So, you are done with your latest trade show. For you, everything went, very well and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary you have gained a lot of audiences and your market reach has increased a lot. Now, let’s just assume that after some time, you receive an email from your boss who is asking you that “How did the trade show event, went?” Now, here comes the problem, what are you going to reply to him with? You cannot just go ahead send him a reply stating that “Everything went well”. No, because that will not be a professional answer to such an important question. We cannot deny the fact that it is your bosses right to get an analysis of the event because he was the one who provides the budget and funds for it. What your boss wants is some hard with the help of which he will analyze whether your trade show went swimmingly or not.
What you need to show or to word it another way, you need to prove that their company has benefited by investing in the trade show, and the only way to do that is by showing them the trade show ROI (Return on Investment). What they want to know is how much money they made by investing in your show, how much more audience has their company gained from your trade and most importantly they want to know that how has your trade show helped the company to succeed as a whole.
As it is very self-explanatory that we are supposed to calculate the return over interest. Which is actually, the amount you have earned by investing your capital in the Trade Show. Hence by logic the simple formula for extracting Trade Show ROI (Rate of Interest) is (Profit – Expenses) / Expenses. So, this formula might seem very simple, basic and self-explanatory to you but let me tell you it’s not that easy. Maybe, this is mainly because of the undeniable fact that these numbers are very difficult to get hands-on, and there is no way you are getting these numbers right away. To determine the total profit, you have generated in your trade show, you will have to complete a full sales cycle before you will be able to get that value.
Just for your help, we have made a list of a few simple and easy ways, through which you can easily increase your trade show return on interest.
1.) Make Sure That You Make Use of All the Media Coverage
Usually, the main source of gaining a new audience is by inviting people to your booth, but if you are lucky and the event is more mainstream, maybe more news outlets, channels, bloggers and writers will be there too. This can increase your audience engagement if you utilize these recourses efficiently and carefully.
The news outlets and channels are a way for the different companies to reach a greater audience and increase their market, but it is very essential to keep this in mind as well that there are going to be tens if not hundreds of booths on the event. So, to get the most out of these events and get the most media coverage you will have to stand out from the other booths and show that you are worthy of their attention.
Here are a few ways to make the most out of Media coverage at the event:
- Try to get your hands on the list of all the media agencies, news channels, writers, bloggers and other media agencies who will be covering this year’s event. If you can’t get your hands on a list like that, try looking up the names of media covering agencies who covered the event in the previous years. There is a high chance that these news outlets, writers and bloggers will be visiting and covering the event this year as well.
- When you have a comprehensive list of all of these media covering agencies now it is time to let them know about your product, services and your company as a whole. It is better to write them an email at least twenty-five days before the event in which you are going to explain them heat your product is about, what kind of services you offer, tell about your company as a whole and make sure that you make yourself and your company stand out from the other companies.
- Always remember, media outlets and news channels are looking for only those products who have an interesting story behind them, so make sure that you portray yourself in such a way that you stand out from the other companies present at the event. By doing this you will gain a lot of traction and new potential audience from your trade show.
2.) Make Sure That Your Booth Stands Out from Every Other Booth Present There
Now, this piece of advice may seem very obvious, basic and self-explanatory to you, bet let me assure you that this is the most important advice you can take away from this passage, and people tend to forget about this advice as well. The only reason why people will enter your booth is when you will make your booth stand out. But even when people enter your booth the work is not over yet, remember you need to convert these visitors into potential customers. Only then your companies’ potential market and the audience will increase.
Here are a few ways that will help you make your booth stand out
- One of the most important aspects which people tend to forget, or not pay enough attention to is to make your flyers, posters, and pamphlet creative and unique, your prospects should have a clear idea what product and services your company is offering and why is it so important them.
- To get the professional help you can hire people from various trade show booth design company, they offer professional help and provide you with talented people who will design how your booth will look in front of the visitors and will make sure that your booth stands out.
Along with these small steps, there are a lot of other ways to max out or increase your trade show ROI, but the most general advice for this can be that you should make sure you portray your product clearly, make yourself stand out and make sure you get the maximum traction for your product.
