Don’t Just Attend the Conference. Own It.
Showcasing your services at a conference is a powerful strategy to connect with potential clients, network with industry peers, and feature your products or services.
To make the most of your conference experience, here are a few tips we recommend for success:
- Be Authentic: Authentic interactions build trust and engender quality long-term relationships.
- Offer Value: Provide valuable information or solutions rather then a hard sell.
- Be Attentive: Listen to the needs and challenges of your prospects.
Set the Stage for Success
The groundwork for a successful conference begins well before you arrive at the event. Start by choosing the right conferences—those that align with your target audience and industry. Use customer profiles to understand your audience and tailor your approach. Before any engagement, craft a plan with clear metrics on what you want to achieve in exchange for your investment. Every conference attended should result in new prospects added to your business pipeline, with ultimate success culminating in new business opportunities.
Pre-Conference Preparation
Identify Goals and Objectives
Define what you want to achieve:
- Brand awareness: Is your brand known to the marketplace? Have you been to this conference before?
- Lead generation: How many leads would you like to acquire? Differentiate between hot leads and top-of-the-funnel leads.
- Networking with peers.
- Evaluate the competition.
Research Speakers and Attendees
- Review the attendee list and research key players, potential clients and speakers.
- Consider if this is a conference you would want to speak at in the future.
- Identify who you would like to meet.
Schedule Meetings in Advance
- Begin making your list when the conference attendees are released.
- Reach out 3 to 4 weeks prior to the conference to set up meetings.
- Schedule coffee, dinner or meet in between sessions.
- Connect on LinkedIn or in the conference app.
Plan Your Marketing Materials
When preparing for a conference, ensure your booth is visually engaging and effectively communicates what you do. Coordinate the printing and delivery of marketing materials, brochures, business cards, banners, and giveaways, ensuring everything is consistently messaged and branded and tailored to your target audience. Don’t forget to include digital elements like landing pages, presentations, and videos to enhance your message and leave a lasting impression. A polished, cohesive display will attract attention and maximize your impact.
Make Your Presence Felt
Once at the conference, actively engage with attendees and create opportunities to showcase your services. Have an attractive booth with knowledgeable staff, offer presentations and videos showcasing your services, and use digital tools for lead collection. Participate in sessions, schedule meetings in advance, and host side events for deeper connections. Personalize interactions and promptly follow up post-conference to nurture new relationships.
At the Conference
Engage at Your Booth
- Design an attractive and informative booth.
- Provide easily accessible information and ensure you collect visitors’ contact information.
- Have knowledgeable staff who can engage visitors and answer questions.
- Create digital options for information using landing pages and QR codes.
Collect Leads
- Use digital lead collection tools or traditional methods like business cards to gather contact information.
- Have a plan for outreach (e.g., script out your emails) so you know what to do with the leads post-conference.Take detailed notes for follow-up.
Attend/Participate
- Join panels, workshops, and networking events to increase visibility and establish authority.
- Take notes on hot topics and customers concerns. These will be helpful with follow-up calls and emails, website blogs and social media posts.
- Organize an exclusive event to connect with key clients and prospects in a more informal setting.
Sustain the Momentum
The two weeks following the conference are critical for building on the connections you made. Reach out to your contacts to discuss their perspectives on the insights gleaned from the event, showing that you value their opinion and are committed to continuing the conversation. At the same time, establish yourself as an industry thought leader by sharing your own insights and experiences from the conference with your broader audience. This dual approach keeps the momentum going and positions you as a knowledgeable and engaged professional in your field.
Post-Conference
Organize and Qualify Leads
- Sort through the leads collected, qualify them, and prioritize follow-ups.
- Create a drip campaign to keep in touch with leads that are at the top of your sales funnel.
- Utilize a CRM to manage customer leads.
Personalized Follow-Up Emails
- Personalize and build on initial meetings by reinforcing the discussions you had during the conference and propose next steps for collaboration.
- Set follow-up calls. Have a second person scheduling calls and following up on leads. This is a team sport!
Leverage Digital Media
- Share post-conference highlights and tag new connections on social media to stay engaged.
- Write an opinion piece discussing the trends and insights you learned from the event.
- Highlight key trends by focusing on the most impactful conversations and how they relate to your business. How can you solve a problem?
Beyond the Booth: Strategies for Lasting Conference Impact
At Werremeyer Creative, we help you maximize your conference investment by providing end-to-end support, from booth design and logistics to sales training and follow-up marketing. Our services include booth design and production, staff and sales training, on-site event coordination, digital marketing, social media strategy, and targeted follow-up campaigns. Whether you need compelling presentations, direct mail outreach, or a strategic digital presence, we ensure your brand stands out and drives meaningful connections. Let’s make your next conference a success.
Ready to own the conference?