How to Increase Your Trade Show Exhibiting ROI, Traffic, & Appearance
Trade Show Exhibiting ROI, Traffic, & Appearance
Want to know how to increase your trade show exhibiting ROI, traffic, & appearance? Trade shows are a cornerstone of the marketing and sales strategies for many businesses. They offer a unique opportunity to showcase products, connect with industry peers, and engage directly with potential customers. However, the effectiveness of trade shows can be a subject of debate, especially when it comes to measuring return on investment (ROI), understanding their overall value, and optimizing prospecting efforts. In this article, we delve into the nuances of calculating ROI for trade shows, explore why ROI is a critical metric in marketing, discuss whether trade shows are worth the investment, and outline effective strategies for prospecting at these events. In this blog, we’ll go through tips on how to calculate ROI, why it matters, and explore some key ways you can boost the return on your investment.
How do you calculate ROI for a trade show?
Calculating ROI (Return on Investment) for a trade show involves comparing the revenue generated from the event to the costs incurred. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Identify Costs:
- Booth space rental
- Booth design and construction
- Travel and accommodation for staff
- Marketing and promotional materials
- Shipping of booth materials
- Miscellaneous expenses (e.g., giveaways, electricity, internet)
- Calculate Total Costs: Sum all the identified costs to get the total expenditure for the trade show.
- Measure Revenue:
- Track sales directly attributable to the trade show.
- Consider leads generated and their potential value.
- Account for any new partnerships or contracts initiated at the event.
- Calculate ROI: Use the formula:
This will give you the ROI as a percentage.
Why is ROI important in marketing?
ROI is crucial in marketing for several reasons:
- Measure Effectiveness:
- ROI helps in evaluating the success of marketing campaigns and initiatives. It quantifies the return generated from the investment.
- Allocate Resources:
- It aids in making informed decisions about where to allocate budget and resources. Campaigns with higher ROI can be prioritized.
- Justify Spend:
- Demonstrates to stakeholders and decision-makers the value of marketing efforts. This can be crucial for securing future budgets.
- Optimize Strategies:
- By analyzing ROI, marketers can identify which strategies are working and which need adjustment, leading to continuous improvement.
How do I Increase ROI?
Custom Trade Show Flooring
APG Exhibits found that over 70% of all exhibitors at the shows we attended do NOT have any custom flooring in their booth. They simply set-up their pop up display with a table and (maybe) a table cover and use the shows old carpeting they have laid out or even worse just concrete floor. Talk about tired feet at the end of working your trade show booth!
Take a look at the photos below of booths with and without any type of custom flooring, whether carpet, vinyl, or wood.
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| Without flooring | With custom flooring |
The first photo here shows a fantastic looking display, but the flooring is reminiscent of a hotel lobby. That carpeting ties the whole room together, which in the trade show business is terrible – you want to stand out! Improve your trade show exhibiting roi by adding custom carpeting. You will thus be able to control every detail of your booth, and will never have to worry about setting up on ugly carpet or concrete.
Choose flooring that matches your branding
You can design your flooring to compliment the design of your company. You can therefore add splashes of color from your logo, or even put your logo itself on the flooring. Or, choose a stylistic “wood floor” themed piece of flooring. This can help add a touch of class or create an upscale feel to your booth.
Lighting & Backlit Displays
Obviously it is important to be seen at a trade show. That is the end-game, overall reason for attending an event. But what if your display is dimly lit – or even unlit completely? Think of how dark some trade show events get, especially in the evening hours after the sun has gone down. If you see an unlit booth from across the convention, you may think they have packed up and headed home already. You can really stand out by adding some simple and cost-efficient light kits to your display.
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| Without lighting | With lighting |
Thinking of a backlit display?
Why stop at adding a couple lights to the top of your display wall? What if your display wall itself lit up? Backlit trade show walls have become increasingly popular over the past couple years. And APG has introduced several new lines of innovative backlit products such as the Wavelight series. Not only are these displays eye-catching, they are also a fantastic trade show exhibiting roi because THEY WORK! Clients have shared with us an overall increase in activity surrounding their trade show displays after upgrading to backlit displays.
Backlit Displays
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| Hybrid Pro | Wavelight | Embrace | Vector | Counters | Hanging |
APG Exhibits has the backlit display for you! These backlit displays are a fantastic way to drive traffic to your exhibit. Choose from our wide selection of backlit displays or contact us about fabricating your custom order.
Lighting for your displays is one of the easiest components to overlook when preparing for your trade show. But some simple lights can go a long way in increasing your trade show exhibiting roi.
Upbeat Sales Employees
Making a great first impression isn’t all about how great your display looks. In fact, even more important than that is how well your employees communicate your brand’s messaging. It is no secret that having upbeat, smiling employees working your trade show booth is a great way to draw in potential clients. But there is of course a fine line between helpful attendant and pushy salesperson. The important thing to note in regards to your employees is communication. You’ll want to be clear in communicating the goals of your trade show experience so that they can effectively communicate to clients. Investing the time and money into hiring the right employees is critical and can yield fantastic roi results.
