I had the pleasure last week of participating in a panel discussion at the Chicago chapter meeting of EDPA. At one point during the evening, I made the remark that over the years I’ve worked with a number of clients who threw away their leads. Literally. Even with today’s more advanced lead capture technology and the corporate pressure to show value for shows, I still have a few clients who toss leads into the garbage.
A number of heads nodded in agreement, indicating they’ve encountered similar situations. A far greater number of people expressed surprise, shock and even disbelief.
Frankly, I was surprised by their surprise.
Research tells us that nearly 80 percent of leads gathered at trade shows are never followed up. Is it such a shock, then, to learn that some marketers choose to chuck the whole lot and focus on other ways to demonstrate the value of trade show participation?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating that we abandon lead capture and follow up. To the contrary, I believe we marketers need to work harder – and more closely with our colleagues in sales – to develop an effective and consistent follow up process. But let’s remember that lead follow up isn’t the only metric for trade show success. If your company’s follow-up process is broken and can’t be fixed overnight, it’s time to focus on other metrics that will show value for your trade show investment.
What are those metrics? Tune in next week to find out. Meanwhile, if you have some ideas you’d like to contribute to the list, email me at: [email protected]