Tradeshow Organizers: New Poll Finds Show Attendees Frustrated With No Follow Up By Exhibitors
78 percent polled have a negative opinion of exhibitors that don't follow up.
Online, February 23, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Tradeshow attendees are frustrated with the lack of follow up at tradeshows, according to a Bartizan Connects LinkedIn poll made public Monday. The poll asked, "As a trade show attendee, what is your reaction when an exhibitor fails to follow up with you?" Of the 337 respondents, the majority said they were left with negative feelings after an exhibitor failed to follow up with them post show. Additionally, 9 percent were negative toward both the exhibitor and the event and a whopping 31 percent of those negative respondents qualified themselves as having a very negative reaction to the lack of follow up.
38 percent said they were "Somewhat negative toward the exhibitor" and 26 percent were "Very negative toward the exhibitor." Another 9 percent were "Negative toward exhibitor and the event" and 5 percent were "Very negative to exhibitor and event." Only 22 percent answered "I don't give it a thought."
If attendee expectations have any influence on how a tradeshow is planned, event organizers should pay attention to this poll. By a huge margin, the overall results mark the show going public's expectation that when they attend a show exhibitors will follow up with them, particularly if they have expressed an interest in their offering.
"The survey reveals that attendees are irritated by lack of follow up. This reflects the importance of gathering qualified leads at tradeshows in a more simplified way," said Lew Hoff, president, Bartizan Connects, and 20-year expert in lead retrieval and lead management. "Tradeshow organizers need to facilitate better follow up for their exhibitors."
Bartizan Connects' team continually seeks feedback from users to improve its lead retrieval products, including iLeads, the breakthrough lead retrieval app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and the Android operating system. iLeads makes it easy to add notes, surveys and qualifiers to leads collected at trade shows, making the leads more valuable for sales.
The poll showed an interesting breakdown by age demographics. All respondents age 55 and older said they felt "very negative" toward both the exhibitor and the event without post-show follow up.
"As a tradeshow attendee you make the time to gather information at a show and to meet new vendors. When an exhibitor fails to follow up with you they are missing an opportunity to make a sale, and lowering their ROI at the show," said Elizabeth Mazei, executive vice president & COO, Bartizan Connects. "At our very first iLeads event, nearly 80 percent of the leads gathered had notes attached to them. Simply stated, a prioritized lead improves exhibitor follow up."
HERE ARE WAYS TO IMPROVE EXHIBITOR LEAD FOLLOW UP AT TRADESHOWS
* Offer to digitize exhibitors' collateral for green literature display and distribution.
* Using a Smartphone or iPad exhibitors can email prospects demos and marketing materials immediately after meeting them, rather than giving them printed materials.
* Offer lead retrieval to your exhibitors, with iLeads.
* Every show, small or big, can offer lead retrieval, there is no cost to a show organizer and it will improve exhibitor follow up.
* With electronic lead retrieval, exhibitors will never lose a lead by dropping a business card.
* Using iLeads, salespeople back at the office can follow up on leads while exhibitors are still at your show.
Live iLeads web demos are offered monthly. Register here: http://tinyurl.com/TradeshowApp
To download the iLeads iPhone app, users of Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad may go to the Apple App Store within iTunes and search for 'iLeads.' To test the app and see how easy iLeads is to use, simply launch the app and enter event access code 1006. Then click on the event and enter test badge number 8188.
About Bartizan Connects Event Registration and Lead Retrieval
Bartizan offers innovative and affordable registration and lead retrieval solutions for event organizers. Bartizan Connects and its partners are full service, offering registration, badge production, lead retrieval, lead management, session tracking and access control.
About iLeads Lead Retrieval Mobile App for tradeshows
The iLeads Mobile App is Smartphone based lead retrieval. It enables exhibitors to collect trade show leads using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad or Android device. Winner of TSEA's Breakthrough Award and Tradeshow Executive's Innovation Award.
Contact:
www.bartizan.com Joanna Stasuk, Marketing Director, joanna@bartizan.com, 914-965-7977
Lew Hoff, President, lew@bartizan.com, 914-965-7977
For US and International Orders Contact:
Elizabeth Mazei, Executive VP & COO, liz@bartizan.com, 914-375-7982