Budgeting for your trade shows and exhibitions participation.

1. Trade Shows Budgeting – Are you getting it
right?
The market and industry outlook
In an environment of dramatic economic change, the level of
marketing spends for companies certainly underwent wild
fluctuations during the periods of 2009 – 2010. In a recent industry
trade fair, a question that was often asked to exhibitors was
The value of face-to-
about their budgets, planning procedures for trade shows and face marketing via trade
conferences. shows/events showed
surprising resilience for the
Unsurprisingly not, we learnt that most companies either over
coming year. At a time when
shot or under spent their trade shows budget. 80% of the
companies interviewed said they weren’t happy with the outcome many companies report they
of the trade shows they participated in and were thinking of have cut back the number of
scaling down their budget. shows they attend or
question their spending in
this area, marketers said
they plan to maintain their
budgets in this area. Print
materials also maintained
their portion of the budget,
as did print advertising.
Yet on the same note maintain that Trade shows & exhibitions are
fertile grounds for customer acquisition and retention. It solely
for this purpose, that we identified the issue of over or under Exhibitions
spending.
management is a
strategic service, not
[True! Despite the emergence of technology, the good old
just logistics &
traditional way of face-face meetings or even a handshake
delivery.
goes a long way when compare to email or phone
conversations.]
Business Consulting | Marketing Services | Exhibitions Management

2. The marketing manager’s worst nightmare
8 out of 10 marketing managers we spoke to, unanimously
reiterated the fact that planning for trade shows is a nightmare
eating up most of their resources.
What You Might Not Know
About Trade Shows.
Trade shows can be
compared to a portable
version of a company that’s
temporarily placed in a
unique type of a shopping
mall and that attracts an
exclusive set of shoppers.
It brings sincere
Ironically, they do say it’s worth the effort. In the research buyers and sellers together
conducted, Trade shows rank 3rd most effective ways to collect under one roof. Trade shows
quality leads and the 1st from traditional and offline marketing provide a unique opportunity
tactics.
that cannot be replicated in
any other type of venue.
Trade shows are about
human interaction. Face-to-
face conversation gives us a
‘feel’ for the other person
that a data transfer never
will.
Business Consulting | Marketing Services | Exhibitions Management

3. Why Exhibit?
Customers travel to see you.
For those companies who cut back on travel outwardly to reduce
costs consider this. Exhibitions offer an efficient way for your
sales and technical people to see more prospects and customers
on one business trip and under one roof than any other venue. The Economics
Leads gained from an
On average, 51% of attendees travel more than 400 miles and
spend an average of 9 hours on the floor of the show. Plus, the exhibition or trade fair cost
visitors are paying their own way to come to see you. 56% less to close than those
generated from field sales
Customers, attending trade shows have an agenda and quite often
calls.
are targeting which exhibits to visit based on product and brand
interests. In fact, two-thirds of the exhibits they see have been
preselected. They come with a mission. The benefits businesses
gain from such a service being that they can leave the exhibition
or trade fair management to a company that specializes in the
same, giving businesses and key personnel the much needed time
and resource on developing relations or fixing effective meetings.
Exhibiting for Results Cost Cutting Aspects
By combining delivery &
We are living in difficult times and it is imperative to challenge design of brochures from the
our old ways of thinking about trade shows and events. It’s time same vendor helps
to use exhibitions as they are meant to be used – to drive product businesses to reduce costs
sales in an efficient and effective manner. And, it’s time senior drastically
management was held accountable for setting direction and
supporting the effort as enthusiastically as they do sexy new ad Using a central storage of
campaigns. Rather than basing a decision on go or no go your stand saves businesses a
contingent on budget concerns, change the paradigm. Ask lot of shipping time &
yourselves—what’s got to be in place with this event to ensure we expenses
get the results we expect? Can we do what’s required? Can it be
measured? Making use of a one stand
size fits all, helps to greatly
Your first question should be, ―Why are we going?‖ and the next reduce costs towards stand
should ―What are the objectives?‖ design
Experience has shown that there are four areas that serve as the Planning in advance always
cornerstones for nearly all show objectives—and for that matter, helps
for all marketing ventures. These are typically tightened down
with measures and assigned strategies that enable reaching them.
(1) Increasing sales and reinforcing market share
(2) Increasing share of customer- getting current customers to buy more
(3) Introducing new products
(4) Positioning or repositioning your organization, its brand and products
Business Consulting | Marketing Services | Exhibitions Management

4. The Solution
The solution lies in a simple fact that it costs much cheaper to go
with a single vendor who provides all the services and to
outsource the exhibition management services than having to do
everything in-house.
The benefits businesses gain from such a service being that they
can leave the exhibition or trade fair management to a company The Economics
that specializes in the same, giving businesses and key personnel iDeaTurf Consulting can help
the much needed time and resource on developing relations or you reduce ‘overheads’ like
fixing effective meetings. freight, installation and
Furthermore, with an outsourced exhibitions management handling. Move that money
company, be it a planned or an unplanned event, you can be sure to the marketing efforts in
that the company meets your requirements on planned or ad-hoc the booth.
basis.
Services to look for in an exhibitions management company are:
BROCHURE DESIGN & PRINTING
EXHIBITION STAND DESIGN & CUSTOMIZATION
LOGISTICS F ACILITY
CENTRAL STORAGE LOCATION
EXHIBITION STAND MANAGEMENT (INSTALLATION/DE-INSTALLATION)
FOR YOUR EXHIBITION AND
About iDeaTurf Consulting TRADE SHOWS MANAGEMENT
iDeaTurf Consulting is a full service exhibitions and trade shows NEEDS:
management company. Operating from Riga, Latvia our ware
houses are strategically located to help businesses who frequently
SIA IDEATURF CONSULTING
participate in trade shows across Europe, Asia and the Middle EMAIL: INFO @IDEATURF.COM
East. PHONE : +37127103800
If you are looking for a solution that takes care of your exhibitions WWW. IDEATURF . COM
management, helps you reduce costs and optimize you’re
planning and budgeting for trade shows, then contact us for a free
consultation.
Business Consulting | Marketing Services | Exhibitions Management