5 Tips to Help Customer Engagement at Conferences

Do you go to conferences or trade shows? If you plan on that type of face-to-face sales approach these 5 tips will help your customer engagement at conferences.

Photo by HIVAN ARVIZU @soyhivan on Unsplash

What is the best way to engage with customers at a conference?

It seems like there is no correct answer. Some people think that the best way to engage with customers is by having an interactive booth and giving out freebies, while others might say that it’s better if you’re upfront and personal. Here are five tips for customer engagement at conferences.

Encourage Networking

You can use the conference to emphasize the importance of networking. It’s not all about the sales pitches; it is also an excellent opportunity to meet new people and make friends in the industry. This will help encourage customer engagement on a personal level that might be more beneficial in the long term.

Through networking, you will also get customer feedback which will help you gain insights into what you should be doing.

The best way to network is by having an event after hours where people can get together; this will also help make new connections and spark conversations. If your conference doesn’t offer a mixer, it’s a good idea to plan one on your own as well, but keep in mind not everyone has the same interests, so make sure to have a variety of activities prepared. You can easily set up virtual workshops and create breakout sessions within each workshop to allow time for networking.

Have an Interactive Booth

These booths are an excellent way to get customers engaged; it gives them something to do and allow you to gain more information about their interests. You can use this opportunity to ask them questions about their business and how you could help them.

When it comes to having an interactive booth, you want to make sure that it is exciting and fun. You can do this by having games or contests involved. If people are enjoying themselves, they will be more likely to stick around and talk to you.

Be Personable

A great thing about conferences has a captive audience; use this opportunity to meet new people and be personable. If you have potential customers in your booth, try asking them questions about what they do or their business. It will also allow you to learn more about how you can help them while also making a personal connection.

A critical aspect of being personable is yourself. It can be scary, but this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about your customers and how you can better help them. You also might gain some new friends in the process.

Make an Appearance

If you’re able to attend the conference, always try to make an appearance. Even if it’s just briefly, this will show your customers that you’re invested in them and their success. It also enables you to meet new acquaintances and learn more about what they do.

This also means that you should be open to people coming up to you and having a chat. Not only will this enable more networking between individuals, but it also shows that your customers are important to you.

Provide Value

The best way for customer engagement is by providing value. This one should be obvious – if you’re just constantly trying to sell people things without anything in return, they won’t feel engaged at all.

Instead, try to provide them with something that will help their business in some way. Of course, you don’t want to give away everything, but people love getting free things, which will encourage more conversation and networking opportunities.

After the conference has ended, you must follow up with anyone who stopped by your booth or attended one of your events. This will help you create a personal connection and allow you to learn more about their business.

If your company is interested in speaking at future conferences, you must let them know. You can do this by sending out an email or talking with the customer after they’ve returned from the forum. It’s okay if they say no, at least you tried, and you can always use this as an opportunity to learn more about what they are looking for.

Customer engagement at conferences is a great way to increase revenue and also gather feedback about your products and services. Ensure that you get the total value from the conference by attending, hosting an event, and providing value.