IndustrialSage Logo
  • Shows
    • Bright Ideas by Acuity Brands
    • Executive Series
    • From the Floor: Trade Shows
    • Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric
    • Making Connections Presented by Brennan Industries
    • Sales & Marketing Insights
    • Sales & Marketing How To
    • Webinars
    • Create Custom Content
    • Sponsor A New Show!
  • News
    • Industry News
    • Submit a Story
  • Articles
  • Members
    • Login
    • Member Dashboard
    • Add Agency to Directory
    • Profile
    • Create Account
    • Press Submission
  • Services
  • About
    • About Our Team
    • About IndustrialSage
    • About the Studio
    • Reviews
    • Agency Directory
    • Our Sponsors
      • Optimum Productions
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
  • Contact
Menu
  • Shows
    • Bright Ideas by Acuity Brands
    • Executive Series
    • From the Floor: Trade Shows
    • Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric
    • Making Connections Presented by Brennan Industries
    • Sales & Marketing Insights
    • Sales & Marketing How To
    • Webinars
    • Create Custom Content
    • Sponsor A New Show!
  • News
    • Industry News
    • Submit a Story
  • Articles
  • Members
    • Login
    • Member Dashboard
    • Add Agency to Directory
    • Profile
    • Create Account
    • Press Submission
  • Services
  • About
    • About Our Team
    • About IndustrialSage
    • About the Studio
    • Reviews
    • Agency Directory
    • Our Sponsors
      • Optimum Productions
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
  • Contact
Search
Close
Home Trade Shows

How to Prepare Your Marketing CRM and Database for Trade Shows | Episode 031

by Rica
March 11, 2018
in Trade Shows
3 min read
8
SHARES
Share on LinkedIn Share on FacebookShare on TwitterEmail this Article

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

We touched on trade shows and how they’re still worth it way back in Episode 3 last August. In short, they’re worth it if you’re prepared with a database in place.

“The month after your trade show is prime time for converting these lukewarm leads into a sale. Since they handed over their contact information, odds are they still remember you, which leaves the door open to connect… Generating trade show leads is hard work. If you don’t follow up, you fail.”
Brian Sun of AutoPilot

Here are four steps you should follow to prepare your marketing department before any trade show.

  • Prepare some sort of marketing CRM.
  • Simplify data entry.
  • Automate what you can.
  • Track everything.

1. PREPARE SOME SORT OF MARKETING CRM

Decide how you want to collect the information at the show. That’s going to determine how you follow up after the show. And whatever you choose, make sure you know where those leads are going to collect afterwards.

Whether it’s just an Excel spreadsheet or Hubspot or Salesforce, HAVE A DIGITAL DATABASE READY.

If you know certain people are going to be there, plug their information into it beforehand.

You need a trade show database to organize your contacts and your sign-up or follow-up process. If you don’t invest time in it beforehand, you’ll lose time and valuable leads afterwards.

2. SIMPLIFY DATA ENTRY

Lots of marketing CRMs can automate the process of adding a new lead; take advantage of this!

Many even have a Kiosk mode designed specifically with trade shows in mind! Visitors can fill out a form, hit ‘Enter,’ then pass the form to the next person.

3. AUTOMATE WHAT YOU CAN

If it’s not already, connect your marketing CRM to some sort of email or messaging system, and have a drip campaign ready before you even get to the trade show. That way when people sign up, they can automatically receive a “thanks for signing up” email from you, and then they’ll begin a journey right then, without you even having to take their business card out of your pocket.

4. TRACK EVERYTHING

Try to use an email system that can track opens and clicks; everything from MailChimp to Pardot can help with this. This helps you keep track of hot leads – and the more automated your system is, the more you can categorize people who click through without even lifting a finger!

If you’re a fan of results, use video content within your marketing emails, and use analytics to track those views and see who’s really watching and interested. Video-tracking analytics and automated marketing exists out there, so take advantage of it.

Whatever methods you decide to run with… the point is to be proactive.

 

ACCESS THE FREE PERSONA BUILDER
 

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get each of our weekly episodes sent directly to your inbox. You can also subscribe wherever you download podcasts so you can listen on the go!

If there’s a particular topic that you’d like for us to talk about, or if you have a particular a challenge that you’d like us to take a crack at, send us an email. We’d be happy to answer them for you – and if your topic gets picked for a future episode, you’ll win a free IndustrialSage t-shirt!

 

Sponsored by Optimum Productions

Rica
Author: Rica

Since the inception of IndustrialSage back in 2017, Rica has been one of the driving forces building IndustrialSage. As Marketing Manager, she's dedicated to producing amazing content on the site. There's little she loves more than storytelling: helping to explain new ideas in order to aid others in solving their problems. Fortunately, that's what IndustrialSage is all about.

Tags: conversionsCRMemail marketingengagementhubspotlead generationmarketing automation platformSales & Marketing How Totrade showsvlogvlogs
Share1Share3Tweet2Send
Previous Post

Applying IoT Solutions as a Manufacturer

Next Post

Is Social Media for Manufacturers Actually Helpful?

Related Posts

Executive Series

Dematic: Deidre Cusack

October 22, 2022
Distributors

Adapting Present Tactics to Address Future Supply Chain Delays

October 15, 2022
Executive Series

ThruWave: Pieter Krynauw

September 24, 2022
Distributors

Addressing Unstable Economic Influences As a Company

September 17, 2022
Executive Series

Ambi Robotics: Jim Liefer

September 3, 2022
The Shifting Landscape of Mergers and Acquisitions In Distribution
Distributors

The Shifting Landscape of Mergers and Acquisitions In Distribution

August 27, 2022
Please login to join discussion
Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric: Watch the All New Monthly Series Now!
No Result
View All Result
We Create & Distribute Custom Branded Content for You

Want to reach more Industrial & Manufacturing Professionals? Learn More »

A dynamic, open platform, publishing compelling content for industrial professionals.

Shows

  • Sales & Marketing
  • Executive Series
  • Agency Success Podcast

Members

  • Login
  • Create Account
  • Member Dashboard
  • Press Submission
  • Be A Guest On A Show

Resources

  • Downloads & Video Guides
  • Partner Agency Directory
  • Become a Contributor

Grow

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe

© 2020 IndustrialSage, Inc. All rights reserved

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • UGC Terms
Linkedin Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Instagram