Good Show.

• Author: BECK, BILL
• Position: Trade show effectiveness

Making trade-show dollars count

When the economy slows down and senior management demands justification for every line item in the budget, how do you convince top management that tradeshow attendance is money well spent?

Return-on-investment figures are the best proof that trade-show marketing is a wise decision. "Trade show return on investment is pretty easy to figure out," says Jane Thompson of Thompson/Kerr Displays in Carmel. "The sales at the site, and the leads developed, can be tabulated and followed up."

"You have to put costs into perspective," says Mick Parrott of Icon Exhibits in Fort Wayne. "You've got to think of converting that investment into a sale."

Icon, one of the state's largest fullservice exhibit design and production firms, has seen recessions come and recessions go. The firm actually passes out a booklet--"100 & 1 Ways To Make Trade Show Dollars Count In Tough Times"--to existing and prospective clients.

Parrott says the typical cost of converting a trade-show lead into a sale is right around $100, as little as a tenth of the cost of converting leads generated through direct sales efforts or other strategies.

In fact, say Thompson and Parrott, when times are tough in the business world, the quality of the attendance at most trade shows actually picks up. "In tough times, you get fewer numbers but higher-quality buyers," Parrott says. "You see more decision makers with an agenda."

Research from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research supports that contention. The audience of a typical trade show in 2000 was made up of one-third management staff, one-third technical staff and 15 percent sales and marketing staff. More than half of the audience reported attending only one show a year, while 60 percent of the attendees said they have been going to that particular show two years in a row or more. About half of the attendees were at the show with the purpose of seeing particular people or product lines, and 57 percent of attendees planned to purchase a product exhibited at the show within 12 months.

A whopping 88 percent of the attendees at the typical trade show had not been contacted by an exhibitor's salesperson during the preceding 12 months. Three-quarters of the attendees found at least one new supplier by attending the show.

"There's just no substitute for going out on the trade-show floor, kicking the tires and comparing prices," says Parrott. "It's a very dynamic and very cost-efficient environment."

Larry...