The Exhibit Source Blog

You should have high expectations for your trade show exhibit. Companies spend thousands of dollars in the production of an exhibit, but very little in tracking the success of it.

Here is insight into why trade shows are not routinely evaluated and what must change in the industry to make evaluation a more acceptable and legitimate part of the process.

If you ask the typical exhibitor at a trade show “what percent of the entire cost of the exhibiting process is allocated to measurement and evaluation? The answer would most likely be rounded to zero.

Why is trade show measurement and evaluation stuck at zero?

For many exhibitors, measurement and evaluation is considered to be add-on, extra work, and not as enjoyable as other tasks, so it is often not planned or executed well. The follow-up to evaluate success is rarely achieved.

The cost of measurement and evaluation for the trade show process should be compared to the trade show budget. Consider the total annual budget – not only the trade show exhibit fees, travel, and the time of those involved, but all expenses tied to the exhibit. When all of these costs are considered, 3-5% should be spent on measurement and evaluation. This is necessary to plan for measurement, collect the data, use the data in meaningful ways to drive improvements, and ultimately, show the success of the exhibiting process.

In today's economic climate, exhibitors must collect data, analyze the data in meaningful ways, and then make decisions about the process. Measurement and evaluation should always be a part of the trade show exhibit, just like planning and designing the exhibit, developing the material for distribution, and preparing the team members to work there.

Dentistry IQ

Trade shows aren't the most modern marketing platform but they can give your business a real boost in customers if you know how to present yourself.

If you are looking for a new way to grow your business, maybe it is time to revisit traditional marketing like exhibiting at trade shows. To maximize your trade show experience, here are some tips.

1. Relevance and location
Do your research and ensure that the show is targeting the right audience for your business. Visit the event a year ahead if possible, and certainly quiz the organizer on visitor demographics; quality over quantity is what you’re after. Also check how many of your competitors will be there and decide if you are comfortable to go head-to-head.

Picking the right trade show display location is important. The best positions are where people congregate and linger. Also go for the middle spots over the perimeter.

2. Marketing ahead of time
Check how the organizers will promote the show. Are there any PR opportunities for you?

3. Be a speaker
If at all possible, get a speaker slot - but don’t use it as a sales pitch. You’ll get a bigger audience if you give out objective advice and aim to educate.

4. Set targets
Trade show exhibiting is expensive so you need to be able to measure your return. Aim to generate 10 -15% of attendees into "hot leads". If you achieve over 25% it is time to celebrate.

5. Staffing
Everybody working your booth at the trade show needs to know your show objectives, what their targets are, and to be giving out the same messages.

6. Attracting attention
You need to stand out. Consider your trade show exhibit design. Get creative, have some action going on. Give a demo or talk every hour and display a schedule of what’s on.

Review your literature – is it interesting, concise and easy to identify what you do and why you are different? Does the design stand out from a distance? Use upright stands to display it.

6. Capture visitor data
The badge barcode readers supplied by organizers make this part very easy. You get all the data in a spreadsheet that can be imported into your database and acted upon.

7. Measure and follow up
This is the most critical part of the whole process. You won’t know if the show was financially beneficial until a few months afterwards. Try to convert at least 50% of the "hot leads" into customers within a six month period, of course this depends on your buying cycle. Best to contact people while the exhibition is fresh in their heads, so don’t leave it longer than a couple of days.

For more information, contact the Exhibit Source.

Real Business

Many businesses can be promoted and marketed through trade shows. When they are done properly, trade show marketing can be incredibly profitable creating a large amount of new sales in a short time.

Successful trade show exhibiting has to be done right with the right trade show display that gets your brand and message across concisely.

There are three key areas to look at when exhibiting at trade shows: What you do 'Before' a trade show, 'During' a trade show, and 'After' a trade show. All of these areas need to be approached correctly and efficiently in order to get the most from trade show marketing.

The statistics for closing a trade show lead are more promising than traditional leads. Surveys done by the Centre for Exhibition Industry Research found that it usually takes one sales call on average to close the business to a trade show lead.

