|
 Print Friendly
 Email to Friend
|
|
Can A Trade Show Boost Your Small Business?
|
|
Article 2: How Much Will A Show Cost?
How much money you’ll need to budget for a show will vary tremendously depending on factors such as the exhibitor fee; the size and complexity of your booth, your travel, lodging, meal and entertainment expenses, etc.
But here’s one hint that can help you plan your expenses: “The rule of thumb is that the exhibitor fee will be roughly one-third of your total cost to exhibit at a trade show,” says Stephen Schuldenfrei, president of the Trade Show Exhibitors Association, the national trade association for event marketing professionals.
An unexpected expense for many exhibitors is material handling, or the process of shipping and having your materials received at the show, delivered to your booth location, and then broken down and delivered back to a dock and loaded for return shipping to you.
You can save money and time throughout this process by following these tips:
Strictly adhere to delivery deadline dates Communicate closely with the show’s management regarding arrival of your materials Consolidate your shipments Make sure you completely empty shipping containers when unloading them
You can also save money on your booth with some creativity and planning.
“Keep in mind that a big part of the cost of your booth is the shipping,” says Schuldenfrei. “Having a relatively simple, non-elaborate booth, like a pop-up that you can bring with you, can save you a lot of money.”
Another way to save money is by ordering all necessary supplies before you get to the show.
“If you wait until after you arrive, you’ll pay top dollar,” says Schuldenfrei. “So carefully plan out what you think you’ll need ahead of time.”
One additional expense Schuldenfrei highly recommends is a lead retrieval system. This usually consists of the names and contact information for all show attendees delivered to exhibitors on a CD-ROM or other digital media.
“Most shows now offer these for around $100 or so, which is money well spent,” says Schuldenfrei
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
