Should Your Event Have a Call to Action?
Imagine if your "thank you" event did more than just say thank you to your customers and clients...
Could it drive traffic to your trade show booth?
Could it encourage more people to attend your speech or convention session?
Could it encourage your guests to answer follow up calls and emails?
Could it help you schedule appointments?
It can. It should. Events are the intersection of sales and marketing. They are the direct connection between your message and your sales people.
In previous chapters, we’ve talked about how events can create a powerful connection between your customer and your brand and build lasting rapport between your customer and your sales representatives. Our clients are feeling some fantastic emotions about our business, and they really like us.
But we can’t stop there. If we simply say, “thanks for coming” and stop there, we don’t get much value out of the event.
It’s too good an opportunity to waste, really. We have focused the client’s attention on our company and our people, we have created a powerful relationship with them, and we’ve really got them in a place where they like us and they like being around us. To some degree, they’re even slightly indebted to us for the experience.
We need to continue those good feelings, and we need to bring the business part of the relationship back into the play.
We need to show them that we’re not simply the most fun company to be around with the more unique and interesting people, we need to remind them that we’re also the company that saves them money, saves them time, and helps protect their family.
So make an offer and a call to action. That sounds scary to a lot of event planners and marketers. After all, an “offer” means someone’s going to buy something, and if someone’s going to buy something somebody’s going to try and sell something.
Not necessarily. An offer simply means that you’re going to “offer” something to the guest. Yes, they might want special pricing for being a valued customer. You could offer a “valued customer special” at the event.
But it might be more productive to offer information, complimentary software or a smartphone app, access to a live demonstration or access to an on-site inspection and evaluation at their home facility.
The whole purpose of the offer is to make a call to action. We want the client to do something that commits them to the next step in our sales process. Maybe we want them to visit the trade show booth the next day. Maybe we want them to commit to taking a follow up call or email. Maybe we want them to review our research and see how our product will save them money.
We need to get them to agree to that next step.
So how do you do that? A simple call to action, as part of the event, invites your client to take the next step in working with your company. Your call to action will be unique to your event and your company, but here are five ways you can make sure your event engages your customers on a business level:
The company president’s speech. During the event, have an executive welcome the guests, thank them for their business, and briefly mention the product you’re featuring at the trade show booth. This should be very, very brief - two sentences that describe the valuable outcome your guests receive by using the product is perfect. Then, he should say he looks forward to seeing everyone at the booth the next day.
Product Display at the Event: Actually having the product in the room at the event is a good way to convert connection into a business conversation. Signage and good lighting will highlight the installation, and clients may ask about the product while talking with their representative. They can walk over and look at it, or even schedule an appointment in the trade show booth the next day.
Integrated Entertainment Message: A strolling magician might mention the name of the company a few times during his table-to-table magic, as well as invite everyone to see the new product at the trade show booth the next day. Again, one sentence with a clear, important benefit is all the product messaging that’s required. This simple call to action drives remarkable results: clients will come into the booth talking about the magic they saw the night before and looking for the products mentioned.
Invitation from the Sales Representative: As your sales reps move through the room, greeting and connecting with your clients, they should be sure to include some call to action in the conversation. If a follow-up call or email seems necessary, they should absolutely say when and how they will contact the client after the event.
Giveaway - Everyone gets a water bottle, a Yeti cup, a gift bag, or some other item (that’s usually distributed in a bag) at the end of the night. Put something in the gift that connects the guest to an online white paper, a discount code, a free consultation, needs evaluation, or app download. Online downloads should require an identifying code or a squeeze page in each gift so you know who downloaded it, when they looked at it, and - if possible - if they read the whole thing. Use this information to inform your follow up after the event.
Each business is unique, and your sales process may require a slightly different approach. Regardless of what you do, you must do something that ensures your sales representatives can easily continue the conversation after your hospitality event.
Just released: Mike Duseberg reveals all the “how to” steps to creating events that create sales referrals, and repeat business in his third booklet The Event ROI Revolution: A Planners Guide to Hospitality Events that Create Connections, Build Rapport, and Schedule Sales Appointments. Download your complimentary copy here.
There’s one critical step left. Can you guess what it is?