The term “road show” conjures images of rocks stars and back stage parties.  In actuality, marketing and sales road shows, which have been a popular marketing tool utilized in Australia and Europe for quite some time, are now also gaining more popularity in the United States.  Until recently, most road shows held in the United States were strictly for investor relations.

For face-to-face marketing on a grand scale, there is no greater vehicle than a tradeshow.  Large industry trade shows allow companies to reach thousands of prospects in just a couple of days.  Sometimes the number of leads from a large show can be overwhelming and it becomes a chore picking through all the contacts to get to the ones that are a qualified prospect.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to bring pre-qualified leads directly to you?  There is.  Road shows differ from tradeshows in that they focus on a much smaller, targeted audience and allow for a much more in-depth presentation.  Road shows can be multi-city events that enable your company to reach pre-qualified prospects and serve as a supplement to your trade show program. 

As in any successful marketing endeavor, the first step should be to determine what you would like to gain from your road show program and, equally importantly, what benefit you can offer to your attendees.  Begin by deciding what type of road show will best fit your goal.

There are two types of sales and marketing road shows – for new prospects and for your client-base.  Goals for a client-focused road show could include the following: 

• More referenceable clients
• Develop stronger relationships with clients
• Collect research/customer feedback
• Generate add-on sales “leads” from client base
• Increase awareness of range of products and services
• Cross selling of products and services
• Introduce key decision-makers from firms to your executives
• Educate client base to your vision and direction in a controlled environment

Goals for a prospect road show could include:

• SALES!  Create interest in your product/service
• Build market awareness of your product/service
• Build relationships with key players in market

If you are planning on hosting a prospect road show program, there are many ways to come up with the names for your invite list.  In addition to your internal sales lead list that you have compiled from trade shows and your sales team, lists can be obtained from industry associations/companies such as ABA, ILTA, ALM and the Leadership Directories (Legal Yellow pages).  Once you have selected your list of invitees, you can send invitations via mail or email. 

A large part of devising your road show strategy involves determining what will draw your audience to you.  It will take more than free food and the promise of a day away from the office to draw quality attendees.  Make sure the benefits to your attendees are highlighted in your invitation.  Let them know what they will be receiving in return for sacrificing their time.  A few examples are peer networking, industry news, product updates, increase in efficiency, and general education.  In addition, offering CLE credits is an excellent way to add value to your program and increase the attendance tremendously.  You can coordinate through a legal event planning/marketing agency to get your programs approved for CLE credits or work directly with the applicable state bars to accomplish this.  Also, teaming with an industry consultant/training company is a great way to take the pressure of the program off of you and many of them have presentations that are already approved for CLE credits.

In addition to your audience, there are many logistical things to consider in planning your road show program.  The format for your program is completely up to you.  Will you have it at a hotel or have a client host it?  Will you invite end-users or high-level decision makers?  Will you plan for a full-day or half-day program?  Will you offer sponsorship opportunities to your partners and help offset the costs?  Do you plan on a keynote speaker or matter expert to add sizzle? Your opportunities are virtually endless.

No matter what route you choose, a road show program can be an invaluable addition to your sales and marketing plan.  It is one of the few times you can completely control who your marketing dollars reach!