post-event Follow-up: Remember, you are trying to get them to make a decision and it may not necessarily be at the exhibition, so you must follow them all through the decision making process. Get their social media handles and thoroughly check up on them to see how your products and services can help them, lookout for their needs, celebrate them on their special days and build a relationship afterwards, and you will have some become lifetime customers of your business/organization.

These are 5 steps which when followed will bring a vast amount of traffic who are potential leads that can become your customers. It may sound like a lot of work, but if you want to make sales and achieve your goals as an exhibitor, you must be ready to do this.

Don’t forget to also check out our article on how to improve your Brand presence at exhibitions.

Mar 03

Running A Successful Business In A Fluctuating Economy

With the economy fluctuating these days, making a profit from businesses has become considerably harder. This is even more so for small/medium scale businesses that do not have the financial stability to weather the storm. How then can these small businesses not only survive but also thrive? What can the owners do about it? The following tips might be helpful in running a business in a fluctuating economy.

Leverage on existing clients

Existing clients and customers are an important key to surviving a fluctuating economy. They are a means of generating steady income while incurring minimal costs in the process of finding a new customer.

Focus on the existing clients. Tailor your products to their needs. This will give you much more sales opportunities. You might also want to build customer loyalty. Look for cost-effective rewards to endear these customers to your business. Remember, however, that the quality of products/services offered is the major selling point, so focus on improving their quality to retain clients.

Cut down unnecessary costs

In order to stay afloat, it is necessary to be wary about spending on trivial or unwanted items. Be sure to do regular analysis to determine what products sell better and which does not, and then refrain from stocking up on products that do not give any real value of sorts.

Review your inventory management practices. Could there be a way to get your wares at a cheaper rate without reducing the quality? Can you get shipping alternatives that are efficient yet cost-effective? You are under no obligation to stick to the one supplier, be ready to explore other options.

Be different from competitors

However important old clients are, you are always going to need new ones to boost income. Thus, you need to research your competitors. If you are going to stand out in order to gain new clients, you are going to have to do things differently from your competitors.

Find out how they operate and look for ways to better their processes. Identify opportunities to entice prospective customers into becoming your customers.

Focus on core competencies

While it is encouraged to diversify, it will serve you far better to focus your attention on goods/services you excel at. Diversification just for the sake of it is generally a waste of time and resources. It can damage your core business by taking money and time away from what you do best and could possibly ruin your reputation.
Focus your attention on your core competencies. Any diversification should be well-calculated to achieve a particular purpose.

Do more marketing

When trying to cut costs, most businesses first slash marketing costs, at times dropping it altogether. This is the wrong approach. In times of economic fluctuations, consumers are usually restless and are looking for new options to purchase from. This provides a perfect opportunity to put your business in their faces. So don’t stop marketing. If possible, up the ante and do more marketing.