5 Best Practices for Event Lead Capture

|by demi@wiredplus.com

Any good marketer knows that people like to buy from people.

As great as digital marketing is, attending industry events is still a great way to collect data. Directly interacting with your prospects will work wonders for your marketing funnel.

When you network properly, you will build genuine relationships, and the money will eventually follow. If you’re ignoring event lead capture, you’re missing out on an opportunity to grow your business.

Why you should be using events to capture more leads

Attending events can help your business stand out. As well as event lead capture, they increase your brand awareness and generate more coverage.

All of the attendees will have a specific interest in the products or services that are being displayed. This means that pretty much everyone who attends has the potential of converting into a customer.

Event lead capture will let you gain higher quality leads because you will be face-to-face with your prospects. You can really get to understand their needs and interests, and they can get to understand who you are and what you’re about. It’s much more effective than calling or emailing people who you’ve never spoken to before.

It’s important to know how to collect and interpret data whilst you’re there. There are several methods which you can use for event lead capture, such as registration forms, surveys and badge scanners.

Event lead capture best practices

Maximise your company’s lead generation opportunities at your next event by following these steps:

1. Tell people in advance that you’ll be there

Creating a buzz around your event is one of the best ways to drive awareness.

Using social media is a great way to let everyone know that you’ll be attending. Include hashtags for the event so that other people who will be attending can see your posts.

Get creative. Send an automated series of pre-event email campaigns. Drive registrations by announcing to your subscribers that you’ll be attending. Make them feel like they’re the first to hear about the awesome event.

Include testimonials from previous events and let them know what they can expect. Make it sound like something they won’t want to miss.

Attendees should feel like they already know you before they get to the show. The more you communicate about your presence, the more likely that people will be to remember you and look for your stall.

2. Do your research

The event’s attendees will likely want to learn about a particular area of their industry at the show. Try to find out about what they’re interested in learning about. This way, you can be one step ahead and have something insightful to say about the things they want to hear about.

Make a lasting impression as an industry thought leader. Improve your event lead capture by showing them that you have the knowledge and that you really know what you’re talking about.

Consider sending a survey to your subscribers who are attending. Ask them what they want to get from the event.

3. Have a killer pitch

At events and trade shows, you only have about 30 seconds to capture a lead’s attention, so those first 30 seconds are vital.

Your elevator pitch should be a short description of what you sell and how that can benefit the person you’re speaking to or their business.

4. Brand your booth so that it stands out

It might seem obvious, but it’s a common oversight.

How can the look and feel of your booth help your event lead capture? The feeling that your stand gives off can make all the difference in whether attendees stop to talk to you, or they keep walking.

When your competition is tables after tables of other businesses in a huge room, you need to offer something a bit different. Entice attendees to stay a while with interesting things to see or do at your booth.

Give out freebies. Everyone will already have free pens and bags, so try to make yours a little different.  People like things that are useful and a bit more unique.  It’s good to have products which are relevant to your company. They would create the perfect opportunity to discuss the value of your product as visitors stop by to grab one.

5. Make it interactive

Event lead capture isn’t as easy as it once was.

Attendees will be more likely to give you their information if you create interactive experiences for your visitors.

Entertain them with a game and give them a chance to win a prize. Let them spin a wheel. Set up a branded photo booth. Do product demonstrations. Display touch screens with interactive content. Let your visitors test your product.

Whatever you do, just make it fun!

6. Make sure you’re GDPR compliant

Since GDPR came into effect in May 2018, we have to change the way we collect and use people’s personal data.

Get consent. Ask your prospects first if they’re happy to hear from you again. It’s a great chance to talk to them about what kind of communications they’d like to receive, and what they’d engage more with. Use it to your advantage!

Make the most of it

Get out of your comfort zone and talk to as many people as possible. It’s far more effective to talk to your leads face-to-face.

It’s crucial to send an automated follow-up email to keep your new leads engaged with your company.

Want to get help with your email campaigns? Get in touch.

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