The Value Of Trade Shows Increases With A Plan
Business-to-business marketers actually invest more money on trade shows than any other marketing medium.  That’s because trade shows give greater access and influence on buyers that cannot be replicated in anywhere else.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) revealed the following about trade shows:

• 88% of attendees have not been seen by a member of your company’s sales staff in the preceding 12 months
• Seven out of ten attendees plan to buy one or more products
• 76% asked for quotes and 26% signed purchase orders (average all shows)
• 72% of show visitors say the show influenced their buying decision
• 87% of attendees will share some of the information obtained at an exhibition
• 64% of attendees tell at least 6 other people about the event
• 58% attend only the show in which you are exhibiting
• 40% are first-time attendees
• It costs 22% less to contact a potential buyer at a show than it does through traditional field sales calls

However, while trade shows are worthwhile, they are not easy.  To get the most out of trade shows, exhibit marketers set measurable objectives, pick good shows, design effective exhibits, and more.  Read on to discover the main elements of a successful trade show marketing program.

1.  Setting Objectives and Measurable Results
The first step in planning your trade show success is to set effective and realistic trade show objectives and measurements for them.  Effectively planning your show’s objectives allows the rest of your show to fall into place.  Choosing the right measurement tools enables you to draw the correct conclusions following your trade show performance. 

The first question to ask is the most basic:  Why are you exhibiting?  While most go to generate leads and build awareness of their brand or products, many also exhibit to build relationships or introduce new products.

Once you know the reason you are exhibiting, set objectives based on them that you can measure – and then measure and report them.  Measurable objectives range from simple lead counts (200 leads at the XYZ Show) to Return On Investment goals (Generate $10 in sales for every $1 spent exhibiting at the XYZ Show). 

2.  Budgeting: Planning saves you time and money
Exhibiting can be complex.  A large part of that challenge is identifying how much to budget for related services.  The easiest way to estimate your overall budget for exhibiting at a show is to take the cost to rent the exhibit space, and multiply it by three.  So if renting a 10 foot by 10 foot exhibit at a show costs $2,000, then the overall show costs are usually about $6,000.

The biggest expenditures after booth space is staffer’s travel, hotel, and meal costs, show services such as installation and dismantle, the cost to build or rent your exhibit, and shipping. 

A large portion of show services costs is called drayage, which is the cost to bring your exhibit and crates from outside the show hall to your exhibit space.  Sometimes it can even be as expensive as the cost to ship your exhibit from your city to the show.  The trend for exhibitors is towards lighter weight, more custom modular exhibits that lower costs like shipping and drayage. 

Planning avoids rush charges and lets you figure out how to do the most shows with the fewest exhibit properties.

3.  Select The Right Trade Shows
With over 13,000 trade shows, conferences, expositions, private and business-to-business events in North America, featuring 1.5 million exhibiting companies vying for the attention of over 80 million attendees, it can be daunting to select where your efforts are best spent. However, there is a method to help you find the best opportunities to market your organization at trade shows.

To start, select the shows you want to exhibit at only after you have set your trade show objectives.  Then dig in to do some serious background research.  The best bet is to look at the trade shows in your industry and carefully weigh the options.  Talk to your fellow employees — what shows have worked in the past?  Where do sales people see the customer’s needs leaning?  Look at who is going to be there.  Talk to your current and prospective customers — is this a show they will be attending?  While you may exhibit well at your large industry show, also consider smaller shows that have a higher proportion of people likely to be interested in your products or services.  You can find shows online to pick from at www.tsnn.com.  Also consider exhibiting internationally.

4.  Space Selection: Where and How Big?
The average trade show has over 400 exhibitors, so how do you choose the best booth space for you?  Most shows give space-picking priority to the exhibitors who have been with them the longest.  Yet some studies have found that where you are in the show hall has no effect on the amount of audience you receive to your booth.  For every veteran exhibitor that requires a space in the center of the action, or at the front entrance to the hall, or near their biggest competitor, there are veteran exhibitors who flee from the same locations.  All the same, the size of your booth space is a very important decision, where you must weigh the need to stand out from your competitors with a large booth, and yet having enough budget to exhibit at all the worthwhile shows for your company.

