Step 2 of The “Five Step Shuffle”

Step 2 – Seek Feedback From Current and Prospective Customers

The next step is to find out which shows the ideal buyers attend, what value they place on those shows and, most importantly, their true interest in your category of products and/or services.

Once the prospective customers have been identified, find an independent list of prospects that fit that profile. This list can come from your own in-house customer relations database and/or outside list database sources. The final list should include prospects as well as existing customers. This allows you to learn from your potential audience their interest level in the products and/or services being offered and their feelings about particular shows.

If the time and funds permit, try sending a formal survey to several hundred respondents per market from this database. At minimum, conduct informal interviews by phone with several dozen customers.   Do not limit your research to current customers or to “show goers” alone as you will want opinions from a cross-section of your targeted potential audience.

From the survey, here is what you need to learn:

The level of interest in your products. Ask respondents what they know about your company and its products or services. Then, ask about their level of interest in the specific products and services offered at the show in general.  If there is a high level of interest in your product or service, there is a higher likelihood that attendees will stop by your visit your trade booth exhibit. This information will assist you in developing and refining objectives for the trade show and strategies for achieving those objectives.

The feelings of the respondents about particular shows.  Be sure to ask attendees what shows they attend, what shows they are aware of but do not attend, and why they do not attend. What shows do they consider most important? Not only will this help you acquire information about shows you’re considering, but you may learn of new events with better payoff for your time and money.

The feelings of the respondents about trade shows in general. What role do shows play in the decision of marketing tools that influence them: direct mail, sales calls, ads in trade magazines, electronic newsletters, social media marketing, etc.?

If you have questions about the value of a specific show that your company has traditionally attended, try conducting a survey of past attendees to evaluate their awareness of your company and its products or services. You can also find out the effectiveness of your exhibit and the decision-making level of the prospects. This may lead you to discover that many attendees who visited your booth were already loyal customers who simply wanted to chat awhile and visit with their buddies in sales. If this is the case, you may want to reconsider the value of that particular show for lead generation.