Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing


How to Manage Trade Show Budgets in Tough Times

Inside Small Business | December 5th, 2008

Ted RidgwayTed Ridgway, President of Impact Displays

It often plays out as an all or nothing fight: go with last year’s display or don’t go to the show at all. But of course, there are ways to exhibit at a show and cut your show budget. The following list will help you cut costs but still get the benefit of attending your next show.

1. Go to the Show. Sounds obvious, but you can’t win if you’re not in the race. The worst mistake you can make is to drop the show.

2. Plan ahead. Nothing kills budgets as quickly or senselessly as rush charges. Whether it’s travel, logistics or your displays, plan early.

3. Do More with Less. A budget display can be a better ROI than a more complicated display. So cut extraneous items from your booth or display. If you usually go modular, go with a popup. Need to buy a new display? Consider renting.

4. Follow Up. Once you’ve committed to your show and economized in all the smart ways possible, make sure you get a return on your show. Follow up with prospects immediately and routinely.

5. Market Your Show. Make sure your customers know you attended the show. Show attendance delivers an amazing PR value, and these “softer” areas of return often dominate hard metrics (like sales).

Good luck and have a great show!

*Ted Ridgway is President of Impact Displays, a leading trade show and event display and graphics production company located in Santa Clara CA. Ted’s background includes senior positions at RadiSys Corp, where he was VP and GM of the company’s Carrier Equipment business unit, and at investment banks including Credit Suisse, Salomon Brothers, Volpe Brown Whalen and Seven Hills Partners. Ted lives with his family in San Francisco CA.

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Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 8:53 am and is filed under Business, Customer Service, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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