5.  Trade Show Exhibit Design:  Make Your Exhibit a Marketing Tool
Why does exhibit design matter?  Because well-designed trade show booths are so effective at cutting through the trade show clutter and getting your message to your target audience.  The average trade show attendee will spend 7 to 8 hours on the floor over a period of 2 to 3 days visiting an average of 25-31 exhibits.  This leaves 5 to 15 minutes per visit – just 5 to 15 minutes to make a lasting impression that will give you an edge over the competition.

Create an exhibit that works as a true marketing tool.  Make sure your exhibit graphics say who you are, what you do, and what is your benefit to prospects.  When you state those clearly, and with bold inviting graphics, you’ll bring in more visitors – and more qualified visitors.

Your exhibit is more than a three-dimensional ad.  It’s actually a temporary workspace, filled with booth staffers there for hours or days, and visitors there for just a few minutes.  Increase productivity by giving them enough space to work in, and by designing around their needs, be it for gathering leads, demonstrating product, meeting with key people, or storing their personal items.

6.  Get More Traffic With Trade Show Promotions
Trade show promotions are the secret weapon of the veteran trade show manager.  That’s because, when done right, trade show promotions work so well.

Consider these two items:

1. The average trade show has over 400 exhibitors, where the average attendee will visit about 21 exhibits, and that average attendee walks into the show with a list of 75% of the exhibits he/she wants to see. That means you have to get on their dance card before the show.
2. You can boost your trade show lead counts by 33% with trade show promotions – even thought they require a much smaller percentage of your budget.

So, trade show promotions are money well spent.  Pre-show promotions are the things you do before the show to make attendees want to visit your booth.  At-show promotions are the activities and trade show giveaway items you do during the show to bring in more attendees into your exhibit. 

Just be sure to pick promotions that bring in your desired target audience, not just anyone at the show.  And don’t just give things away – get information about prospects in exchange that will help you qualify and prioritize your leads.

7.  Train Your Booth Staff So They’re Comfortable At Shows
85% of the positive feelings visitors have are due to the staff.  Your booth staff is responsible for drawing in your customers, effectively engaging them and creating leads.  Because of this, it is important that you select the most effective staffers that your company has to offer.  If they are sales people, you have to train them to adapt their selling style to the trade show floor.  If they are not salespeople, guess what – they can still do extremely well, given the proper preparation.

Trade show staffing is uncomfortable for almost everyone at first.  You will give your booth staffer greater comfort and confidence by training them to understand and follow a 4-step booth staffing process:

1. Engage: 30 seconds
Start the process by stopping attendees.  Prepare and practice questions that won’t get a yes or no answer.

2. Qualify: 2 minutes
Determine if the prospect is worth presenting to … and what to present.

3. Present: 5 to 8 minutes
Demo on just the prospect’s needs, not everything you know. Prepare for common objections and questions.

4. Close: 1 minute
Lead card complete? Agree on the next step and go on to the next lead!

8.  Lead Management, Not Lead Neglect
Astoundingly, almost 80% of leads generated are never followed, according to CEIR.  Rather than sending your hard-fought trade show leads into the abyss, strive to be part of the elite 20% that actually follow up on their leads!  We’ve heard horror stories of exhibits pulled out of storage to prepare for a show – only to find the leads from the previous show still packed with their trade show booth.  What a tragedy! 

Rather than just sending a business card from the prospect on to your field sales reps, provide and train your staffers to use a lead card.  It’s a half sheet of paper that has check boxes to the most common qualifying questions, and room for notes about what the attendee said in your booth.  Your sales reps will be much more likely to follow up on a lead when they know what to say, and that it’s worth the call. 

