POST SHOW PLAN
MAXIMISING YOUR INVESTMENT IN AN EXHIBITION OR SHOW
Your business has spent time, effort and money to exhibit at a show to meet existing and prospective customers and gather leads. The show is ending and it is time to maximise all that investment and seize the opportunity to follow-up all your leads.
If you don’t have a structured plan set out for how you are going to follow up, here is a basic version of the plan which I develop into an in-depth tailored plan for each of my clients. It does mean taking action immediately after the show, as the longer you leave leads, the harder it will be to follow-up.
If you don’t have time to read, download the plan using the button at the bottom of the page.
STEP 1
First three days after the show:
LEADS: Export and download the details of all the visitors badges you scanned at the show. Over the next few days, check the entries, add in any extra notes that were taken and assess the quality of the leads.
EVALUATE: As soon as possible, have a team debrief. Gather your team’s thoughts immediately on the show, any insights from prospective and existing clients that they met, any trends in feedback and reactions to products / services / demonstrations, plus their thoughts on what went well and what could have gone better for future shows and exhibitions. Compare the show to previous shows you have attended and evaluate how well it has gone (number and quality of leads, visitor engagement levels, online engagement growth during the show, orders and potential orders / estimates sent, goals achieved, return on investment, for example) and build a file of feedback, insights and conclusions.
EMAIL NEWSLETTER: Send an email newsletter out to all the contacts you gathered thanking them for coming to see you at the show. Make sure you let them know that you will be in touch shortly with the information / demonstration / samples they requested and, in the meantime, point them towards your website or the pages for the products / or service you were showing or exhibiting.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Post on your social media ASAP that the show has finished and let followers know that if they missed the show they can sign up for your newsletter (and add the link in to your posts / first comments and profile) and they will receive all the details of what you launched / exhibited at the show.
STEP 2
Within seven days of the show closing:
DIRECT CONTACT: Call all the leads gathered at the show and follow up with personal emails with the details they requested on the stand. Let them know that any physical samples / printed materials they requested will be in the post this week.
Or if they requested appointments or demonstrations, call and find out when they are free and book them in. Follow up with a confirmation email.
In all emails with new contacts, encourage them to follow your business on your preferred social media channel(s). Give them links to follow. Make it as easy as possible.
AMPLIFY: If your file of insights from the exhibition demonstrates that the show was a success, then draft a media release detailing the successes with facts (40% more leads and 20% more orders, or which product was a roaring success and production will have to step up to meet demand, for example) and a quote from a leader within the business and pictures from the show. Send this to the show organisers for their website and social media channels. Send it to your trade publication(s) and local media, add it to your website news page, add it to all your profiles on the different associations you may be part of such as BIID, SBID, KBSA, BFA, Made in Britain, etc. making sure you add a link back to your company website.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Share any success stories and insights from the show and start to share details of the products / services you exhibited.
STEP 3
Second week after the show has closed:
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Take some time to find the people that you met at the show on LinkedIn and connect with them there. If you only follow their personal profiles, they will not get your updates in their feed – it is better to connect to personal profiles and add a message about meeting them at the show in your request to connect. Follow their company page on LinkedIn too, both from your company page and your personal profile.
Follow them and their company on every platform your business uses (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, etc).
SOCIAL MEDIA: Continue to share details of what you were exhibiting at the show on social media during this week.
STEP 4
Third week after the show has closed:
EMAIL NEWSLETTER: Send out an email newsletter to all the contacts gathered at the show covering all the products and services you were exhibiting as a reminder. Let them know when you are exhibiting next / when your next launch is / how to find your main brochures / where they can download the technical sheets and BIM files for your products from your website at any time, and how to contact you to place orders and obtain estimates. Add links to webpages, emails and telephone numbers to make it as easy as possible for them.
Use the same newsletter to send to all your customers on your email list that did not manage to come and see the show. Reword it to explain that this is what you were showing, and you were sorry not to see them. You hope to see them at your next exhibition / show / launch.
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Start to engage with the posts that are now appearing in your feed from the contacts you met at the show. Like and leave comments on their posts that are relevant to your business. If they have posted about visiting you at the show, leave a comment saying it was nice to meet them and thanking them for sharing.
If any of the media and the show organisers share your news online that the show was a success, make sure you comment, like and reshare their posts.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Continue to share details of what you were exhibiting at the show on social media during this week and the next few weeks if you have a lot of products / services. Share when your next show / exhibition / design week will be on social media.
Found that helpful?
You can download a copy of this plan and use it for your own exhibition plans here.
If you are planning future exhibitions and want to bring in an experienced communications consultant to maximise your investment before, during and after each show, then book in a discovery call with me now.
A bit about me
I am a fractional head of comms for B2B businesses in the architecture, interior design and construction sectors.
Working fractionally means I can offer businesses the strategic expertise they need without the cost of a full-time hire. Typically, clients ask for help with a communications challenge – big or small – and I deliver immediate impact, working flexibly to fit their goals and priorities.
Whether you are managing change, launching a new product, opening your first showroom in the UK or simply wanting to be more strategic about your communications, with me you have rapid access to a well-respected and skilled communications professional with a proven track record