Understanding Tradeshow ROI
Tradeshow ROI is very important to understand if your company attends multiple trade shows throughout the year. If your company is not examining its ROI, the business missing out on a great way to optimize its resources.
Some companies believe that it's best to attend as many tradeshows as possible, but this will be an ineffective strategy if you're not careful about which shows to attend. Attending trade shows can be a very expensive experience.
For each trade show, there are a number of expenses that you should take into consideration. Some of the expenses to consider include:
- Transportation for your sales team to and from the tradeshow
- Accommodations, meals, and other expenses for your sales team that are compensated
- Brochures, flyers, and other hand outs
- Giveaways such as pens, lanyards, note pads, and any other freebies
- Shipping for your banners, booths, and other supplies
- Rental costs for the tradeshow space
You should also consider the labor expenses of the sales people who will be attending the show. If you have a low ROI from the event, your sales representative's time may be better spent on other pursuits. It's important to make sure that your sales representatives are always engaged in profitable activities. It's easy to overlook the ROI of a particular show when your team has become accustomed to attending.
Finally, to determine the accurate ROI, you need to assess the return that you're getting on the show. This includes:
- Qualified leads
- Sales
- Interaction with existing customers that increases loyalty
- Increased awareness about new products or services
Your return should always exceed your investment in any event. You should calculate ROI for individual trade shows as well as your entire trade show season. If you're falling behind, it's time to reexamine your trade show schedule and see which ones you can eliminate from your calendar. Keep track of your ROI using a solid calculator that takes all the most important factors into account. This will help you maximize your profits in no time.
