Generating leads when you can’t meet customers and prospects: The 4 alternatives
The current situation has forced authorities to take preventive security measures like the postponement or cancellation of many trade fairs and business meetings across the globe.
Most companies are impacted by these measures as they are limited in the ways they can promote their products and services and meet new prospects and customers.
Therefore, to minimize economic consequences, it is essential to find new ways of getting their messages across and generating new business opportunities.
This could be a good time to test new Marketing actions!
Here are the 4 alternatives that can be put in place to generate leads when you can’t meet your customers and prospects face-to-face:
1. Email campaigns
Essential for B2B and B2C Marketing professionals, Email campaigns are one the most popular and cost-effective communication tools to generate new business opportunities.
Sending email campaigns can help you reach new prospects, follow-up with your customers and promote new products or services.
To generate new leads like you would at trade fairs, you can reach out to expert suppliers who can send your messages to specific target groups within their audience.
Email marketing could be the perfect alternative to promote your content in this difficult context.
2. Webinars
When it’s no longer possible to physically meet your customers and prospects, webinars appear to be the perfect solution to directly interact with them. Webinars are considered a very popular marketing tool valued by prospects who can familiarize themselves with new products and services or learn more about a specific topic.
Webinars have advantages for both parties:
Participants appreciate having someone available to answer their questions in real time.
You can communicate with prospects who willingly registered and are ready to talk to you.
This type of tool is ideal to compensate the absence of physical meetings.
It might be the right time for you consider this type of online event!
TraceParts can help you promote your webinars to the right audience and boost registrations.
We have already successfully promoted many webinars for our customers over the years.
3. Banner Ads
Trade fair cancellations mean that you risk being less visible to your prospects and customers. This is very unfortunate especially if you were relying on these events to launch new products or services.
Therefore, you need to communicate more than ever to reach your audience.
Banners on websites visited by your target audience
These refer to advertisements published on channels that your audience frequently visits. By promoting your content on websites they regularly consult, you maximize your chances of being visible.
Banners in newsletters that your customers have subscribed to
Some specific newsletters offer banner ad placement opportunities where you can publish your creatives. These banners are fully integrated into the newsletter so are very likely to be seen by your audience. Recipients have expressly requested to receive these messages, so they tend to welcome them.
Being an expert in Digital Marketing, TraceParts offers both types of banners.
The TraceParts CAD-content platform has banner display opportunities on all its product pages. You simply need you select your targeting options and display criteria.
It’s also possible to promote your products and services in our special newsletters sent to designers and engineers who subscribed to receive them.
4. Social media and blogs
Another alternative to compensate your loss in visibility with the current situation: animating your social media accounts and your blog.
Seen as though you can’t be present at trade shows, be present online !
Actively share posts on social media and don’t hesitate to join groups that your audience follows. Positioning yourselves as experts and being in the spotlight will help you boost your popularity.
It’s also an ideal time to revive your blog! Create articles that address your customers’ needs. It’s the right time to focus on their daily challenges and questions and position yourselves, once again, as experts in your field.
In sum, be active online seen as though you can’t be at events!
As you will have noticed, there some valuable alternatives that allow you to communicate and be visible despite not being able to attend trade fairs, conferences and events that entail physical contact with your audience.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like some guidance on how to use these digital tools.
Our team of experts is at your full disposal to answer your questions and give you further details on the services we can offer to help you pursue your promotional efforts.
TraceParts is one of the world’s leading CAD-content platforms for Engineering, Industrial Equipment and Machine Design. TraceParts brings highly targeted Lead Generation marketing services to hundreds of customers of all sizes and from all industries, via powerful cloud-based API and SaaS applications such as 3D part libraries, product catalogs and configurators.