Email Marketing and Tradeshows

By Lynda Partner

Using email marketing can help make a tradeshow a huge success. Learn how and when to use email marketing to stretch a dollar and get better results from tradeshow presence.

Once you know what you want from the show you can more easily see where email marketing is the best fit.

Not all tradeshows are created equal and how you use email marketing will be different depending on the size of the show, who the audience is and—most importantly—your objectives. The first thing to do is know your objectives. Are you there to launch a new product? Promote brand recognition? Generate awareness of the company? Increase press coverage? Once you know what you want from the show you can more easily see where email marketing is the best fit—before, during and after the show.

BEFORE...

• Use email to tell your prospects that you'll be at a certain tradeshow. Some customers just need to meet people 'in the flesh' before they feel comfortable doing business with them and a trade show is a convenient non-threatening way for people to drop by and meet you—on their time.
• Mention your tradeshow presence in your regular newsletter(s)—advertise yourself.

• Create personalized invitations to set up specific times to meet with key people.

  Create personalized invitations to set up specific times to meet with key people— especially those clients who you know are 'sitting on the fence' with their decision.
• For trade shows that charge attendees you could offer discount or complimentary tickets to those that "reply."
• In all emails telling people about your tradeshow plans, make sure to include a link to your Web site that gives more detail on what you will be doing at the show.
• DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE your booth number in every email.
• Don't forget the media—let the press know that you plan to attend a trade show by emailing a media advisory. A media list is often available from the show promoters but don't forget to include other local media and your in-house list. Making them aware that you will be in town may remind them that they were intending to get in contact with you.
• Remind everyone a day or so before the trade show. People are busy and they may have wanted to go but didn't necessarily make a note of it—but DON'T send the same email over and over. Tailor it appropriately.

...DURING...

• When booth-staff talk to visitors, make sure they ask, "Can I have your email address so I can follow-up with you?" Ask permission to send the person more information about the product/service/issue that they were asking about. Make sure all staff are sensitized to privacy issues. If they sense hesitation when asking for an email address, they should be able to qualify the use of that email address immediately - "We'll only use your address to send you product information and you can get off the list at any time. We'll never sell, rent or give your address to anyone for any reason;"
• If you do the "business card in a fishbowl" technique, and you plan to follow-up with those names, be aware that a business card is not permission to send unwanted email! Make sure the signage near the fishbowl clearly states what the business card will be used for—you'll find you get more cards that way too. People are increasingly sensitive to anything that might result in more unwanted email.

• Every time you get a business card handed to you, ask if they'd like to get your monthly or weekly newsletter.

  Every time you get a business card handed to you, ask if they'd like to get your monthly or weekly newsletter. If they say yes, write yes on the back of the card and add their name to your list later. State the frequency of the newsletter—often people will say yes if it's monthly but no if it's too frequent for their tastes.
• Run a give-away where the prize is awarded by email.
• Consider a quick campaign while you are at the show—tell your customers what you are seeing—what other (complimentary of course) products you saw that might be of interest to them.

...AND AFTER

• Don't forget to finish the job! So many people are so tired after a grueling stint on the tradeshow floor that they just don't follow through. Put those names in your database right away—two more, three more, you can do it!

• Follow up with an email campaign that offers the prospective client another look.

  For those people who said you could follow up with them, follow up with an email campaign that offers the prospective client another look. Maybe offer a promotion to close the deal—get $5 off when you mention you met us at the trade show, free hand cream when you purchase a multi-vitamin, etc. Make sure that the offer is exclusively available to those people that you talked with at the trade show.
• Send your contest winner email to everyone who participated. Tell them it's the only email they'll get from you unless they've signed up to get more. In the announcement, promote your newsletter and offer them an opportunity to sign up directly from the email.
• Respect their wishes. If they ask not to get any more email from you, don't send them any. A smaller number of higher quality leads is better than a large number of annoyed people walking around telling others of their unhappiness with you.

Email has an important role to play in tradeshow success—used well it can help you get more people to visit you at your trade show; it can be used to start and develop relationships with people who visit your booth and it can help you close business afterwards. Use it well but never abuse it.