Maximizing Your Trade Show Investment

With marketing budgets constantly under scrutiny, the importance of maximizing the return on your trade show investment is more important than ever. Here are tips for getting the most bang for your exhibiting buck.

As with any other marketing program, the basis for exhibiting success rests on how well you plan. “A major reason exhibitors fail is that they are inadequately prepared,” says Steven Hacker, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) based in Dallas. “There is an absolute need to do pre-show, on-site, and follow-up promotion. Those who do it right get good results, and those who don’t, get bad results. That’s not to say you can’t get lucky, but why rely on luck when you can do it right.”

Think About Doing A Pre-show Mailing
Include a promotional product offering that will help build booth traffic.
• Including a promotional product with a pre-show mailing or an offer of a promotional product increases the likelihood that an attendee will stop by your booth.
• As a general rule, promotional products of greater value generate more sales leads than products of lower value.

Measuring ROI
The true measure of a trade show is what you get out of it, but, there are many ways to measure ROI, and it varies for each company. What needs to be analyzed is whether the achieved results of the show match your objectives. It takes a lot of work to exhibit at a trade show, but if you do it right, it can be very successful medium.

Did You Know...
• 80% of trade show attendees pre-plan their top ten list of exhibitors to visit.
• Exhibitions are buyers’#1 source for making purchase decisions.
• Exhibitions are more effective than Advertising, Direct Mail or PR at:

1. generating leads and orders
2. introducing new products
3. promoting company awareness
4. entering new markets

[Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research]

Do Promotional Giveaways Increase Booth Traffic?
According to trade show attendees:
• 52%—Are more likely to stop by the exhibit if there’s a giveaway
• 20%—Are more likely to remember the booth
• 25%—Feel giveaways are not necessary
• 03%—Feel giveaways should not be used

[Source: Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Survey]

Impact of booth giveaways:
• 71.6% of trade show attendees who received a promotional product remembered the name of the company that gave it to them.
• 76.3% of attendees had a favorable attitude toward the company that gave them the product.

[Source: 2005 Study by Georgia Southern University]

Case Study:
Traffic-Building Promotion Draws 30% Response Rate

This pre-show mailer went out to a pre-qualified list of 1,000 registered trade show attendees. Over 30% of those who received the mailing visited the booth. Format was a simple 8.5" x 11" self-mailer that invited attendees to come into the booth and match their playing card to a display to see what prize they won. Everyone was a winner, and the client won BIG with the sales that were generated after the show.

We Can Help You Get It Right With...

• Creative pre-show promotion mailings
• Prizes and giveaways that reinforce your brand
• Customized apparel for your booth workers to wear
• Tactics to create a buzz at your booth and draw people in
• Tactics for qualifying top-quality leads
• Post-show: motivate salespeople to convert leads to sales

**********************We can develop a high yield Trade Show promotion for you!
Call to setup a phone appointment today.
866.830.3373www.mprinted.comBob Boggan, Owner/CMO at Mprinted.com, Inc.