Also, think of your first day back from the show as the last day of the show.  Have your lead fulfillment packages prepared ahead of time, so you can send your responses right away. 

9.  Measuring Results Improves Future Performance
Once you return from a trade show it is important to measure its success.  Why?  Because while trade shows are a great marketing medium, you still have to prove the value of your individual program.  This information can be used to report to management the effectiveness of the show and to improve exhibit performance for future shows.  Success can be measured by simple lead counts, or better yet, by the return on investment, or whatever objectives you set when you started your trade show program.  

By tracking your results from show to show, you can make informed decisions about which shows to continue, expand, contract, or cut.  And when you are armed with data proving the value of your overall trade show program, you can maintain – and even expand – your trade show marketing efforts.

Step Up Your Trade Show Marketing
That’s a lot of ground to cover in just one blog post.  But it’s a good plan to strengthen your trade show marketing, all in one place.  I hope it helps you boost your results out of trade shows, whether you are looking for more leads, better relationships, a stronger brand, or simply sales, sales, sales.  As always, share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Want more ways to improve your trade show marketing?  Click here to get your free 32-page What’s Working In Trade Show Marketing White Paper to give you insights into proven methods for boosting your results and stretching your budget.

It’s been two years since economic turmoil spooked your management and they shut down or pulled back your trade show program to conserve cash.  But things are different now.  The economy is looking up, shows are getting more attendees, and exhibitors are reporting increasing numbers of interested prospects visiting their trade show displays.

That resurgence has you itching to get back into trade shows, to get face-to-face with hundreds, even thousands of prospects.  And since those prospects are also getting their budgets unfrozen, they’re eager to meet you, too.

But before you jump back in, don’t just dust off your 2008 plan.  So much has happened since then to your customers, and in your company, your trade shows, your industry, and the economy.  Instead, get a clean sheet of paper, grab a pencil, and consider these 6 points:

1.  Revised Marketing Objectives
Check to see if the marketing objectives that drove your old trade show program are still appropriate.  Are your marketing goals now focused on retaining clients, or were your clients so disproportionately hurt by the downturn that you’re targeting new customers now?  Do you have to build distribution or increase awareness in a stronger market you’re now expanding into?  Do you lack new products ready to launch, so you’ve got to take a different tack in your trade show booth?  If any of this rings true with you, go back to square one.  Huddle with your management team and determine your revamped goals for exhibiting, so you can adjust the rest of your trade show program.

2.  Revamped Trade Show Selection
While adjusting to the downturn, your company may have remade itself.  It could have retreated to its core market, or shifted its resources to focus on the stronger remaining markets.  Thus, some shows on your old schedule are unnecessary, and perhaps some new shows should be sought out.  Plus, the downturn affected show owners unequally.  You need to determine which shows are still strong, and have the resources to invest in bringing in and engaging attendees.  Also consider which shows you will choose if your budget is only partially restored.  And finally, if you are in the United States, consider trying more international trade shows, because emerging markets are growing twice as fast as the U.S.

3.  Reshaped Budget
Is your trade show budget completely restored, or only partially?  Even if you get it all back, you may wish to adjust how it’s spent based on the shows you keep and add, the size booth you need to meet your marketing goals, how beat-up or off-message your current trade show exhibit is, and how you’ll invest in promotions in this new era of social media.  And while you may be asked to bring fewer booth staffers, remember that you simply can’t take as many leads without the booth staffers to take them.

4.  Reinvigorated Exhibit Design
Based on your updated marketing objectives, recalibrated show selection, and revised budget, you may need to change your booth’s size, its marketing message, and even its shape (so its architecture better supports your new goals).  So pulling your old trade show display off the shelf may be counter-productive.  It might be time to look at getting a new trade show exhibit that better represents the new company you have evolved into. 

