How can you maximize ROI when attending multiple Trade Shows?

Let’s clarify the difference between goals and objectives before providing an example. Goals are broad, overarching, and often more long-term aspirations that an individual or organisation aims to achieve. They provide a strategic direction and a sense of purpose. Objectives, on the other hand, are specific, measurable, and time-bound milestones or actions that support the attainment of goals. They break down the larger goals into smaller, achievable steps. For example: ? Goal: Increase in sales ? Objective: Receive 1000+ new leads throughout the two-day event.

The key metric for goal or objective setting at Trade Shows is to focus on 3 clear and measurable objectives. Any less and you are missing out on great opportunities and any more you are just spreading yourself too thin. For me the really important point is to make them measurable...

You visit trade shows for two main different reasons: to explore a completely new industry, business sector, country, or to connect within your industry in a show you already know, to broaden your contacts or refresh existing ones. Although in both cases you aim to speak with real people, you will have very different goals and KPIs. In both cases the metrics will be related with the number of business cards collected, but while in the first case they are mostly new contacts, in the second there are less new and more known cards as the goal is to refresh connections rather than look for new ones. Size or attendance of a show, could be also interesting info to collect when you explore, as well as when you return, but in very different ways.

Multiple events at one go help with global procurement, use time away efficiently researching and contracting suppliers. Multi-city travel normally cost less and minimise time away home in the long run.

Set clear, measurable goals for the trade show, like lead targets or demo numbers. Conduct hourly check-ins to monitor tactics' effectiveness and make quick adjustments. Hold daily debriefs to review performance against goals, discussing successes and areas for improvement. Start each show day with a motivational meeting to reinforce goals and celebrate previous achievements. Be agile, adapting tactics based on real-time feedback and daily reviews. Involve the team in reviews for valuable insights and to understand attendee responses. Acknowledge and celebrate wins throughout the day to maintain motivation. After the show, conduct a thorough analysis to evaluate goal achievement and identify effective strategies.

My observation is these days , the exhibitors from the company rarely remain present on the stall, they hire the volunteers though good in appearnce but are doing the jobs of just collecting the data of the visitors and exchanging visitng cards.so the best remedy is to take participation in product eccentric events. Concentrae and focu on your vision and mission , moreover how your counterpart will be able to join hands with you? How flexible your policies are there etc etc.please note these are my personal observation, nothing speicifc comments.

Understand that human interaction is "non-linear." Non-linear interaction is primarily used in statistics to describe the relationships between inputs, outputs and the proportional changes between the two. Simply stated, what you get out of a show may not be the intended result. However, the result of the show may lead to greater/unplanned opportunity. Ensure you have strategic, operational and tactical messages that support your product/service. Expertly communicate the right messages to the right people, at the right place, at the right time. This could be in the hallway, at lunch, happy hour, transportation to the event or in the booth. Showtime begins when you leave your house!

Agreed, regional trade shows are where a lot of work gets done but international shows tend to exhibit more options you won’t see otherwise.

In my experience it is critical for both the exhibitor and the attendee to have clear goals and objectives for attending. To simply participate to "support" the association or the organizer is no longer a viable reason to participate.

According to a recent study, 76% of attendees remember companies based on their trade show exhibits. By creating an engaging and visually appealing booth, exhibitors attract attention and generate interest, making it more likely that visitors will stop and interact with them. Additionally, having a friendly and knowledgeable sales team increases engagement and helps build relationships with attendees. Games and educational activities are simple ways to entertain visitors, share prizes, and improve product education.

Trade shows are the time when you need to put your best foot forward. It’s “SHOWTIME” get those unique products out front, start the conversation with the customers. Be ready with open ended questions that emit a response. Have a conversation with the customer and find out why they are there and what are they looking to get out of this experience. Have fun, be super organized and have quality people in your booth who know what your goals are.

Multiple shows give you the advantage of continuity. Remember the first goal of any exhibitor is to capture the attention of ideal prospects. Unfortunately, your best prospects - current clients, lost clients, and aspirational clients - already think they know what you do, so they are also the most likely to ignore you. That's why our clients develop a reputation for having entertainment at their booths. Attendees prioritize their booths because they want to see the show. Consequently, we automatically command more attention. We have a tremendous advantage over our competitors because our ideal prospects never ignore us. There's more to converting aisle traffic to appointments, but controlling attention does 80% of the hard work.

Most attendees set aside time to shop between vendor appointments. Catching their eye is important. But there must be substance behind the sizzle.

What appears to be easy is often the hardest part. Your booth needs to invite prospects and customers INTO IT, people like doing business with people they like. A booth that in memorable, entertaining, or intriguing is often replaced with stale fabricated exhibits focused only on brand.