So for help creating a trade show display that shows your message and encourages potential clients to stop, contact The Exhibit Source.

As a business owner, you understand that there are many types of marketing opportunities and give you an overview for you to take advantage of. Trade show marketing is one of your options.

Trade Shows and Expo’s – Exhibiting at a trade show or expo is about awareness more than anything, many business owners make the mistake of thinking they will sell enough to pay for their booth or stall space and yet this is often not at all realistic.

Trade show exhibiting is more about building awareness, being seen, showcase your expertise, products and services, and meeting the community to create conversations, present your information and make contact in person with your audience. The more targeted the show the better as this is a great way of putting your business in front of a pre-qualified audience.

Just remember a trade show or expo is not a market and your trade booth is not a shop. Think long term about your participation and prepare to dazzle the show visitors with free demonstrations and great information – prove to the audience why they need what you have. Think long term gains.

For assistance creating a captivating a trade show exhibit, contact The Exhibit Source.

Business 2 Community

Despite repeated rumors of their decline, industry trade shows are alive and well. Since 2008, the $100 billion trade show industry has been growing nearly 3% over the past 18 months. Beyond the obvious networking, learning, and sales opportunities, trade shows can also be an excellent place to launch a new company or product. Here are some tips on how entrepreneurs can identify the right shows to attend and get the most out of them.

During the financial crisis many people predicted that professional conventions and industry trade shows would become obsolete, replaced by videoconferencing and Web events. Has that happened?

The Internet is not doing anything at all to displace face-to-face events. In fact, demand for face-to-face is growing as a result of the Internet facilitating transactions and opportunities, and extending the trade show’s reach before and after it occurs. People will always have the need to explore, travel, and meet others in person.

Have trade shows recovered from the financial crisis and recession?

You can’t really say how the industry is doing as a whole because you have to look at specific industries within the exhibition space.

Look at the energy space, especially alternative energy like wind and solar, and they are drawing 20,000 to 30,000 attendees at shows that are not even five years old. We measure metrics across 14 different industry sectors and we track 10,000 events in the U.S., including 7,000 professional events and 3,000 public events that draw between 20 and 30 million consumers annually. We are forecasting overall growth of 2.9 percent this year and 3 percent in 2013.

What do you tell would-be entrepreneurs about the best way to find a trade show and get the most out of attending?

It’s important to set objectives first. Too many people go to trade shows without knowing what they want to get out of them, and the results they achieve are disappointing. It is easy to find online directories that list upcoming events by date, by industry, by show type, by region, and other specifics.

Next, find out who the exhibitors are, look at the floor plan online, and put together a daily agenda for which exhibitors you want to talk to and when. There can be hundreds of exhibits at big shows, so you don’t want to run around helter-skelter trying to find booths. The real benefit is that you have a very efficient platform that aggregates all these people with similar interests under one roof, and they typically have the same broad objectives as the attendees. So you don’t have to fly around the country talking to 15 or 20 different companies about carrying their products or selling them yours.

Can you give some tips for small businesses that are considering exhibiting?

The exhibition is an excellent platform to launch a new business. Especially for small and medium-size enterprises, they are an enormously efficient way to gain market entry. With an established business, first decide what you want to achieve with your marketing budget for the year and what you’re going to spend on trade shows vs. other advertising. Again, set objectives and find events where you can talk to buyers who will help you achieve those objectives.

Calculate how much space you’ll need and how much staff you need to take based on how many buyers you want to touch over how many days. Get the attendee demographics and contacts from the show organizer and do pre-show promotions three months ahead of time, instead of just getting a big space and expecting the right people to magically come by.

After the show, thank them for meeting you, extend any discounts or promos you offered during the show for an additional 10 days, and let them know where they can reach you if they’re interested.

How much does all this cost?

Many trade shows are free, but they’re open only to qualified professionals. For those that charge admission, most are well under $500. Of course you have to factor in travel, accommodations, and time away from work, but you shouldn’t think of it as an expense but an investment in your business.

Business Week