5.  Rebuilt Booth Staffing
Take a look at the desks around yours.  Is the entire crack team of booth staffers you once took to trade shows still intact?  Or were some of your best booth staffers “right sized” right out the door?  If so, you need to go on a recruiting mission to rebuild your team.  Your best bet?  Ask your remaining ace veterans who they’d choose.  They’ll know the like-minded candidates who have the right attitude, knowledge, and work ethic to best represent you on the show floor.

6. Reshaped Promotions
In the last two years, social media has reshaped the marketing world.  To what extent social media has taken hold in your target market will guide how much you need to shift your promotional activity into social media.  You may find you can get the same results reaching out to show attendees via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn than you can with emails, directory ads, and post card mailers.  You won’t know until you try. 

As marketers, we are not living in the same world we had before the downturn.  So you can’t go back to the same old trade show program you used to run.  I hope this gives you some ideas on how to not only restart, but even revitalize your trade show program as well.

Get more ideas on restarting your trade show program from the 32-page white paper, What’s Working In Exhibiting.  This free report shares insights from exhibitors on how they’ve increased results and stretched their budgets.  Click here now to get your own copy.

Why would you say no to free?  If the following scenario is happening to you, you should.

Every year you have a show in the same distant city, and every year your boss says, “Use old such-and-such from the local office as a booth staffer.  That way we don’t have to pay for airfare and hotel to send someone from here.” 

At first you thought it was a good idea, too — a way to save about a thousand dollars.  But after a couple of years, you’ve realized that old such-and-such is actually a horrible booth staffer.   How horrible?

• He hides inside the booth and doesn’t try to engage attendees
• He’s got a negative attitude, is unapproachable and unwelcoming
• He’s got poor product knowledge
• He spends all his time talking (and complaining) to your other booth staffers, tying them up, too
• He gets a fraction of the leads of other booth staffers
• He doesn’t write notes on the lead cards from the few conversations he gets

Unfortunately, your boss hasn’t figured out the problem yet, and won’t unless you tell her.  To get the best staff that you need, you’ll have to point out to your boss the true cost of this “free” staffer, and make the case for spending the extra money to get a worthwhile staffer instead.

The hidden cost of a poor performing trade show booth staffer

While you saved on airfare and hotel, you have other, bigger costs you’ve now incurred:

• You miss out on potentially dozens of leads, and the sales from those leads, that a better booth staffer would get. 
• Attendees who do talk to the poor booth staffer will form a poorer opinion of your company
• Other booth staffers will be dragged down by the bad booth staffer’s attitude, and they will in turn get fewer leads

The average cost of a trade show lead is $212, according to ceir.org.  If that poor performing booth staffer only took about 5 leads at that show each of the past two year, but your average staffers are getting about 25 (my guesstimates based on experience, yours may vary), you can make the case to your boss that a better staffer would add $4,240 in value to your marketing.  Here’s how:  25-5=20 leads, times $212 cost per lead, equals $4,240 in extra value.   That’s over 4 times more value, by spending the $1,000 to “ship” a proven booth staffer there.  

If there is no one else on your staff available to replace him, consider hiring a local trade show host or hostess.  Not the stereotypical booth babe, but a professionally dressed, self-motivated oasis of sunshine.  If you’re concerned they don’t know enough about your products, you can train them enough to engage visitors, and then they’ll feed the rest of your booth staff with more leads.  They may even live in the show city and not require travel expenses, and end up costing you less than paying for your own staffer’s travel expenses. 

So be willing to say no to a “free” booth staffer if he can’t get the job done.  Only bring booth staffers who are up to the task, even if that means paying more to get them there.  You’ll get more leads, your ROI will improve, your other booth staffers will do better, and you’ll present a better image for your company. 

Want to get more great tips on increasing your booth staff’s performance, and thus your trade show results?  Get your free copy of our 48-page Booth Staffing Guidebook filled with insightful articles, worksheets, and checklists by clicking here.

A few weeks ago Skyline gladly hosted the Upper Midwest Exhibit Designers and Producers Association chapter meeting, here at our main facility in Minnesota.

