APE February 2019 | Page 38

MARKETING MATTERS Show Time Continued from page 36 open floor plan, then there’ll plenty of room for everyone and a reason to come closer to see what you’re all about. • Post-Show Actions the emails from your business card stack to your email newsletter list, that’s frowned upon. Instead, ask them to subscribe to your email newsletter in your thank you email. Follow up with a handwritten card or note. Send a Thank You card if that’s a manageable post-show activ- ity for your company. If industry awards are presented at this conference, you can send your Congrats to the winners via a branded greeting card or even a social me- dia post. Follow up with your prospects. Take that list of email addresses or your rubber-banded stack of business cards and follow up with the people who stopped by your booth. Put Your Best Foot Forward Some guaranteed kosher ways of doing this include: • Connecting with them on social media. Make a con- nection with them on LinkedIn and Like/Follow their company profiles on Facebook and Twitter. (Don’t send them Friend Requests on Facebook. That’s kind of creepy.) • Sending emails of acknowledgment to your pros- pects. Email the people who stopped by your booth and thank them for their time, or congratulate them for being a winner at your booth. Email them just this once or once in a long while at most. Don’t just add all Monica Pitts is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of MayeCreate Design. She spends her days constructing a marriage of form and function; creating art with her design team to grow businesses through websites and online marketing. Monica considers herself an artist, marketer and web dork with the ability to speak geek and English. Sometimes, all of the work you put into these shows can feel time-consuming and costly, because in the end, it’s re- ally just networking, isn’t it? But when backed by sincere, thoughtful planning and a true desire to grow as a business, these efforts can pay dividends for your company for years to come. Now get out there and make your next tradeshow the best yet. For More Information On This Advertiser Please Visit www.CallAPE.com/e-inquiry www.callape.com [38] 1.800.210.5923