The third quarter is wrapping up and it’s the time of year when most Marketers are planning their 2008 budgets. Determining your event marketing budget well in advance will save you time, money and headaches. Here is one tool that can help you create accurate budgets:

Download our Trade Show Budgeting Worksheet

I just returned from The Motivation Show which opened today at McCormick Place. I wasn’t sure what to expect since this was my first time at this particular event. It’s a very interesting show with some very impressive exhibits. The distinctive thing I noticed was that the successful exhibits were less about conveying a message and more about establishing an atmosphere.

Rather than touting their latest product or newest service, the exhibits with the most traffic focused more on creating a unique ambiance. However, there was no one common theme that tied the most impactful exhibits together. Some of the booths that stuck out did so by using trade show graphics, some with custom furniture, while others used lighting and hanging structures.

Regardless of the business you are in, it is definitely worth checking out. The Motivation Show ends this Thursday, September 27.

One of the most important aspects of the exhibiting process is keeping your timelines. By simply adhering to the dates the show provides for electrical orders, carpet rental, cleaning, electrical, and more, you can save your company up to 25% on the cost of these items by getting these orders submitted early.

The most important part of the timeline is deciding if you are going to ship “Advanced Receiver”/”Warehouse” or “Direct to the Show”. Shipping to the “Warehouse” is the best option in my opinion, here are a few reasons:

1.) The exhibit will be one of the first to be brought onto the show floor
This allows for seamless coordination of labor and services as most shows have a targeted move in date that tells you when the exhibit will be getting to your booth space. This is extremely important if your display has a hanging sign. Those are usually put up before the show to avoid slowing down the labor on the floor.

2.) Lower expenses on Material Handling charges
The show can know in advance how much freight has to be moved into the show and when and how long it will take; therefore giving you a discounted rate.

3.) Waiting time
There is a certain clause in the trucking contract for any freight mover that holds the shipper accountable for any waiting time. If you ship your exhibit materials “direct to the show” and that is based on a first come first serve basis. Your truck will get in line and unload when it reaches the dock. This wait time at larger shows can be almost a full day, throwing off the services and labor you may have scheduled for the install (which also costs to have labor standing around), as well as costing you in freight, with the shipment going to the warehouse, there is no wait time to be accountable for.

4.) Shipping delays
Murphy said it best “Things that can, will.” Any delay in the exhibit materials can not only end up costing you money, but if they are serious delays, they might even cause you to not have an exhibit for a show.

Warehouse shipping is usually closed a week or so before the actual install dates, with direct to show running simultaneously with the install dates. You can find all of this information on the shows quick facts page or by delving into the showbook itself.

Even after 10 years, the more time I spend in this business, the more I realize it is all about the details. One detail can cause a domino effect that can explode your budget, alter your image in the exhibit, or cause you to miss a show. Stay on your timelines, and cross your t’s and dot your i’s and you will be under budget and have a successful exhibiting experience.

How much is your company willing to pay for a qualified lead? What about meeting decision makers face-to-face and introducing your products or services? The national average for cost per lead generated at a trade show is about half that of a typical in-person sales call.

Trade shows allow key representatives from your company to be in a unique selling position. It all seems pretty simple - so what’s the excuse? Sure you need a game plan. What shows? Where are they in relationship to your company’s coverage? How much does it cost? Booth space, travel expenses, staffing, booth display, pre-show and post show follow up must all be considered. However, with adequate planning these costs can easily be amortized over just a few shows.

Done correctly, exhibiting at the right trade show can provide valuable exposure as well as the opportunity to have qualifying conversations with decision makers visiting your booth. Sounds like a no-brainer for success. What say you?

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” – Woody Allen

This quote is pretty accurate – unless you’re a trade show exhibitor. On average, three out of every four booth visits were planned before the attendee ever stepped onto the show floor. If you haven’t contacted your target audience well in advance, you’re already losing.

The goal of any pre-show campaign should be to get your best prospects into your booth for a qualifying conversation. It’s not about getting everybody in your booth; you want the right people in your booth. Every trade show is different and your pre-show marketing strategy should reflect that. What worked for your show in Seattle last April probably won’t achieve the same results at your November show in Miami.

After choosing the target audience you want to reach before the show, send them a mailing that will encourage them to visit your booth. The key is to keep your message consistent. Your pre-show marketing campaigns should all have the same theme as your show floor promotion, which in turn should have a tie in with your booth message.

Bottom line: regardless of how you design and execute your pre-show marketing, reaching your audience before they reach the trade show floor is a must.

In discussions with my clients, especially new exhibitors, I find that they are unaware of certain charges they incur from trade show venues like McCormick Place, Las Vegas Convention Center, Javitis Center, etc., that are billed after the show. One of these charges is called “drayage,” sometimes referred to as “material handling”.

This cost is incurred after the freight has arrived to the venue and is billed on a per hundred weight per crate basis. It includes the delivery of your exhibit materials from the dock to your exhibit space before the show, and for the return trip back to the dock after the show. By consolidating your crates and using lightweight exhibit materials, as well as bringing only enough literature and giveaways for the show, helps to alleviate this cost. This charge cannot be avoided, but it can be managed - so be aware!

I have been working in this industry for over 25 years and have learned that it is ever changing. If you aren’t able to change with it there is a good chance that you won’t survive. Obviously our bread-and-butter is in the sale and rental of exhibits to be used within the trade show venue, but there are many ancillary ways our products can be used to create new revenue streams.

We have recently branched out into Retail Marketing Kiosks for venues such as shopping malls, airports and grocery stores. This new market has been a real learning experience for us and we foresee a promising future. In order to succeed in this arena you have to change your marketing objectives as well as your profit margins. Planning is crucial. If your infrastructure isn’t in place, stay out of this area completely because you will learn a valuable lesson in finance. It is important to use the cliché “think outside the box,” but be cautious - for there may be a learning experience in the “school of hard knocks”.