This to me is the biggest ROI Opportunity. As the days seem longer and longer, people stop caring about anything but going home. Who knows some big buys may wait until the last day because it’s not so busy. When your employees start taking down your booth at 11am in the last day… it’s so unprofessional. A few more hours will not will not hurt anyone!

This goes both ways. People go to trade shows to talk to a human. Make sure everyone is up to speed. Especially if you are trying to launch new products or markets. Secondly, this is a great opportunity for your team to grow their knowledge quickly.

Staff should be prepared to handle a variety of visitors, including competitors, industry experts, media personnel, and other key customers. They should ask open-ended questions to understand their needs and requests. Train staff on listening skills; it is essential to listen to make sales and build partnerships. It is helpful to gather and train staff several times as the booth design and participation develop, but also during the trade show days. Prepare your staff to stay mentally open during training and to provide feedback after interacting with a potential customer. It is then important to praise the whole team for their work: for example, turning a casual visit into a sales opportunity, increasing the purchases of old customers, etc.

Attentive and knowledgeable vendor reps are a must. It is pretty easy to listen for a spiel. Customer’s will have an agenda for each vendor. Smart vendors listen to find it. Oh and don’t forget the swag!

I have seen so many times, staff in a booth, on their phone or tablet disengaged from the show. Often that is the exhibitor that complains about the ROI or ROO not being there for them. You must be engaging not just with your target attendees but with all attendees, that will spread throughout the show floor and draw attention and excitement to your space. Bring the RIGHT people, a personality is a vital to success as is knowledge or title.

Following up is a critical step in this process. In addition to gathering or providing more information, following up provides an opportunity for the customer to either begin building or to enhance their impression of you, your work and your company. If you said you would call them to follow up, and you did, then the customer will consider you more favorably and feel that you are organized and serious about your work. Check mark by your name! Your company’s reputation also gets a boost and positive impression from your actions which can help build a beautiful partnership.

This is perhaps the best relationship building exercise there is. Be smart, your Customer’s day is full of fire control. Don’t add to it.

You need to be prepared for follow-up in advance to be able to react immediately after the show. Try to respond with personalized informative material within 24 hours of the end of the fair (it may seem exaggerated, but it is not). If you are faster than your competitors, you will gain greater recognition, establish a positive image, and strengthen the relationship with customers. A sales lead survey confirmed that 98% of exhibitors collect sales leads at trade shows, but less than 70% have a formal plan or program in place to follow up on those leads after the show. A paltry 28% measure and report the number of leads that eventually convert to sales as part of the ROI of their participation.

The most discussed topic in our industry is that fairs and events are too expensive. It's not true. The cost to participate should be seen as an investment and not simply as an expense. By promptly following up with your contacts and establishing a value for each interaction, you can attribute a value to the overall event investment compared to the cost of other marketing tools. During almost two years of the pandemic, companies have had to find alternatives to reach their target customers using other marketing tools. Without a method of measuring results, the exhibition experience will always be seen as an expense.

I find it best to gather feedback from your staff shortly after the event. This could be a meeting, but prefer a survey where everyone gives there feed back on the event, execution, suggestions to improve next time. Then share that accumulated feedback with the whole group. Pull this back outworn you start planning the next cycle. Take a ton of photos, a year between shows is a lot!

Absolutely Agree! If you attend a trade show and "no one" knows that you were there, because you talked to "no one", then you have wasted the space, time and investment. Also, if you go with someone, PLEASE divide and conquer. Sit with, talk with, lunch with, dine with someone that you do not know, but may NEED to know! Attending a trade show is NOT the time to be shy!

I learned at a very young age that a Trade Show is not just the exhibit floor hours. Use every session, event or networking hour to foster relationships. Have your target list with you or even better memorized so when not on the floor your time is used in a valuable way. Seek out individuals on your list at each off the floor event.

One of the key things for me is to move away from too much focus on the ROI and move to a different metric. ROO - return on objectives. Exhibitions are not solely about money and sales. All the things and objectives you set will lead to that

It's all about planning. Every step of the process should have a clear plan. How are you planning to drive attendees to your space through your pre-show marketing efforts? What will you do with attendees once they are in your space? What do you want attendees to think, feel, know, and do once they leave? What is your plan to transfer information from the show to the CRM to the team that will follow up? If you think through every phase of the show, you're much more likely to be happy with the results.

Attending multiple trade shows and exhibitions isn’t just about ROI. Organisations will have different focus and strategies. Therefore, if a company wants to maximise their ‘return on outcomes’ (whatever that may be) then the result will be more of what they ‘actually’ want. There’s a subtle but vital difference. 1. Seeking practical supply/service solutions like reusability, flexibility, versatility and sustainability. An experienced professional will benefit immensely. 2. An events and exhibition expert will focus minds on objectives and give clear direction to your planning. 1+2. If you can find the magic ingredients from both you will get a 360 degree holistic set of wins and accelerate your success!