5 tips for CPAs to follow-up after events

Events are one of the best ways for CPAs to start building relationships with prospects, clients and industry experts. No doubt you’ve also been to a few events yourself and appreciate the hard work that goes into making it a successful one. But how do you capitalize on the event and turn it into a fruitful venture?

1. Be thankful

An event doesn’t just happen overnight. It normally takes months of planning and coordination for it to go off smoothly. And even though it may feel like you’ve done all the work there must have been many other people involved. From the venue coordinator to all the participants, it’s all these people that helped make the event a success. So be sure to acknowledge the effort that everyone has made. It can be a simple email to the event organizers or a small gift for the participants that you invited. Nonetheless, be sure to capitalize on this moment by getting in touch with the people who matter to you.

2. Feedback is key

Everyone knows how important good feedback is and most times people are quite happy to share. It seems like one of the basic things to do after any event, however, with all the other million things going sometimes it gets forgotten. The key is to get the feedback just after the event when it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind.

3. Be social

Social media is a great way to interact with your audience especially when it comes to events. It’s great for during the event but also afterward as well. Be sure to take plenty of photos and videos during the event itself. You can then curate all this content to get maximum exposure and engagement. After the event, share the videos and photos and be sure to tag the relevant people. Keep it light and fun and invest in a good mobile camera as no one likes to see blurry photos.

4. Re-evaluate your audience

Events are a good opportunity to take stock of your audience and to also understand what drives them. As time and technology move on so do tastes and preferences. To keep up to date with your audience create a buyer persona and see how it’s changed since the last time you made one. Maybe nothing has changed, however, most times you’ll notice trends and terminology that maybe wasn’t as prevalent as before. This can be crucial to figuring out what your clients/prospects are looking for and how best to engage with them.

5. It’s all about analytics

As the saying goes, ‘the numbers don’t lie’. So why not use them to your benefit. Be sure to collect and record analytics during your event. If you’re part of a large event, you should be able to get this data from the event organizers. However, you should also be proactive in gathering your own relevant data. Collecting data is only half the game, the real insight comes from analyzing the data after the event. These insights should shed light on how you’re being received and where you can improve.

These are just some of the things CPA’s can do once they’ve completed an event. If you have any other tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments below.