| Margins are tight, the economy is cold as ice and you | | | | and greater organization, however you are |
| have restricted budgets to worry about - accounting | | | | effectively halving the cost of exhibiting and yet will |
| for every last cent is now vital if you are to maintain | | | | still gain access to as many attendees as if you had |
| or improve on your return on investment (ROI) from | | | | the entire stand to yourself. This will dramatically |
| exhibiting at trade shows. Watching the money and | | | | improve your ROI if handled right. |
| budgeting appropriately has never been more | | | | Forget the Paper! |
| important than it is today in the current economic | | | | Most of the paper marketing collateral is not going to |
| climate, so here are some ideas to cut your costs | | | | make it to the office of the attendee because they |
| and improve your ROI. | | | | will simply drop it in the trash. As much as 90% of |
| Negotiate a Deal with Trade Show Management | | | | marketing brochures are destined for the local landfill |
| This applies no matter what the economic climate, | | | | and yet they represent a significant cost item. |
| but is very apt for driving down exhibition costs right | | | | Prepare your marketing collateral as an email package |
| now. Event management want to sell space and the | | | | or an online download and use this as a reason for |
| additional extras and remember, they are sales | | | | taking email addresses and opt the attendee into |
| people too - so let them sell you a deal you can't | | | | your marketing program. |
| refuse! | | | | Similarly, trade shows are replete with promotional |
| Typically, trade shows are booked up a year in | | | | giveaways which are utterly worthless and fail to |
| advance in many situations but that is not a universal | | | | achieve fundamental sales and marketing goals. |
| constant and times have been hard across the board. | | | | Instead of ordering more pens, t-shirts, baseball caps |
| Do your research on which events are still open for | | | | and stress balls, really think about how you are using |
| applications to exhibit and see what the event sales | | | | your promotional giveaways and use less of them |
| team can come up with to get you onboard. Look to | | | | but in a more targeted fashion. |
| leverage taking space, or even taking more space | | | | Cancellations |
| against the cost of a sponsorship package, or a VIP | | | | Many companies have booked space for the current |
| presentation deal, sitting on a Q&A panel during | | | | exhibition season which was made over a year ago, |
| the numerous seminars and presentations which are | | | | however economic fortunes have changed for many, |
| given. | | | | many companies. This means some companies are |
| Remember there is more to the cost of a show than | | | | looking to get out of the arrangement they made as |
| simply renting the space. | | | | they suffer from cutbacks and decide to cut their |
| Share the Space, Share the Costs | | | | losses by not attending the trade show. |
| You may not be able to cover the total cost of | | | | Approaching trade show management to see if there |
| renting space, however if you look for a partner who | | | | are cancellations will let you identify opportunities |
| is in allied, but non-competing market, then you can | | | | which may be open but not widely publicized - after |
| feed off of each other in terms of dealing with leads | | | | all, who wants to advertise that their company is |
| but most importantly, in reducing the costs. | | | | experiencing financial issues? |
| Taking on an exhibition partner involves more planning | | | | |