In order to be successful as an exhibitor at a trade show, you need to accurately measure and define your trade show ROI. Tradeshow costs, including floor space rental fees, booth design and construction, shipping costs, set-up charges, staff travel, and so much more, add up quickly.
It’s essential to measure the total value to your company to calculate if it was worth the investment. Knowing your ROI also helps you build better strategies to meet corporate and program objectives for future trade show events. The following metrics will help you determine how effective your marketing efforts were, and whether or not you generated a positive ROI.
Define Your Goals Before the Event
Your business’s trade show goals are key to measuring your success. Is your main objective to generate leads, establish your brand as an industry leader, or increase brand exposure? Each of these objectives need to be tracked differently, which is why it’s important to know your goals and establish metrics for measuring success.
For example, if your goal for your next trade show is generating leads, your total new prospects is your best measurement metric. For brand exposure and media buzz, measure your success in terms of press mentions and social media reach.
Identify Estimated Company Revenue Impact
Even though deals typically aren’t closed on the trade show floor, you can calculate an approximate value of your lead generation efforts. Start by identifying the number of sales leads. Then, your sales team can provide data on close rates for trade show leads, as well as the average value of completed sales or contracts. Your estimated revenue is determined by multiplying the number of sales leads by close rate and average value of sales.
Calculate Total Savings
Trade shows don’t just generate sales revenue — they can also save your company money by putting sales people, business development reps and executives in front of a high volume of customers and prospects. If trade show marketing eliminated the need for additional meetings, field-sales costs or name acquisition costs, those savings add value to your trade show ROI.
Know the Value of Brand Awareness
Promotional activities and impressions go a long way to raising your overall brand awareness. Every person who visited your booth or even just saw your exhibit are counted in total impressions gained during the trade show. Engaging with prospects at the show could also boost your online traffic, grow your followers or create a buzz by mentioning your brand on social media platforms, industry media coverage and business publications.
Partner with a Company That Generates Results
Exhibitus knows more than great trade show design — our Results Division specializes in establishing meaningful metrics and a powerful measurement strategy for trade show ROI. We’ll help you gather the valuable data you need and make it easy for you to communicate the value of your trade show investment to company stakeholders. Contact us today to learn more about our innovative Results Division, and how we can help you define the ROI of your trade show marketing efforts.