Contents
- 1 6 Follow-up Strategies and Practices To Turn Your High Point Interest Into Action
- 2 The Way Forward
The legendary High Point Spring Market came to an end this April 17th. But why are we telling you this? You were in the middle of all the High Point action- exhibiting, engaging, networking, collecting leads, and so on. After an exhausting (to say the least) 5-day undertaking at the market, you probably want to wind down and relax. But the hustle doesn’t stop there, does it? You are already wondering about following up with the leads you collected and the connections you made. And let’s be honest, that’s arguably the most important aspect of exhibiting at High Point Market.
According to a survey, converting trade show leads is 38% less expensive than making sales calls alone. For those who put in the time and follow up, 5 to 10% of trade show leads will convert. That’s a goldmine of opportunities right there and you can’t afford to miss out on them! Now comes the question of the best practices and strategies you can incorporate into your follow-up process to maximize conversions and connections.
We are back with another guide in our trade show marketing series. From pre-show marketing to amazing booth ideas to follow-up strategies, we have been there along with you.
Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
6 Follow-up Strategies and Practices To Turn Your High Point Interest Into Action
1. Capture and utilize conversation details
A major problem at High Point Market is that buyers engage with hundreds of exhibitors and inevitably, don’t remember every interaction, let alone the details of your conversation. So, when you get around to following up, they don’t have the context of what they discussed and hence, are disengaged. On the other hand, your handwritten notes take 40-60 hours to decipher and even then, there’s a substantial risk of data loss and errors.
What can you do to overcome this? Use a lead capture tool! These tools help you capture lead information and detailed notes from your conversations, including the buyers’ specific needs, interests, pain points, etc. What’s more, you can start qualifying leads on the spot and following up immediately by giving a summary of your interaction. To sum up, you are reaching the customer fast, and with great context. It can’t get better than this!
Another great practice is to discuss follow-up preferences upfront. Whether it’s a call, email, or text, ensuring alignment on communication methods can streamline the follow-up process. This way, you reach your prospects exactly where they want and or expect to be reached. Clearly outline the next steps in the process, such as scheduling a follow-up call or providing additional information.
2. Segment your leads & personalize your approach
At a trade show, you interact with a wide range of individuals with varying levels of interest and engagement. These prospects can be segmented into various categories depending on their needs and interests. Now that you have all the detailed notes from each conversation, you can easily segment leads according to their needs, interests, engagement levels, and so on. A great approach is to segment your leads in the following manner:
a) Current customers with specific needs
These are individuals who have previously purchased from you and are attending the trade show to explore new offerings corresponding to their needs. Here’s how you approach them:
Record their specific needs and requirements during your conversations at the show.
Follow up with personal, one-on-one messages (no mass campaigns) with product selections tailored to their specific needs.
Express gratitude for their visit and offer exclusive promotions and offers.
b) Current customers with no specific requirements
These are customers who have previously purchased from you and are looking to engage with your products and your team. Here’s how you can tend to this segment:
When following up, inform them about your new collections and product launches.
Highlight the features and benefits of new products to spark their interest and encourage further exploration.
c) New leads with specific pain points
During your conversations with new leads, in some cases, you may be able to identify a challenge or pain point that they are facing. This segment can be nurtured in this way:
Identify and curate the corresponding product selection that would address their pain points.
When following up, send personalized product suggestions in PDF formats
d) New leads with no data captured
These are leads that entered your booth but you couldn’t capture any specific data about their needs and interests. To cater to this segment, send mass emails offering insight into:
Company information, product information & unique selling points
Resources like industry trends, newsletters, webinar invites, etc.
All in all, encourage them to explore your brand and product offerings.
e) New leads who selected products, but haven’t taken further action
These are new leads who checked out your products and expressed interest in registering with you but haven’t taken the next steps. For this segment, you can:
Send reminders showcasing the products they selected and offer incentives to encourage them to complete their registration process as a buyer.
Provide support and guidance to assist them in completing the registration process smoothly.
