How can you effectively follow up with conference attendees and sponsors?

Attending a conference can be a valuable opportunity to network, learn, and showcase your work. But what happens after the conference is over? How can you maintain the connections and relationships you built with attendees and sponsors? How can you get feedback and insights to improve your future performance and outcomes? In this article, you will learn how to effectively follow up with conference attendees and sponsors in four simple steps.

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1 Plan your follow-up strategy

Before you even leave the conference venue, you should have a clear plan for how you will follow up with the people you met and interacted with. This includes setting your goals, prioritizing your contacts, and preparing your materials. For instance, sending thank-you notes or emails to the speakers, organizers, and sponsors who made the conference possible and valuable is a great way to show your appreciation. Additionally, if any attendees expressed interest in your product, service, or project, you can reach out to them and offer them a demo, trial, or consultation. You should also connect with the peers and mentors who shared their insights with you and invite them to join your network or community. Finally, don’t forget to gather the feedback forms or surveys that were distributed or collected during the conference and analyze the results.

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Clayton Holmes

Marketing Lead at Nauticon
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Integrating a two-pronged approach to following up with event registrants: sending a thank you email to those that attended and a separate to those who did not, appreciating their interest.

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2 Personalize your follow-up messages

When you follow up with your conference contacts, it's important to make sure that your messages are personalized, relevant, and engaging. Address them by their name and mention something specific that you discussed or learned from them at the conference. Additionally, provide value by sharing useful resources, information, or opportunities that relate to their needs, goals, or interests. Include a clear and compelling call to action that encourages them to take the next step. However, be sure to avoid sending generic, salesy, or irrelevant messages that may annoy them or make them lose interest.

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Clayton Holmes

Marketing Lead at Nauticon
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There are plenty of great plug in elements to email systems that pull first names directly from data such as an email address and integrate directly into email copy. Ex: “Hi <<FIRST_NAME>>,”

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3 Track and measure your follow-up results

In order to assess the effectiveness of your follow-up strategy, you need to track and measure the results of your follow-up actions. This could involve using CRM software, email marketing platforms, or analytics dashboards to monitor open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and responses. Additionally, you should follow up on your follow-up by sending reminders, updates, or confirmations. Evaluating the quality and quantity of leads and customers that you generated or retained from your efforts can help identify strengths and weaknesses in your approach. Making adjustments as needed is key to ensure that your follow-up strategy is successful.

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4 Maintain and nurture your follow-up relationships

The follow-up process does not end after you achieve your initial goals or outcomes. You want to maintain and nurture the relationships you built with your conference contacts over time, which means staying in touch with them regularly, providing them with ongoing support, recognizing and rewarding them for their loyalty, and asking them for feedback. You should send them valuable content, updates, or offers that keep them engaged and informed; offer guidance or feedback to help them solve their problems or achieve their goals; reward referrals or testimonials that boost your reputation; and request suggestions or ideas that help you improve your product, service, or project.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you effectively follow up with conference attendees and sponsors?

1

2

3

4

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1 Plan your follow-up strategy

2 Personalize your follow-up messages

3 Track and measure your follow-up results

4 Maintain and nurture your follow-up relationships

5 Here’s what else to consider

Conferences

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How can you effectively follow up with conference attendees and sponsors?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Plan your follow-up strategy

2 Personalize your follow-up messages

3 Track and measure your follow-up results

4 Maintain and nurture your follow-up relationships

5 Here’s what else to consider

Conferences

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