Text alerts are becoming a staple at many trade shows, and businesses that know how to use trade show text alerts benefit from the growing popularity of short message service (SMS) text message marketing.
SMS text messages are rapidly becoming one of the most popular forms of communication among people of all ages, and businesses can use this to their advantage at trade shows. These short messages of 160 characters or less are sent to the cell phones or other mobile devices of potential customers who are interesting in your business to remind them about the show and your part in it both before the trade show begins and while it is going on. Because many customers have constant contact with their mobile devices, trade show text alerts offer a fast, efficient way to get messages to potential customers even in the midst of the events of a trade show.
There are several ways that SMS text alerts can help businesses that are participating in a trade show:
- Let interested customers know before the show that you will be attending and remind them when and where the trade show is
- Get customers excited to come see your display at the trade show by letting them know what you will be doing and offering special trade show deals or giveaways
- Keep potential customers up-to-date on what’s happening at the trade show, for events ranging from demonstrations and prize drawings to last minute changes in schedules or locations
- Use a separate message list for employees and volunteers to send them reminders and last-minute messages about or at the trade show
- After the show, follow up with interested customers and help them remember your organization
Getting everything ready for a trade show can be hectic and stressful as well as exciting, but for a small investment of time and money a business can prepare to take advantage of trade show text alerts to help bolster up their success. To implement a trade show text alert campaign:
- If you don’t already have one, set up a text message service. There are several types available, including straight-forward SMS text messaging services and short code services, which allow you to have customers text a keyword to an easy-to-remember short code number to receive text alerts.
- Starting well before the trade show, invite customers to opt-in to your text alert list. You can have a form in your store or on your web site where customers enter their mobile numbers, or, if you have a short code service, they can send your keyword to the short code to join the list. Always make sure that customers who give their numbers agree to get text alerts from you. You can encourage them to join by offering special deals for those on the list.
- Before the trade show, send out reminder text alerts about the show. Always keep messages short, easy to understand, and interesting to the customer by reminding them about deals or including special offers. Do not overdo it by sending messages too often. A message in the week before the show and another the day before the show may be enough.
- Once the trade show begins, send text alerts to customers when something significant is happening, like a demonstration, celebrity appearance, or prize drawing. Potential customers may be inundated with information at the trade show, including text alerts, so make sure that the text alerts contain significant information and invite the customers to do something immediately, like, “Prize drawing at XYZ booth in 10 minutes. Hurry over for your chance to win!” Or, “XYZ demonstration in 10 minutes. Don’t miss out. Hurry over!”
- If you are going to continue to use SMS text message marketing following the trade show, have a sign up sheet at your booth or display for customers who want to join your text message list. Remember to offer some sort of enticement for them to join, like a coupon or a chance to win a prize.
- After the trade show, follow up with the customers on your text message list by sending them a coupon or reminding them about special deals they may be interested in. This can help keep your business fresh in their minds after the excitement of the trade show is over, and is an opportunity to send targeted messages to interested customers.
Trade show text alerts offer an opportunity for organizations to connect with their potential customers before, during, and after the trade show and build a stronger relationship between themselves and their customers.