It’s the day after the home show ends…time to kick off those shoes and wait for the roofing projects to roll in! Not so fast. You and your team will need to work just as hard in the days following the event if you want to leverage the home show for profit. Get geared up by adding these 4 must-dos to your home show marketing strategy.
Create a post-event marketing plan before the show begins.
A survey by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) found that 70% of show exhibitors never use a formal strategy or process for following up on leads. That represents plenty of lost opportunity! Instead, build a plan that capitalizes on the leads you’ll be working so hard to collect. What’s more, establishing the post-home show marketing plan now allows you to hit the ground running immediately following the show, putting you in a better position to contact prospects before the competition does.
Your roofing company’s post-show planning might include:
- Establishing sales goals.
- Identifying how you’ll contact home show leads (i.e. emails, postcards, phone calls, etc.).
- Preparing and finalizing follow-up email templates or other promotional follow-up materials, such as New Roof No Mess postcards.
- Assigning each team member’s specific responsibilities during follow-up week.
- Ensuring you’ll have the people and material resources to handle a sudden boost in business, especially if you’re offering a time-sensitive promotion.
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.
A timely followup process is the key to gaining a competitive edge over other roofers and contractors. Contact sales leads using the methods you’d identified during the planning stage as soon as possible. Ideally, the first follow-up contact will happen within one week of the show’s close. Here are additional follow-up tips to consider:
- No matter what form the follow-up message takes (email, phone call, etc.), always include at least one clear call to action, such as Watch this video of the Equipter RB4000 in action or Book before [date] for a [dollar amount] discount.
- If the follow-up message is being sent via email, it can be helpful to include a photo of your team in front of the show booth—this will remind prospects who you are, which is important considering they likely walked past dozens or hundreds of booths.
Track home show sales.
The CEIR survey found that only 28% of exhibiting businesses measure and analyze how many show leads are converted into sales. Measurement and analysis are always smart small business tactics. However, if you don’t normally make a practice of doing them, now is a good time to start. The process will help you identify and address weak spots so you can refine post-home show marketing for future events. Choose a sales tracking method you and your team will be comfortable using; some roofers use a simple spreadsheet, while others use customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Debrief the team.
Gather the team for a post-show appraisal within a few days after the event. Discuss the good, the bad—and the ugly. Taking the time to pinpoint event successes and failures gives you the opportunity to ensure future home shows are a profitable part of your marketing strategy.
Do you have tips that help your roofing replacement or contracting business rock the home show circuit? Let us know by sharing on Equipter’s Facebook Page and keep in touch by signing up for our monthly roofing newsletter below.