A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TRADE FAIRS: EVALUATION
We’re reaching the final articles in our Beginner’s Guide to Trade Fairs and we’ll devote the last entries to the period immediately following your business trip. The follow-up work is just as important as the preparations you make to go there in the first place – even more so, cause this is your chance to turn your sales leads into actual income. If you’ve followed our advice on how to interact and cater to clients in our previous instalments, you’ll have a sizeable heap of information at your disposal. Contact information, feedback and inquiries.
The moment you return from your exhibition or trade fair should be the moment you begin a lengthy process that can go on for months.
The process of evaluation
It’s crucial you start on the evaluation as soon as possible. We’re going to break down the goals based on how soon after an event you have to perform them to gain the maximum benefit of your business trip.
Short-term Goals
The first thing you should do is compile all the data you’ve received along the course of the events. If you’ve created a unified way to record customer information, you will have a lot clearer idea of how many people you’ve managed to reach.
Send thank-you emails to your existing clients, who’ve been there and personalize your email to include direct actions you’re going to take to improve your service in the context of their feedback and criticism. Answer inquiries of potential clients and address their concerns to the fullest detail, so they don’t feel they’re just part of a mass email.
Speed and humility are very important here. Don’t forget that every potential or existing client will have talked to at least 10 more direct competitors. How you communicate is going to be, for many, the deciding factor.
Mid-term Goals
The first two weeks are going to be chaotic as you’re trying to process this large amount of information alongside your existing workload. Once you’ve managed to get the most out of the way, it’s time to consider holding a series of meetings, where you focus on how to adapt the criticism and praise you’ve received from clients. You should also share the valuable industry information you’ve received from attending lectures, workshops and other presentations.
Although industry events tend to be focused on selling, launching products and breaking into new markets, the better use is to see how to grow, expand and improve on your image. These meetings have the purpose to get an accurate picture of how your business is perceived and gain a real idea as to how to meet needs.
Long-term Goals
After you’ve gained insights, it’s time to implement them – it’s not easy or cheap, but it’s the only way to gain a competitive edge and stay relevant. Over the course of the upcoming year, your goals should be to make as many beneficial changes to your way of doing business while staying true to your core values and mission. You should also use this time to learn from your mistakes during the trade fair and plan accordingly for the next trade fair or exhibition you’re going to attend.
The earlier you start planning your next business trip the better. You can space out your travel expenses and catch the earliest deal. Go Fair ltd assists you in booking your accommodation – we work fast, cater to every budget size and can position you in any location on the map. Just contact us at [email protected] or + 44 20 3846 1502 and we’ll handle the rest!
