By Monika Dürr
Trade shows provide valuable face-to-face opportunities to connect with potential customers and promote your company. It’s a key marketing initiative for driving in new leads. However, not all of your target audience may be able to attend these events, whether due to scheduling conflicts, travel constraints, or other limitations. To effectively reach and engage qualified, new leads and nurture current customers, a thoughtful and innovative strategy is required.
Here are some strategies to effectively reach your target groups — in-person or remotely:
Targeted Content Marketing: Provide valuable content to your target audience, solving their problems and answering their questions. Through targeted content marketing, you can build trust and establish a long-term relationship with these target groups.
Case Studies, Success Stories, Blog Articles and White Papers: Sharing examples of how your company has helped other customers builds credibility and interest. Craft detailed blog articles and white papers that showcase your solutions and expertise. Publish this valuable content online and capture new leads by prompting visitors to enter their email addresses before downloading the content. At trade shows, hand out the material after the contacts’ information is entered into the lead-gen system.
Virtual Press Kits: Companies should provide Virtual Press Kits for trade shows to streamline media access to their latest news, product details, and brand assets, ensuring consistent coverage and maximizing visibility. The kits enable engagement with journalists who might not attend the event, expanding the organization's reach and amplifying its message. This can also result in valuable editorial coverage.
Corporate Website and Social Media: By integrating all communication activities on the corporate website and sharing links to the content on social media, companies can develop a cohesive and impactful strategy. This amplifies the message, engages a broader audience, and drives measurable results across all channels.
Exclusive Offers for Non-Attendees: Offer exclusive promotions and discounts to attract new leads to your booth and to those unable to attend the trade show in person. Compelling offers can be a powerful incentive to drive engagement and sales.
Online-Only Promotions: Offer special discounts or promotions that are only valid for online orders. These offers can be time-limited to increase the incentive.
Vouchers and Invitations to Future Events: Invite non-attendees to upcoming events or reward them with vouchers for your range of products.
Post-Show Follow-Up and Relationship Building: Connecting with leads doesn’t end after the trade show. Reach out to your target audience, including those who missed the event, to strengthen your relationships with them.
Personal Emails and Follow-Ups: Send targeted emails with supporting content such as customer examples and in-the-field stories to interested parties and offer them a way to engage with your company. A personal approach shows that you value their time.
Summaries and Highlights: Share the highlights of the trade show in the form of blog articles, videos, email newsletters, or articles published by the trade media. This way, even non-attendees can benefit from the news.
Flexibility and Creativity are Key
Skillfully leverage digital tools, targeted content, and exclusive offers to maintain your company's visibility long after the trade show. Staying flexible and providing creative solutions allows you to reach your target audience wherever they are - in-person, online, or remotely.
About the author
Monika Dürr is a dynamic, multilingual communications expert known for her solution-focused approach and passion for maximizing project results. With a strong background in marketing, she has a proven track record of delivering outstanding communications programs and campaigns, from strategic planning to execution and evaluation. Dürr has over 25 years of experience in the packaging and graphic communications industries, representing a variety of products. She excels at transforming ideas into impactful actions, consistently driving success across diverse business initiatives. Based in Germany, Dürr holds a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt, where she specialized in Marketing and Human Resources. Contact Monika at monika.duerr@prservices24.onmicrosoft.com.
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