Back in the day, lead generation at an exhibition used to be a simple technique – had your prospect put their business card in the bowl? However, with the demands for justifying every penny of your marketing investment, more and more emphasis has been put into increasing the quality of leads generated from a live event.
However, before you begin any live event it’s important to set your goals and objectives for the exhibition. For most businesses this will be to generate leads and increase awareness, but it’s wise to really understand and agree before a show what it is you are trying to achieve. Once you know this, your business will be in a better position to deliver.
Read on to discover how to improve your business’ lead generation at your next event!
Badge scanning
A simple, but effective, technique. Investing in a badge scanner could transform how you achieve and monitor leads within your exhibition marketing. Badge scanning is quick, easy and puts the control of gathering quality information in the hands of your live event staff.
Leads can be easily qualified, with event organisers doing a lot of the data gathering for you, giving you more time to do what you do best – promote your business.
Interactivity
Adding interactive elements to your exhibition stand such as Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) or touch screens can transform how visitors engage with your stand, and your business. RFID in particular could be a game changer for organisations that rely on product demonstrations – with visitors able to launch digital content simply by holding a product, or other object, up to a screen.
Adding gamification elements such as quizzes or mobile games can also be a fun way to get people off the walkway and on to your stand. With more people coming to your stand, your exhibition team has more opportunities to convert visitors into prospects.
Stand Out
This may sound like an obvious tip to increase lead generation – but you’d be surprised at how many businesses show up to an exhibition with a dull popup or display stand and then complain that no one visited.
An exhibition stand is your audience’s first impression of your business at a live event; and it’s important to ensure that it’s a positive one. There are countless, cost-effective portable display stands that go beyond simple pop-ups and banners.
A great example is PIXLIP GO – a light box display stand designed to ensure that your business will stand out from the crowd – no matter the size of your system. Another is ImageWall, which combines the modularity of a display stand with the bespoke look of a classic exhibition system.
Both systems are built to last, and will present your business in the best possible light, achieving maximum impact at every event you attend.
Partner with event organisers
Another effective solution to improving lead generation is to partner with the organisers to deliver a pre-show competition, with the winner drawn at the event. This will help you generate potential leads before the exhibition has even started!
Discover what marketing media the event organiser has to offer. Some of this could be included free of charge in your package, or a discounted fee. As a bare minimum, make sure you’re on the exhibitor’s section – make the time to ensure your logo is uploaded and your message is on point.
Event organisers offer many sponsorship opportunities, so find these out and see how they can help promote your business.
Train your staff
While having a fantastic looking stand helps, it’s the staff that make a successful exhibition. Your stand staff shouldn’t necessarily be 100% made up of Sales. Sales staff are great for some roles on a stand but the ice breakers/ qualifiers may be better as receptionists or admin staff who are more open and less pushy or “sales-y”.
Before you arrive at the exhibition hall, your team should be aware of their individual responsibilities, how they are to communicate with exhibition visitors and how to generate leads most effectively on the stand.
Discover more advice on how to successfully staff an exhibition stand.
Social Media
An important part of any live event, social media marketing has transformed how businesses can promote themselves and their stand before an exhibition. As soon as you sign up to a live event, make sure to find out from the organiser their social accounts and the hashtags they are using for the event.
Once you have this information, continue to promote yourselves and the event at least once a week, ramping up the frequency the closer you are to the exhibition – this will increase your visibility and awareness, with more potential customers knowing of your business before they’ve even stepped foot in the exhibition hall.
How we can help
At Rise, our goal is to help your business maximise its return on investment from live events. Every product in our display range is reconfigurable and reusable – making it the last stand you’ll ever need to buy, and are designed to stand out, driving lead generation and increasing sales.
Discover how our range of modular exhibition systems and portable display stands can help your business achieve its live event objectives.
