Is there a way to make sure sales coming from leads collected at trade shows are attributed, at least in part, to the exhibit-marketing program?

In my experience, the key to effective attribution is taking action before a show. Trade shows can be a sort of Wild Wild West of data. No two attendee badges are created equal, meaning the order and values of the data can be all over the board. For example, some badges list an attendee's country, while others don't. I've seen badges where the first and last names were in the same field. Certain exhibitors will request a business email while others are still collecting a fax number. It is crucial to be able to deliver the specific information that your CRM requires and that your sales reps want.

So, the first thing I strongly recommend is to identify all the stakeholders in this process. Large companies distribute all sales leads through one or more CRM tools (e.g., SalesForce, Marketo, Veeva, Pardot, and so many others). Invite sales leaders to weigh in on pipeline lead qualifiers that facilitate optimum results for their department and to define the minimum data required to support sales follow-ups. Meanwhile, learn how sales and marketing define sales-qualified leads (SQLs) and marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and implement that differentiator into your lead-qualifying process. You may not ultimately get the credit from actual sales, but your post-show reports will reflect how many qualified leads your program delivered.

Generally, the data required on a standardized lead form may seem glaringly obvious at first: first name, last name, company name, business email address, city, state, and country. But it is important to find out from show management what contact fields they are collecting and will provide as part of the badge scan. Know ahead of time if a show's registration processes take into account any new email regulations and if attendees have the right to opt out of sharing their personal contact information. Another great opportunity is to collect opt-ins for future company communications. By asking a simple opt-in question, the leads you collect can be nurtured for future sales. Additionally, find out what demographics the show will collect and provide. This may help you shorten your lead-qualifier survey questions.

Another trend I have noticed is that exhibitors want to quickly identify current customers and match them to their internal customer ID. Some go a step further by discreetly deploying business intelligence to help facilitate booth conversations. Additionally, a great metric to report is how many existing vs. new potential customers you met with at the event. All your measurements should be based on your overall event goals.

Keep in mind that these data points are not one size fits all. That is, you probably will have to adjust them based on the various industries your company exhibits in. The data in your lead form for an aerospace trade show, for instance, might differ in some key areas from that for health care. It's probably wise to assume that you should repeat the same process - holding meetings with stakeholders to develop the lead forms they all sign off on - for shows in different industries.

If possible, try to establish some measurable sales results by working with your sales team over time. Is it possible to estimate an average close rate, i.e., the average percentage of leads that ultimately result in a sale? Can they provide an average value of a sale or contract? With these two metrics in hand, you can start estimating more of your leads' worth to the company, which you can then reflect in any reports you make to upper management. This will reinforce not only the connection of your leads to sales, but also the revenues that they help drive. By taking this approach, your department and the leads your exhibit team generates should receive credit where credit is due.