After all the hard work you\’ve put in planning and promoting your event, not to mention engaging your attendees during the event, it\’s important not to overlook properly following up with those in attendance to keep the momentum going. Once the event is complete, it\’s time to analyze the data collected and build a strategy regarding how to best utilize that data effectively.
Before you dive into the data, it\’s important to cover the basics. Send out a thank you response to everyone who attended, possibly including an additional call-to-action for more information or additional contact information. Be sure to continue using some of the creative delivery methods you used during the event, such as customized SMS messages. You can also send out gift giveaways or another token of appreciation if you choose. These are simple gestures, but ones your attendees will appreciate. Once you\’ve covered the basics, it\’s time to strategize an on-going follow-up campaign using the opt-in data you acquired during the event itself.
Depending on the data collected and the opt-in processes you setup before and during the event, you should setup campaigns using multiple channels. Most likely, you\’ll be using SMS and email communication. You don\’t want to bombard each attendee with messages starting the day after the event. Instead, create a sending pattern that doesn\’t overwhelm the users but that also keeps your brand fresh on their minds. You can begin by sending an email thanking them for coming and asking to give you feedback about the event, for example, while also including an opt-in call-to-action to receive SMS communication.
Based on the responses you receive from your initial follow-up campaign, you can start segmenting users by response. With each campaign delivery, you can determine the interest of each segment and respond accordingly. The idea is to accurately gauge the interest of each segment and optimize the next phase of your campaigns to best position yourself to capitalize on the intended outcome.
mobileStorm recently held an event at the Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas, Nevada , to celebrate a decade in business. Customers, prospects and business partners were invited to the event in order to meet face-to-face with mobileStorm executives and sales people in the hopes that this would lead to stronger and longer lasting relationships between all. After the event, mobileStorm\’s marketing and sales departments worked together to execute a follow up plan with surgical precision. Thank you SMS messages in the same style as those that were sent out during the event were distributed at the end of the evening to everyone that was in attendance.
The next day, an email campaign was distributed to everyone who registered and customized depending on whether they attended or not. The companies were then compared against Salesforce.com data and segmented into prospects, partners and current customers. From there they were distributed to the appropriate person either in sales, business development or marketing and followed up on personally by the individual most suited to address their needs. The end result was numerous happy customers, a long list of new prospects and several deals that were closed within weeks of the event. Overall a huge success!