As we head into the fourth quarter of the year and work on all of those Fall trade shows, have you looked at your exhibit expenses lately? Here are a few estimates that may match your own reality:
Exhibit Space Rental: You most likely spend about 30-32% of your total exhibit budget on space rental, whether that be a 10-ft x 10-ft or larger booth space.
Exhibit Design: Plan on spending about 20% of your total exhibit budget for the design. This includes design and construction, refurbishment, display materials, graphics, storage, installation and dismantling costs, insurance, etc. Besides space rental this is your biggest expense.
Show Services: Your probably pay around 14-15% for electrical, plumbing, jamitorial, security, telephone, carpet, furnishings, Internet access, lead retrieval system, floral rental, etc.
Transportation: Budget about 9-10% for freight, material handling, and customs expenses, if you have shows overseas.
Travel & Entertainment: With airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, training, booth attire, hospitality events, and client entertainment your sales and marketing organizations are most likely to spend between 18-20% of your exhibit budget.
Advertising & Promotion: Unfortunately, this usually gets the short end of the budget. Many companies are only spending a meager 1-5%.
- So, with exhibiting costs soaring, how do you get a better return on your investment? First of all be diligent about your planning. Read the exhibitor services manual and put a timeline together for all of the deadlines. Some shows will actually give you an early bird discount on some items. So, take advantage. If you have to order items at the show, you will pay a premium. So, plan, plan, and plan some more.
- Take advantage of the show advertising packages if they offer them. You will be targeting the show audience directly and make a bigger impact by marketing to a captive audience.
- You most likely attend several shows a year. Try to work with the same freight carrier and negotiate a volume discount. Or, if you typically exhibit in small booth spaces, hand carry your exhibit booth and set it up yourself.
- Get organized. Label your crates and number them carefully with instructions on how to set up your booth including electrical requirements and repacking instructions. This will help to speed up the set-up and dismantling process.
- Instead of purchasing a new booth, think about refurbishment. Or, get rid of your heavy weight booth all together. Think about using some of the lighter-weight materials for your exhibit booth design. With some of the newest materials, you can get a slick, hi-tech look without all of the weight. This will save drayage and shipping costs.