About 60 industry professionals were treated dinner and not just one, but two excellent presentations about the state of the exhibition industry.  The newly-elected EDPA President John Rose presented highlights from the 2009 EDPA Economic Survey, which showed how exhibit builders fared in 2008.  (Most made money.  2009 will be a more interesting survey.)

The second presenter, Mark Kuehl of EXHIBITOR Media Group, shared the as-yet-unpublished EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2010 Economic Outlook Survey. The goal of EXHIBITOR’s survey was to “quantify trends in corporate spending on trade shows for the coming year.”  Which for our audience meant, do exhibitors feel safe enough to resume spending on trade shows, or not?

The survey will be published in EXHIBITOR’s March 2010 issue, but we got enough of a sneak peek to share a key insight with you. 

EXHIBITOR used a common format for many questions, asking survey takers if they planned to spend more, the same, or less on an item in 2010.  Most people answered “the same” to these questions – it was the gap in percent between those who answered “increase” versus “decrease” that gives a clue to what the year will bring.

Do exhibitors want lighter weight exhibits?

The biggest “Aha!” for me (I might have even dropped my dessert spoon) was that exhibitors are ready to spend more on trade show exhibits than before, and that they will buy lighter weight exhibits.  Here’s how I came to that conclusion:

When asked what their expected spending would be for exhibit shipping, only 5.5% said they would increase, while 33% said they would decrease spending.  With 5.5% minus 33%, that’s a negative 27.5% gap indicating less planned spending on shipping.

But when asked what their expected spending would be for exhibits/displays, 17% said they would increase, while 22.1% said they would decrease spending.  With 17% minus 22.1%, that’s about a negative 5% gap indicating slightly less planned spending on exhibits/displays.  (Their actual behavior during 2009 was much more towards “decrease” – so this feels like an improvement!)

How do exhibitors plan to nearly maintain spending on exhibits and displays, but spend that much less on shipping?  I think it’s because they intend to buy lighter weight exhibits and displays that will lower their shipping costs.

Do you agree?  And what do you plan to do?  Let me know in the comments box below. 

Learn more about the shift towards lighter exhibits in the 20-page White Paper, The Trend to Custom Modular Exhibits.  By Tradeshow Week Magazine, including a survey of 170 exhibitors on their preferences, plans, and challenges.   Click here now to get your copy.

Most of the year you’re on autopilot:  Send out the pre-show promo, ship the booth, arrange the staffers, do the show, process the leads.  Then repeat.  And repeat again.

Now’s the time to turn off the autopilot and grab a hold of the wheel, while the 2009 fall trade show busy season is winding down, and it’s still fresh in your mind.   And not only is it a good time to look back, it’s also a good time to look forward, as you are preparing your 2010 trade show marketing budget as well.

Take advantage of this crossroads to really look at your trade show marketing program.  Set aside an hour, a morning, or a day to look at these 5 things:

1.  Your 2009 trade show results

If you haven’t already measured the results from your trade show program, get to it.  Compare your results to the objectives you set at the beginning of the year.  Get your list of trade show leads, and  compare them to your recent sales to see which leads closed.  If you don’t have a sophisticated enough database to do that, get some help from your finance or sales department.  If all else fails, call all the leads yourself, asked them what happened, and total up the results.  Find out number of sales and dollars sold.  If you have a longer selling cycle, see how many leads are deemed active leads that have generated follow-up meetings.  If your goals were more about brand awareness, ask if they remember meeting with your company at the show, and if they are more likely to do business with you because of their interaction there.  If you had other objectives, see if you met them.

2.  Your 2010 trade show objectives

If you have a list for 2009, put it on the board and see if the list needs tinkering.  Check to see that your objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and to be met in a specific period of time.   There are lots of reasons to exhibit at trade shows, but limit your objectives to the top 3 to 5, so you can focus your activities and have a better chance at measuring your success.  If you didn’t have 2009 pre-set objectives, get with your management and agree upon why you will exhibit at trade shows in 2010.