Looking for a handy tool to capture leads? WizCommerce helps you capture visitor information instantly with its amazing ‘Quick-Add’ feature and lets you add extensive notes from your buyer conversations so that you have all the context when following up!
3. Follow up promptly
Making sure customers remember and agree on what happened at the High Point Market trade show is crucial. Without clear confirmation procedures, there’s a risk of your customers forgetting they ever placed an order with you or going back on it because you took too long to follow up. Some customers discontinue their payment sources altogether because they purchased too much out of sheer excitement.
This is why you need to get in there as soon as possible. Implement a standardized and prompt process for getting confirmations on orders and interactions. This could involve sending confirmation emails with detailed summaries of the interactions, orders, and payment terms. You should also be able to offer your customers flexible payment options and send them order status updates, shipment links, and so on, once they place an order with you.
With WizCommerce’s all-in-one B2B commerce platform, you can offer real-time messaging for quick order updates and inquiries. With our secure payment system, you can accept payments seamlessly, either upon shipping or with pre-approved charges, ensuring smooth transactions.
4. Create visual reminders
Imagine you are sending your customers invoices and order forms post-show, and your customers don’t remember the interaction they had with you, never mind the products they liked and selected at the High Point Market.
How can you fix this? Include product images in your invoices and order forms! This immediately jogs the memory of your buyer, and they are not hesitant to go forward with your transaction.
You can also include pictures of yourself and other team members a prospect interacted with to instantly jog their memory and help them recall your conversation at the trade show.
A truly novel idea is sending a personalized video message about your interaction with a prospect, summarizing your exchange, thanking them for visiting your booth and laying out the next steps. You can record a quick video of yourself right after a conversation so that the conversation is fresh in your mind. A video message can be a great way to set yourself apart from the competition and build a relationship with your prospect.
5. Engage everywhere!
Apart from dedicated follow-ups, you should also consider engaging with your leads on professional networking and social media platforms. This helps you build a relationship with them outside of a sales environment and helps you gauge their interests and needs.
6. Track and measure using a CRM
Do not even think about keeping track of all the leads you have gathered manually. Add to this, the exercise of segmenting your leads, sending them personalized messaging, and tracking their response, and it becomes a huge task that is all but begging to be automated. Get yourself a CRM software to make your follow-up process simple. Here are all the ways a CRM can make your life easier:
a) Data collection
Using a CRM system makes it an easy job to log details from each conversation, such as contact information, preferences, and potential opportunities. You can easily personalize your communication using all this information. Imagine doing all this on paper and keeping track of all that data manually! Sounds like a mess, right?
b) Lead segmentation
You can categorize leads based on their engagement level, readiness to buy, and specific interests, allowing you to prioritize your follow-up efforts accordingly.
c) Automating follow-ups
You can get reminders for follow-ups so that your outreach remains consistent. Or, even better, you can automate follow-up processes, such as email sequences with a CRM.
d) Monitoring engagement metrics
Track open rates, click-through rates, and other engagement metrics to gauge the effectiveness of your follow-up efforts.
e) Analyzing conversion rates
CRM systems help you track leads through different stages of the sales funnel, from initial contact to closing a deal. Measure the conversion rates from leads to customers to identify which strategies and channels are most successful.
By consistently tracking and measuring your efforts, you can optimize your follow-up strategy and focus on tactics that yield the best results.
WizCommerce offers automated follow-up capabilities, allowing users to nurture leads efficiently and close deals promptly. You can customize follow-up email sequences based on lead interactions and preferences and facilitate timely and personalized communication, all leading to a great follow-up strategy!
The Way Forward
The High Point Market is a goldmine of opportunities for securing new leads, but what becomes of these leads depends on your follow-up strategy. A well-planned and well-executed follow-up process can make all the difference for your business.
So, there you go! Use our handy guide to start turning your High Point Market interest into action, one lead at a time. Keep checking this space for more cool stuff like this!
