Was it worth exhibiting?
Do you just rely on gut feeling or can you measure results to see if the trade show was worth attending?
If you are selling products from your stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition or The Motor Show for example, it can be easier to estimate the success based on the sheer level of exposure your brand will get. For other events it may be a load harder to analyse your performance. We’ll be taking a look at some ways to help determine if your event was a success.
Sales Generated / Leads Generated
Perhaps one of the most important metrics, but a tricky metric to put a value on as leads generated at the show may not come to fruition until months later having been followed up by your sales department. It is important to have a system in place to take note of leads and be able to input them into your CRM system. You can also track the number of hot leads depending on the feedback you received from the visitors at the show. By asking the right questions you should get a feeling if there were more hot than cold leads and be able to make a quick judgement after the event has finished. This ‘gut feeling’ approach may be hard to do at your first event, but over time you will hone your instincts.
A simple equation you can use to put a value on leads is:
Hot leads x Number you normally convert x Average order value = Estimated show revenue
Tip 1: -Make sure you use your database to track show leads. Even if they order in a year you should be able to see that first contact was at the show.
Tip: 2 – Also consider special offer show vouchers that people have to use in the future to get the discount.
Tip: 3 – Have you thought of selling a product on your stand?
Saving Money
As well as generating revenue, a good way to determine how successful your exhibition was is by the amount of money it has saved you.
Customers Visit You
Think of the money you would have to spend on advertising and promotion to get so many customers to see your brand in such a short space of time. You can also invite your customers and prospects to the show, perhaps offering some sort of incentive or reason to attend. The saving comes from the fact that you don’t have the cost of reps visiting them in the near future or the resources spent contacting and marketing to them. Think of the time and transport savings
Product launch
If you launch a new product at the show you are again making a saving. What would the costs have been to launch another way and how long would it have taken to get into the market. At an exhibition you have PR, focus and a ready made audience that can offer instant feedback.
Building Relationships
One of the most common objectives for trade shows is to strengthen relationships within the industry. It is a very difficult objective to measure as you obviously won’t know the fruit of the relationships until much further down the line. One simple way is to count how many business cards and/or contact information you have exchanged with potential industry partners.
Was It Worth It?
• If you make sales at the show it’s easy. Cost of show – Revenue = ROI
• Lead generation. Cost of show / Number of leads = Cost per lead
• Use forms to get contact details of all stand visitors – give them an incentive!
• Tracking leads using your database can give you a pretty good idea even if the order is much later.
• Use special show offers
• If the money saved from not having to visit clients plus the savings in launching a new product at the show covers the cost of the show then everything else is a bonus.
For more exhibiting advice you can download our free exhibition guide and for helpful product advice, you can call our friendly team of display experts on 0844 800 1020.