3.  Your 2010 trade show schedule

Once you have your 2009 results understood, figure out which shows were winners and losers.  Depending on your objectives, winner shows provided good ROI, a successful product launch, increased brand awareness, and productive interactions with existing clients, partners, and vendors.   Loser shows had too little traffic, and the traffic there was not high enough quality or a good fit with your target audience.  Keep and perhaps expand booth space in the winners.  Trim space or perhaps cut shows that were losers.   And of course, filter that list to keep the shows that will best help you achieve your 2010 trade show objectives.  And you may be adding other shows to the list that look promising, too.

4.  Your trade show strategy

What are you doing right and wrong at trade shows?  Write down the top 5 things you do well, and the 5 things you most need to improve.   Think back to the moments of frustration and insight you had during the course of the year on how you could improve your trade shows, and turn those insights into a plan.  Have you tried setting appointments before the show?  Using high-end promotions targeted to your top prospects?  Reducing your ongoing exhibiting costs with portable trade show displays and modular trade show exhibits?  Selecting shows based on your key vertical markets, not your industry shows?  Training all booth staffers, not just the newbies?  Starting a more thorough lead follow-up program?  These are just suggestions for you and your team to consider.

5.  Your trade show budget

Do you usually start with the budget number?  If so, it may seem backwards to save your budgeting for last, but after you’ve documented your 2009 results and figured out how you want to improve upon your performance in 2010, now you can take a better story to management to justify investing in the trade show marketing program you believe in.   Prepare your ideas into a good report and presentation.  Remember, your management wants to grow their business, increase their brand awareness, and build relationships with their clients.  Prove to them that you’ve got a trade show marketing plan to do just that, and they’ll give you more funds to achieve it.

So, while we’d all like to relax a bit after the Fall busy season, use the time instead for an invigorating re-examination of your trade show program.   All too soon you’ll be too busy again, or else someone else will tell you how much money you have to spend.  Now’s the time to research, brainstorm, and plan for a better next year.

Want more ideas on how to make next year’s trade shows even better?  Click here to get the Successful Exhibiting Strategies In Uncertain Times White Paper, which features 16 ways to improve your trade show marketing program.

Trade Shows deserve a place in your marketing plan – GASP!

Throughout the year we have been hearing from customers who are telling us that they are completely cutting out exhibiting as part of their marketing plan this year… even to shows that have worked well for them in the past.  When we question “Why?” all hear back is the standard, “We had to cut our marketing budget and the shows were the first to go.”

Trade Shows – unnecessarily the first to be cut
Why do we reduce our expenses in other marketing categories but are quick to completely axe trade shows altogether?  For example, to cut costs we will:

• Send out 500 versus 1000 of the same direct mail piece or just send out a smaller mailer
• Run a smaller print ad or run it less frequently
• Buy commercial time only during our “busy season” or at off-hours

You get the picture.  So why do trade shows get cut?  Because our justification is that “we can still attend the show.”  However, attending and exhibiting are two very different activities.  The first provides you with information and the second provides you with leads and sales!

Go…but go smaller
Sometimes the simple ideas are the most helpful: Analyze things that have worked for you at shows so you can continue your success while avoiding the knee-jerk reaction of completely cutting all shows.  How can you reduce your trade show expenses and improve your overall ROI?

Christina Schrank, Director of Operations for National Auto Care in Columbus, Ohio was able to exhibit at her national industry show this year but cut some of her trade show expenses in the following ways:

• Smaller booth space – she reduced her space from 20’x 30’ in 2008 to 20’x 20’ in 2009.
  Exhibit update – Christina purchased new graphics for the back side of her 10’ pop up so it was double sided and could be used in the middle of the 20’x 20’ space.
• Fill the space – the 20’x 20’ space was creatively filled with a combination of the pop up exhibit, banner stands and some cardboard cut-out characters that supported the exhibit theme.
• Sponsorship – Christina saved $15,000 in sponsorship costs while still maintaining her status as a Lead Sponsor though some savvy negotiating.  She found better ways to do things by having “more logo footage” throughout the show at a smaller cost.

