You might want to take a more detailed look at how your organization is managing the valuable leads generated by your trade shows. Odds are fairly good that you can improve the ROI on your tradeshow investments. To help you do that, here are helpful quick check tips:

Quick Check – Step 1
At the end of your next trade show, collect all leads and give them to one person to conduct follow up calls to qualify and rate the leads. This typically includes asking the following questions:

• Do you have an upcoming need for our product or service?
• Do you have a specific timeframe when you will need our product or service?
• Can I schedule a time and day for a representative to follow up with you?

Quick Check – Step 2
Two weeks after your leads are delivered to sales, have the same person who qualified the leads after the show follow-up again. They will call as a courtesy to make sure that potential customers have received everything they needed. While on the phone with the prospect, they will ask:

• Did they have a chance to speak with one of our representatives?
• Are they still planning on making a purchase?
• If they did make a purchase, who did they go with and why?

Management, on the other hand, captures important information, including:

• Initial value of your leads
• Plans for purchase
• Sales team follow-up
• Market specific data on competitors

Todd Smithee
President, Conrin, Inc.

www.conrin.com

Try mentioning the subject of “subject lines” to an email marketer and you’ll find yourself listening to a litany of do’s and don’ts and an enumeration of spam-trigger words.

I am certain that you’re scratching your head right now and saying to yourself, “Subject lines? Who cares? I am in the business of trade show exhibiting.” Sure you are, but don’t you use emails to invite your clients and prospects to your display booth? Aha! Did I just hear a light bulb click on?

Since I am not a professional email marketer, I will not go through a litany of tips. But instead, I’ll share with you nuggets of lessons I’ve learned dealing with this seemingly relevant topic.

Lesson no. 1: $ and % will land your email in Spamville
If you’re planning to send out an email about the huge discount that you’re giving away at an upcoming trade show, don’t make the mistake of putting that number in your subject line. Spam filters are extra sensitive to zeroes, dollars and percentage signs. Oh, and one more thing—stay away from exclamation marks. You don’t want to excite the spam filters.

Lesson no. 2: All CAPS will not get your message through
There’s no better way to make a point than to capitalize all letters in your text. Well, that is if you want to catch the attention of spam filters. So, avoid using an ALL CAPS approach in your subject line.

Lesson no. 3: KISS (Keep It Short and Straightforward)
Experts recommend that you limit your subject line to no more than 50 characters. Please note that spaces in between words are counted as characters.

Lesson no. 4: Dates matter
This we proved at Nomadic when we tested two subject lines for a promotion email. The one that included a promo end date generated a higher open rate. Dates create an urgency for email recipients to open your email and see what you’re offering them.

Clearly, this short and single line of text can spell a whole lot of difference in getting your message across. So, before you push the “Send” button, double-check your subject line.

If you have email-marketing tips that you want to share with other exhibitors, go ahead and email them to us at marketing@nomadicdisplay.com. We’ll feature them in a separate blog.

Mabel Kenyon
Marketing Communications Coordinator

Your trade show event is over and you’ve turned the hot leads from it over to your sales force. What about the rest of the leads?

The good news is that market research shows longer-term leads indicate future sales opportunities and account for 77% of potential sales. The not-so-good news is that these leads are often overlooked and under “worked” by sales people.

Lead generation experts say that it takes an average of seven to nine touches to convert longer-term leads. Every “touch” provides contact with your brand and product visibility to your prospects. Touches are every contact you make whether it’s an email, a telephone conversation, a mailing, or a visit at your event or meeting.

To increase your chances of closing more sales from your longer-term leads, chart the number of times your company “touches” a prospect. If it’s less than 7 to 9 times, develop tactics to reach out to them more often.

For more exhibiting tips, request a copy of our new Event Professional CD.

Mabel Kenyon
Marketing Communications Coordinator

The New Year has begun, and I am sure you are picking up the pace in preparing for the shows and events you’ve lined up for the first quarter of 2008.

As you go through your preparations, keep in mind the options you have to transport your exhibit to and from your show. Basically you have four main choices, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages:

Common carriers
They provide transport services according to defined routes and schedules. They are less expensive and it is easy to check on your shipment’s location. However, they often make several transfers and only accept crated materials. And, if you opt for a common carrier, there is always the possibility that your exhibit equipment and materials may not be able to tolerate normal road shock.

Van lines / Specialist exhibition freight companies
They offer more specialized and personalized point-to-point service. They are equipped to handle crated or blanket-wrapped pieces, and all their trucks operate with "air-ride" or extra cushioning. Another positive point for this option is that you will have the same driver who loads and unloads shipments. The only disadvantage of exhibition freight companies is that they can be more expensive than other transportation options.

Airfreight
This option offers the quickest means of transportation to show sites as they are specialized airfreight forwarders. The disadvantages of airfreight are high costs, load size limitations and harsh handling techniques by airline baggage handlers. It is also important to note that airfreight brokers don’t have allegiance to any one freight or commercial airline, which may result to service inconsistency.

Courier service
FedEx, UPS and DHL fall into this category. It’s the quickest means of transportation to the show site for last minute shipments. The only drawback is the high expense.

To help you in your event and trade show planning, request a copy of our new Event Professional CD.

Mabel Kenyon
Marketing Communications Coordinator