One of the key areas for B2B lead generation is trade show and exhibition marketing. However these brilliant sources of demand generation are often a massive drain on the marketing budget if they are not handled appropriately. Here are some steps to ensuring a rounded approach is taken when handling this type of event:
Get researching
Using your telemarketing services, investigate which attendees are appropriate to your market. You can quickly define a universal lead definition for the ideal prospect. Using the registration list, start by looking up registrants on LinkedIn and draw up a list of targets for the event. Also find out about the sponsors you make find you can develop relationships with them and discover new ways to access your market.
Use social media throughout
You can begin your social media campaign before the event connecting with registrants and updating them with your company blog and social media profiles. During the tradeshow or exhibition Tweet appropriate information and ask attendees for feedback.
Work in partnership with the event organisers
You prime your target audience using initiatives together with the event organisers. Perhaps they have a pre-event mailer or e-shot. The attendee list can be used later in a B2B telemarketing exercise to inform people of where you are, events you are taking part in and any special event offers.
Be focused
Keep focused on those targets that express a real interest in your company rather than slavishly explaining your products to people that simply aren’t interested. Collect the details from those that do have a genuine interest and get the database updated to feed into your telemarketing team. Update as much information as possible about the issue they want to resolve, other company contacts and any information about their business plans. This will help your B2B telemarketing team when they follow up after the event.
At IZEN Marketing we can help with all aspects of B2B lead generation.
