Wondering if you should allocate marketing dollars in 2015 for virtual trade shows? Trade shows are an effective way of getting your brand out there and have become a necessary part of doing business. However, for some businesses, limitations with traditional trade shows are that they require a substantial budget and a significant amount of time.
For small and medium size companies traditional trade shows can be difficult due to a small event-marketing budget. Large companies have a leg up at trade shows because they have the means and resources to make a much larger impact. They can afford premium booth spaces, event badge lanyards, and gold sponsorship packages that gain maximum exposure. But for smaller B2B companies that’s not always the case. Virtual trade shows are an opportunity for companies of any size to gain brand exposure and increase lead generation on a small budget.
Benefits Of Participating In A Virtual Event
Virtual events offer a certain appeal that traditional trade shows don’t. They range in price from $ 3,000 to $ 8,000 per event, which is substantially cheaper than traditional events that can run you upwards of $ 100,000. As soon as the event begins, audiences can view content and live chat from the convenience of their laptop or mobile device. With the click of a button you can connect with booth visitors via a chat room, share collateral, and exchange contact information with people all over the world. After the event you have access to a full list of attendees and your own booth visitors who you can later engage with in a more in-depth conversation.
Close The Loop On Lead Generation From Events
Are you getting the full picture from the leads you generated during a virtual event? You already get a substantial amount of leads from the event attendee and booth visitors lists, yet you can only partially measure the success of a virtual trade show based on these leads. To understand the full scope of success, you also need to track and measure the number of phone calls that are generated from the event and which leads converted to revenue. How is that possible? Call tracking software can tell you how inbound phone calls were generated from the online trade show – whether from collateral, booth video, or post show email.
You can track all phone calls generated from the virtual event by placing a unique trackable phone number on the collateral distributed or within your booth. If someone calls using one of the phone numbers placed on the collateral, you then have the ability to know where that lead originated. Call tracking is another way to help you accurately measure the ROI of an event and determine if it is worth sponsoring again.
Sharing a unique trackable phone number with attendees who you determine are ready to talk with a sales agent is another way to generate leads during the event. If an attendee calls that phone number, you can then immediately route them to the appropriate person using intelligent call routing technology. And using an IVR (interactive voice response) enables you to survey a caller before transferring them, which allows you to score the caller and ensure they are being transferred to the appropriate person. Implementing these solutions at your next virtual event will help you to create a more personalized conversation – similar to being face-to-face at a physical trade show. Implementing these techniques will drive more qualified leads and help you to understand the ROI associated with virtual shows.
To learn about how call tracking can help improve the ROI of your next event, read: “Tracking Phone Leads: The Missing Piece of Marketing Automation.”
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