You can join Christina and the thousands of other trade show marketers in saving costs, improving your ROI and maintaining your exhibiting schedule with these other great ideas:

• Can you invite a non-competitive company to share booth space with you for a fee?
• Re-configure your exhibit or rent an exhibit to fit the smaller space.  Use graphics that are less expensive and can be tossed after a couple of shows (your marketing message may change anyway).
• Smaller exhibit space = less staffers = less travel expenses.  Weigh the cost of having your exhibit set up by an exhibit company vs. having staffers spend an extra day or two traveling.
• Send your portable trade show displays to the staffer’s hotel or to their home to eliminate drayage.  Don’t pay late fees for anything.  Set up the exhibit yourself.  Cut out vacuuming, plants and other unnecessary items.
• Plan shipping time well so that you are sending all items out the slowest, least expensive way possible.  Can some items be sent locally instead of from your location?  Perhaps it’s time to keep your freight company honest by getting a couple of competitive freight quotes for transporting your exhibit materials?
• Can I develop trade show promotions that don’t require shipping large, heavy boxes?  Does everyone entering my booth need a promotional item or can we just give them to valid prospects?  Can I use social media more effectively and less expensively to promote my exhibit?  Do I really have to give away literature at the show?
• Think about the small details because there are lots of savings scattered around your trade show program.

Bottom line: If exhibiting worked for you before the recession, it will continue working for you now.  By analyzing and implementing expense reductions and continuing to do the things that were successful before, you can maintain a strong presence at your industry shows while preventing your competitors from stealing your market share.  Anyone can “show up” during an economic boom.  Showing up in challenging economic times is a true testament to the vision and perseverance that makes a good company a great company.

Special thanks to Chris and Chris for their contributions to this article.

Want more budget-stretching ideas?  Exhibitors told us how they are stretching their trade show budgets for the research report, What’s Working In Trade Show Marketing?  

Click here to ask for your copy.

Is the glass half empty or half full?

In their May 2009 survey, UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, found that about half their members (show owners from around the world) said they had discounted their booth space costs within the last several months.  The discount was on average less than 10%.

If you’re a glass-is-half-empty thinker, you may think that this demonstrates how trade shows are being negatively affected by the global economic crisis.

But if you’re a glass-is-half-full thinker, you could be happy that now you can reach a concentrated gathering of your best prospects at a discount.

Survey respondents were from 57 countries.  See the full report here.

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What do you need to succeed at trade shows? If you can check these 16 points off your list, you’re well on your way:

1. Align your trade show goals with your overall marketing and company goals
2. Create goals that are specific, measurable, and timely
3. Pay early to avoid rush charges and (surprisingly high) late fees
4. Booth space rental is about one-third your budget, for the rest invest more in areas that give you the best R.O.I.
5. Pick shows with an audience that best matches your target market
6. Go back to the highest R.O.I. shows from previous years
7. Design your exhibit to boldly and clearly communicate who you are, what you sell, and why your prospects should buy from you
8. Design your exhibit to support your booth staffers as a workspace…and work to keep your ongoing expenses down
9. Reach out to attendees before the show, via social media, phone, email, mail, ads, and the web
10. Offer attendees something of value (information, presentations, demonstration, show specials, giveaways) in exchange for a visit
11. Select motivated, friendly, knowledgeable booth staffers
12. Train your staffers to handle the steps to shorter trade show interactions: engage, present, qualify, and close
13. Capture at-show, on paper or electronically, the prospect info your sales team needs after the show — and then give it to them after the show
14. Before the show even starts, prepare a person, materials, and a database to fulfill your leads…and an all-out effort ready to follow up leads after the show
15. Plan ahead to give yourself more time to adapt to problems, especially for international shows
16. Take a binder with all your contracts and contacts with you to the show, including graphic art files on a thumb drive if your display gets lost

Like the list?  Will use it?  Think we missed something essential?  Add your comments in the box below.

