Business Trade Show - They Even Worth Doing?
by Ted Twenter
The increased cost of doing business, globalization and the quickening pace of information all reinforce the importance of the face-to-face interaction with our clients and prospects. Over the past 10 years, nearly every industry has experienced changes in the way it does business. Furthermore, mergers, acquisitions, new technologies, evolving needs, voicemail, email and the Internet are among the many factors that have stimulated these changes in our economy.
The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the fact that people buy from people. Trade shows, conventions, conferences and other events bring together buyers with goals and needs, and sellers with products and services. This type of face-to-face contact is more important than ever in today’s business environment where most products and services are commonly perceived as commodities. For many attendees, a trade show or event is the only time they will have a face-to-face contact with a vendor in the next 12 months.
Why are trade shows and events so effective? Simple, they are designed to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to interact and engage with qualified prospects and vendors all in one location. After a quick conversation, demo or presentation, the buyer leaves the exhibit with an impression of the seller’s company, its capabilities and competitive advantage—all influencing his or her buying decisions. And for the exhibitor, he or she can meet with 6-8 qualified prospects an hour while working the show floor. So over three days, one exhibitor can potentially meet face-to-face with an average of 125 pre-qualified leads. It would take months of phone prospecting and meetings to achieve these results back in the office. So, it is easy to see that not only does the marketing department benefit, but the sales department is also a huge benefactor.
The key to success in trade shows and events, as with any sales or marketing plan, starts with clear, measurable goals and focused objectives. They must be timely, meaningful and quantifiable, so they can be measured. No longer will, “Yeah, I got a lot of business cards…so it was a good show!” be an acceptable measure of a show’s success. Your team must understand why you are exhibiting, who your target audience is, what central message you want to convey and what you want to take away from the show?
Most objectives should be focused on increasing the share of the customer’s business, positioning products, building brand and increasing your market share. Some objectives are more easily measured like; cost per lead, brand awareness surveys and ROI based on sales from leads at the show. No matter what your individual goals and objectives may be, they must be established early in the process. Planning should begin 6-8 months before a show.
The Budget
One of the biggest concerns on the minds of the decision makers are the costs associated with these types of events. Keep this in mind: The Center for Exhibit Industry Research’s (CEIR) Study on Economics of Exhibiting found that the cost of generating a qualified lead at a show was $212 as opposed to $308 when generating the lead from the field. Furthermore, that study concluded that the average cost of closing a qualified lead from a show was $705 as compared to $1,140. These numbers reflect a 30% lower cost to generate leads and close sales. So these types of events can be very cost effective if they are properly planned for and then executed.
Since expenses will be incurred, you will need to establish a budget early on in the planning process. A good rule of thumb for establishing a total budget is to take your booth space’s total sq. ft. times cost to rent/sq. ft. times 3 = Estimated Budget. You can use the following formula to establish a budget breakdown: space—33%, exhibit components—18%, travel expenses—18%, show services—12%, transportation—9%, promotions—8%, miscellaneous—2%. Obviously, a show in your city will have less shipping costs than your show in Bahrain, so take these variations into consideration when planning. Also, consider the following when planning to cut costs: light-weight construction, custom-modular exhibits, designs that are easy to set-up and dismantle, rental for more options, used exhibits for significant cost-savings and interchangeable graphics to give you more flexibility.
The Display
Since your main goal should be quality face-to-face interaction, one of the magnets that you’ll use to help attract attention is your exhibit. It is the first object that captures a visitor’s attention. On average you only have 3-5 seconds to attract someone’s attention in a 10-foot space, so your message must be clear and easy to ascertain. It is during this period of time that you have to quickly convey who you are, what you do and what you offer, or what makes you different. Therefore your exhibit design should be simple, objective-driven and should be designed with a specific audience in mind. Work with an industry expert, experienced design agency or exhibit house to create large-format, impacting trade show quality graphics that will standout from your competition.
Pre-Show Promotion
Identify the audience you want to reach, and then bring them to your exhibit. A well-developed, focused and creative approach to attracting attendees are keys to the overall success. Attendees will respond to invitations offering compelling reasons why they should visit a particular exhibit.
The invitation can be in many forms including direct mail, attached links to the show’s or your website, telemarketing and email campaigns, and advertising promotions—just as long as it provides accurate and concise information. Tie the look and feel of the promotional materials back to the exhibit’s graphics and/or themes, to help reinforce the brand both during and after the show.
Remember that just because you may have a huge budget and a display with effective, eye-grabbing graphics, it is the interaction with your staff that has the most influence on people’s lasting impression of your company.
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