POST-SHOW POST-SHOW PACK EXPO BEHAVIORS & HABITS BENCHMARKING STUDY

Transcription

1 PACK EXPO BEHAVIORS & HABITS BENCHMARKING STUDY PACK PACK EXPO EXPO POST-SHOW POST-SHOW MARKETING MARKETING STUDY STUDY Research & Analysis by Matt Reynolds, Director, Content & Research, PMMI Media Group

2 Introduction In a first-of-its-kind study, Packaging World and Packaging + Processing OEM surveyed nearly 200 suppliers, all former or current exhibitors at PACK EXPO, on their habits and strategies going into the show. A separate but similar survey asked the same of more than 400 brand owners, all recent active PACK EXPO attendees. Additionally, 54 unique distributors were surveyed on their attitudes and behaviors surrounding PACK EXPO. We seek to identify for exhibitors winning strategies and potential missed opportunities in show-related activities, based on their own reported habits as compared and contrasted with both attendee and distributor habits. Attendees say a well-tailored is the preferred follow up, while very few want a phone call ATTENDEES What type of follow up do you prefer from exhibitors post-pack EXPO? A personalized referencing our conversation from the show 43% A generalized with attachments/links to more info 34% I prefer no follow-up, I ll contact them if I m interested 27% A personalized mail/printed note 19% A general mailed/printed brochure A generalized 15% 14% An organized site visit A phone call 11% 10% In general, attendees prefer as the best follow up method, with a personalized detailing the at-show conversation being the most appreciated. Failing the personalized nature of the discussion, an with helpful and appropriate links, attachments, etc., is preferred to a more generalized . Phone calls tended to be least welcome. Of note, distributors are particularly prone to follow up with a phone call, even on soft leads, whether they know the customer or not. Perhaps calling is more effective for distributors? Consider discussing sales ready vs. soft lead follow up practices and lead nurturing with your distributors. PACK EXPO Behaviors and Habits Benchmarking Study 2

3 Suppliers have good follow up practices Which best describes your company s post PACK EXPO follow up system for leads generated at the show? 11% We send leads to appropriate distributors, and ensure they send a general follow up 4% We send leads to distributors/ agents, but have no means to check they are following up 21% We don t have a centralized follow up communication system in place, we just let the sales people follow-up directly 16% 48% We have a personalized follow up system in place that references the product and conversation had at the show We send a generic company that s not specific to what they talked about with our sales person 15% Other How are soft PACK EXPO leads that are not sales-ready handled? 42% We have a lead nurturing program where they continue to receive from us at least four times per year 43% We send a general acknowledgment, load them in our CRM but don t pro-actively anything with them after that The preferred channel for follow up among attendees (43% reporting this) is a personalized . Failing that, a general ranked second. One containing links to more info or attachments with more info is preferred to a less informative general . Nearly half of exhibitors responding to this survey (48%) have a personalized follow up system in place, aligning well with attendees preferences in followup. PACK EXPO Behaviors and Habits Benchmarking Study 3

4 Marketing and sales surprisingly in agreement on lead sales-readiness 16% No Do you feel marketing and sales are in agreement or when a marketing-generated lead is sales-ready? 84% Yes Surprisingly, sales and marketing overwhelmingly agreed on what constitutes a sales-ready lead. This goes against conventional wisdom which holds that the two groups tend to be at odds with one another. But those who did complain that sales and marketing don t always see eye-to-eye offered the following as possible reasons: Why do sales and marketing disagree on sales-readiness of leads? Differing views of qualification and sales readiness. We do pass along warm leads to our distributors so they can start building a relationship with end user, selling consumables, etc. Then when they are ready to buy equipment they have confidence in salesman. Not all distributor salesmen want to be bothered until there is a hot lead. Sales does not usually want to see a lead before they have a defined project or pending order they consider any nurture activity of evaluator leads to be Marketing s job and do not like receiving leads early for cold calling or the longtail sale. We don t market very well. It s disjointed amongst business units. We currently don t differentiate between a marketing lead and a sales lead. We don t have a lead scoring or nurturing process. This causes sales to not always find high value in the leads we provide. Hopefully a marketing automation tool could help us with this. Really needs a separate department to qualify leads and follow-up even after the nurture marketing steps. PACK EXPO Behaviors and Habits Benchmarking Study 4