Get more essential trade show marketing gems in your free copy of What’s Working In Exhibiting, a 32-page white paper report that shows how your peers are improving results and stretching their budgets.  Click here to get your free copy.

Find out the best practices for exhibiting today by getting your free copy of the new, 32-page What's Working In Exhibiting White Paper.

To find out what’s really working in exhibiting now, we worked with Tradeshow Week to survey and analyze the best practices of today’s trade show exhibitors.  The response was amazing.  You and your peers shared over 1,000 new tips, filled with methods to make the most of a trade show program.  94 of these tips are included in the new 32-page What’s Working in Exhibiting White Paper.

The White Paper starts by answering two big questions:  How are exhibitors increasing their results, and how are they stretching their exhibiting budgets.

Exhibitors said they had most success boosting their results with pre-show marketing and show selection.  Show selection also was a key method to stretching exhibiting budgets, as was reducing booth staffing expenses, and saving on display shipping. 

Further successful methods are related in the White Paper for 7 key parts of a trade show program.  Here’s the gist of what your peers said are making their trade shows more effective in each exhibiting topic:

Show Selection  This was the only facet of exhibiting that was frequently mentioned as a key driver in both improving results and reducing costs.  Survey respondents on average are going to 2.2 less shows in 2009, about 15.2% less.  As one exhibitor commented, fewer shows can be a good thing: “We did fewer shows, but with a greater presence.”

Budgeting   Exhibitors reported they are trimming their 2009 budgets by 9.2% on average.  Those who are decreasing their budgets outnumber those increasing by 4 to 1.  However, about half are keeping their budgets the same.  Other than reducing their number of shows, the two most popular methods of stretching their budgets are to reduce booth staff expenses and to save on shipping with lighter weight displays.

Measuring Results   90% of exhibitors said they are doing some sort of measurement.  The key: Create a process and formula to actually measure and report sales generated from trade show leads.  Exhibitors who could show sales to justify their trade show program actually were twice as likely to get their budgets increased instead of decreased.  As one exhibitor said, “The only successful justification is sales revenue.  One good sale will pay for a full show’s marketing.”

Lead Management   Best practice:  Put more effort into following up your leads.  When exhibitors focused on lead follow-up, more of them actually increased than decreased their budgets.  Lead management elements included persistent, planned follow up, a good CRM / database program, and a person responsible for it.  Note:  these are the same elements needed for measuring results!

Exhibit Design   Less really is more.  Exhibitors reported their primary ways to change trade show exhibit design that improved trade show results was to go more simple, including a more open and less cluttered layout, and exhibit graphics that are bright, clear and straight to the point.  Most exhibitors are also going for more flexibility to easily change graphics and booth configurations.

Booth Staffing  By far and away, exhibitors say sales people make their best booth staffers, followed by their top management.  Exhibitors are getting better results by improving how they select staffers, communicating their goals before the show, and booth staff training.  Said one survey respondent, “We pick the ones that have proven track records and set high expectations for any newcomers.”

Promotions  Exhibitors rely most on direct mail and email for their pre-show promotions.  When asked which at-show promotions are working best, exhibitors liked free giveaways / drawings, discounts, and demonstrations.  One exhibitor described their proactive pre-show marketing thus: “We identified targets and reached out to key attendees before the show.  We invited key prospects to lunch/dinner meetings to have more in-depth conversations off the show floor.”

Much of marketing is taking risks and experimenting.  Your peers have been doing just that, and this new report lets you tap into their recent successes and failures.  Take advantage of the wisdom of crowds, and get yourself a copy of the What’s Working in Exhibiting White Paper.