CRM programs were supposed to be the cure to the woes of sales and marketing. If you don’t know already, a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is software that can track every single contact, transaction, sales call, bill, and delivery that is entered into the system. Basically it puts an incredible amount of information at your fingertips to help make smart choices. If you don’t have CRM software in place, there are a whole range of options in terms of price and functionality. GoldmMine, ACT!, SalesLogix, and PeopleSoft are some popular choices. Many of these programs offer free trials and on-line tutorials in order to determine their efficacy for your company and its products and services.

With all of the information CRM systems provide, you would think it would be easy for a company to determine their ROI from a trade show or any other marketing effort. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. A spread sheet may not reveal the full extent of your trade show success or failure. Here are a few strategies for getting more out of CRM systems when it comes to trade shows:

1.) Walk Down to Accounting

Many times marketing and sales just never talk to accounting unless there’s something wrong; but your financial folks can be of great assistance in helping determine trade show and event ROI. Along with your IT department, they can work at the front end of the process when researching CRM programs to see if the CRM can integrate with your other accounting software including and most especially “Order Entry” and “Shipments by Client”.

In addition, accounting can provide information that can either verify or inform output from a CRM. Who are your biggest customers? Who are your smallest? Who are your top twenty customers? What percentage of total sales do those top twenty represent? Were any of them a new customer this year? When did their orders come in?

By asking questions like these, you can get clear information based on facts. Accounting doesn’t deal in vagaries (or at least it shouldn’t). Asking accounting some fact based analytical questions can help you create a connection with your trade show marketing. If a trade show contact is recorded in your CRM, compare the sales timeline with accounting to see if the trade show had an impact. If there are new customers this year, were they noted in the lead list from a trade show? Did you see your top five customers at a trade show? Or did you see the 20% or your customers that make up 80% of your business?

(Sometimes CRM systems are actually linked to accounting — so the trip down to their office may not be necessary. But do it anyway, chances are you’ll learn something and they’ll enjoy the company.)

2.) Look at What You’re Not Getting

A CRM can tell you who you met at a trade show and whether or not that lead turned into a customer, but you have to use that information to find out who you’re missing at your trade shows. Companies tend to look at success and build on that. It’s a sound strategy, but if you use it exclusively, you’ll miss opportunities at trade shows. Also look at the types of customers you’re not seeing at your booth. How can you attract them? How can you design and promote your trade show booth to appeal to a new demographic without alienating the old one? Building on the holes in your CRM can also help you build business, even in a slowing economy — there are only so many investment dollars to spend and you may have tapped out an existing market. Exploit the markets you currently aren’t reaching with new strategies.

3.) Create Customer Stories

With all of the complex data that a CRM can output, it’s tempting to just look at it as a pure expression of fact. In fact, a CRM may be able to recite 100 facts about your best customer, but it cannot tell you exactly why they are your best customer. Use the information from the CRM as well as from sales staff to find out why some relationships begin at a trade show and why they grow. If the CRM shows several leads turning into sales in the months after a trade show, talk to the sales staff to find out why. These narratives can be powerful because they combine the gut feelings of sales with the hard facts that only a computer can retain.

Creating customer stories will also make it easy for sales and booth staff to understand last year’s successes so they can duplicate that success this year and beyond.

Another strategy is to create aspirational stories — who are the customers you want? What impact will your trade show exhibit have on them? Are you trying to work with bigger companies? What scenario might attract them to your booth and win their business? Aspirational stories help determine everything from exhibit design to trade show execution, to sales strategies and marketing collateral.

CRM programs are incredibly helpful in tracking the marketing and sales activity that go into a successful customer relationship. CRMs not only can also help you measure the success you’ve had at a trade show, but they can help you shape a more successful marketing and trade show strategy in the future. Bottom line -better ROI.