5 Marketing automation adoption is slow What best describes your CRM and marketing automation technology stack? 28% 26% 21% We don t have a marketing automation system nor do we have plans to add one We don t have a marketing automation system but exploring the idea of using one in the next two years We have a marketing automation system that is SEPARATE from our CRM system 25% We use an all-in-one system that combines CRM and marketing automation What CRM do you use and are you happy with it? 1 2 WE DON T USE A CRM. Nearly 40 respondents reported not using a CRM. I don t use CRM. I think it s handy, but not essential. Besides, I can t afford to it, it s quite expensive. We use our staff to contact our customers regularly this works better than any campaign because it is current and what we are all about at that moment. Nothing. There is no system in place at all. Most information is lost. WE USE SALESFORCE. Of the 31 responses indicating Salesforce as the CRM, a remarkable 27 were happy with the system, only 3 detractors, and one did not specify. Sales Force, yes, I m happy with it, but there are many features / benefits that we do not utilize. Sales force. Yes it s a great tool albeit an expensive one. SalesForce. Love the program and the endless opportunities it offers. 3 4 WE USE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS. Of the 18 respondents using this CRM, only half were pleased with it, the rest unsure or saying they merely inherited it. Not quite the effusiveness that Salesforce received. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, yes, we re happy with it. Microsoft Dynamics...happy enough. WE USE ACT! Of the 15 respondents using Act-On, 7 were happy with it and 4 were unhappy with it, the remainder not indicating sentiment. Act! It could be better Act! its okay. PACK EXPO Behaviors and Habits Benchmarking Study 5

6 5 6Zoho, WE HAVE A HOMEMADE SYSTEM. About 15 respondents use a cobbled together, homemade system. 5 said they were happy with it, 2 said they were unhappy, and the rest did not express sentiment. OTHER CRMS, INCLUDING OUTLOOK, ORACLE, AND ZOHO. Outlook and Oracle got mixed reviews. While only four respondents were using Zoho, each loved it. Zoho CRM. Extremely happy! love it. Conclusions 1 SUPPLIER LEADS ARE VALUABLE Conventional wisdom says supplier leads, particularly from sales and marketing personnel are of lower value, but suppliers indicate that sales and marketing personnel have significant influence on selecting other suppliers to partner with. Remember, OEMs buy from other OEMs, and sales and marketing leads from other OEMs are influential in selecting who buys from whom. 2 ATTENDEES PREFER A PERSONALIZED . THEY DON T WANT A CALL The preferred followup method is an detailing what you discussed at the show and how to go from there. Failing that, an with some relevant links or brochure attachments are good options as well. 3 THEIR FOLLOW UP, USUALLY PERSONALIZED Post show followup done by exhibitors tends to be aligned with attendee preferences. 64% are either sending personalized s referencing the show conversations (48%), or at least sending a non-specific (16%). Another 11% send the leads to distributor. BUT... 4 DISTRIBUTORS ALMOST ALWAYS CALL 66% call with soft leads in general. 74% call back soft leads specifically from PACK EXPO. You may want to have a conversation about lead nurturing. 5 SALES AND MARKETING AGREE? We saw surprising agreement between sales and marketing in what constitutes a sales-ready lead. 6 MARKETING AUTOMATION/ CRM ADOPTION IS HAPPENING, BUT SLOWLY Salesforce got the highest marks, with Microsoft Dynamics and Act- On having reasonable penetration. A significant amount of exhibitors use their own homemade systems. PACK EXPO Behaviors and Habits Benchmarking Study 6