Measuring the Value of Trade Show Marketing

Wouldn’t it be nice to if at your next big budget meeting you could whip out a few charts to clearly demonstrate the valuable impact of your company’s  trade show marketing strategies? Actually, it’s quite possible and many trade show managers are already doing so.

Planning Is Key

The solution for showing that return on investment for your trade show efforts is to create a solid plan and then to exercise rigorous data collection. Your plan is simply writing out your goals for each trade show, including your target audience. It should include details like what information will be collected from leads at the show and how it will be managed. It should also make clear how leads will be followed up on after the show.

It’s a good idea to share your plan with everyone and anyone who is involved in your company’s trade shows. Before every event, have a pre-show meeting with the staff involved to go over the goals and plan specifics.

Data And Lead Management

The plan is in place, the show is underway, and the leads are rolling in. Now what? Now you need to start measuring. Data collection is not high on the list of things to do for a busy manager juggling marketing priorities, but in the long run it can be invaluable. You need to have a system in place to track not just the number of leads that are generated at a show, but how valuable those leads are. You need to track what happens to those leads after the show is over. Can you demonstrate the value of your trade show leads in terms of sales, new contracts or business developments? It might take months of tracking to determine this.

Your plan is also a useful tool for improving outcomes from your trade show efforts. It’s almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you know who your target audience is and what you want them to do, you can create direct marketing efforts to get them to visit your trade show exhibit, where you can create a pitch designed just for their ears. Then your team can follow up with them after the show to make the most of the information you gathered about them at the show.

Measure Your Trade Show ROI (Return On Investment)

If you are tracking data all the while, you will begin to see which shows are producing the best leads and, therefore, the best returns for your company. You might even be able to determine which shows, displays and promotional materials are most effective.

Data collection can be exciting stuff, really. The challenge is creating a system for collecting and analyzing it. Don’t worry if you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of all that planning and measuring. The professionals at The Tradetec Companies can help you create a plan for how to measure your trade show marketing strategy and it’s effectiveness. In the end, your top executives will be glad you put the effort in to prove just how valuable you, and your marketing department, really are.