Trade fairs are not just about presenting new products and creating brand awareness. Direct interaction with trade fair visitors on site offers enormous potential for acquiring new customers. Generating new leads is one of the most important trade fair objectives – and a major challenge for companies that don't want to miss out on valuable opportunities.
Industry experts, potential customers and key decision-makers under one roof: trade fairs are perfect platforms for generating qualified leads in a short space of time. Whether leading international trade fairs, national industry gatherings or customer events, such events offer a wide range of opportunities for lead generation and therefore outperform conventional marketing channels. The primary focus at trade fairs is no longer primarily sales; brand awareness, garnering interest and cultivating and maintaining contacts play the primary role in trade fair communication. If you succeed in persuading interested visitors to leave their contact details at your stand, you can remain in direct dialog even after the trade fair. Well-organized and well-executed lead generation, with marketing and sales working hand in hand, significantly boosts sales figures, making the usually costly investment of attending a trade fair a worthwhile option.
Digitized capture of leads from all channels and a central database not only enables the integration of data into the CRM, but also makes it much easier to follow up on contacts. After all, unqualified leads rarely lead to sales success. It is important that leads generated by marketing are prepared for sales after the trade fair, so that sales can take over at the optimal time. The more relevant a lead is to sales, the higher its quality. Because not all leads are equal!
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"Successful follow up on trade fair leads" - Tip Sheet with 10 tried-and-tested tips!
Successful lead generation at trade fairs requires strategic planning in advance and doesn't just start at the event. Here are some tips and strategies to encourage interaction with your target group.
First impressions count, and this also applies to trade fairs. An impressive trade fair stand brings all aspects of a brand to life and arouses visitors’ interest. Rely on intelligent design concepts that are strategically and conceptually planned, taking into account strategies for qualified lead generation.
Use interactive displays as visitor magnets that attract and retain attention. They not only present information, but also create memorable product experiences, inviting active participation with high appeal and added value. By providing or sharing exclusive content in exchange for contact information, they generate valuable data and support lead generation. Enable visitors to sign up for newsletters or further information directly at the stand, creating a foundation for subsequent follow-up. QR codes can be used to offer information for downloading product information or link your target group to a social network or your landing page through your giveaways. It's a straightforward way to exchange information quickly and easily, engage with potential customers and interact with them… and makes your activities measurable!
Create specialized, useful content about product solutions, your company, or your team, precisely tailored to your target group’s needs, providing added value. Whether it's a free download or a discount code, the landing page should definitely include a contact form so that you can gather information and make it possible for questions to be asked and appointments to be made before and after the event. Make the landing page a point of contact for visitors you want to make contact with – and increase your visibility at the trade fair by aligning the design of the landing page with your trade fair stand design.
Even before the trade fair, you should use the landing page as a communication tool and lead your target group here. In an accompanying e-mail campaign, you can repeatedly refer to the website and serve different content pieces in multiple newsletters, such as save-the-dates, event invitations, press conferences or guided tours. You can also use the ongoing campaign to communicate giveaways and ticket raffles, or other trade fair-related promotions.
An effective way of drawing attention to your stand is to organize presentations or workshops as part of the trade fair. This not only provides an opportunity to showcase your expertise, but also attracts qualified visitors who are actively looking for solutions to their needs. Live videos featuring your experts or corporate influencers at the trade fair stand providing information on product solutions are also effective and attract attention, whether on the LED wall beyond the stand’s boundaries or online.
Use social media to connect with potential customers before, during and after the trade fair. Regular posts about trade fair planning or behind the scenes insights create attention in advance. Sales can also be involved in online marketing activities, because the more touchpoints you have with the target group, the more intense the connection. Link your trade fair presence with other marketing activities and create synergies to nurture and further expand existing contacts. Develop additional digital marketing campaigns around your trade fair activities: they not only generate excitement and arouse interest, but also increase brand awareness and improve lead attribution.
A compelling one-on-one conversation that addresses individual needs and goes into depth can build lasting connections. Trade fair activities such as product demonstrations or presentations help to collect contact information and initiate conversations on-site. Well-prepared data in the CRM simplifies targeted, personal interactions and personalized experiences. Train your team in networking and maintain existing contacts. It is important to have a motivated sales team that is well prepared and involved in trade fair communication. Traditional measures such as business cards, trade fair badge scans or a contact form at the trade fair stand support data collection.
Don't waste sales potential! Get the most out of lead generation at trade fairs by taking an effective and strategic approach. Think exclusively and get personal. Measure your marketing success in order to optimize measures. You can improve and develop the quality of your leads afterwards. This is where lead nurturing comes in handy. You can find out exactly how this works in our free white paper.
