Exhibit Strategy for Trade Shows
Catalyst Exhibits, Inc and Business Marekting Association recently polled BMA members and BtoB Magazine subscribers to find out what htey thought abou the value of tradeshows. Results show that using traditional measurements such as sales leads, respondends perceived a low ROI. It is time marketers embrace the challenge of refocusing on the trade show measurement discussion. The focus needs to include building and putting adollar value on benefits such as personal contact with current exhibit customers and exhibit propects, maintaining image, testing products, gathering competitive intelligence, widening expolsure, and image building; and all of this is accomplised with a solid strategy and an exhibit booth that delivers impact.
Reasearch objectives included:
- To determine the perceived value of tradeshows;
- To understand the role of trade shows and exhibits in the corporate
marketing strategy; - To determine how trade shows, exhibits and events rank in importance;
- To identify the perception of return on the trade show investment;
- To identify the role of impact as a trade show investment;
The survey sample of 847 was selected systematically from corporate members of the BMA by the BMA and Readex Reasearch. In addition, BtoB Magazine selected a survey sample of 9,009 from e-newsletter and print subscribers.
Trade shows can be an important aspect of a company’s marketing plan. Over three in four, 77 percent, of respondents indicated their companies exhibit at trade shows. In fact, those whose companies exhibit at trade shows, trade show conventions, indicated their companies exhibited at just over 18, on average in 2006, and 36 perscent plan to exhibit at more trade shows in 2007.
Tradeshows are viewed as more important for the leads they generate than for direct sales. Respondents whose companies exhibit at tradeshows indicated generating leads, 84 percent; building brand/identity awareness, 81 percent; and/or furthering relationship with customers. 74 percent, are important factors to their companies in their decisions to exhibit at trade shows.
The importance placed on generating leads is supported by companies’ measurements of return on investment. The highest proportions of those respondents whose companies have booths at trade shows indicated their companies and senior management measure the value of exhibiting at tradeshows by the number of leads generated (82 percent and 64 percent, respectively). Yet almost have those companies who exhibit at tradeshows are not seeing the hard results they want.
There seems to be some disconnect between respondents’ opinions of the value of tradeshows and what they perceive as senior managements’ opinion of their value. When compared with other marekting and sales initiatives, 39 percent of respondents whose companies exhibit at trade shows, consider them valuable to their companies. Yet only 32 percent think senior management would indicate them as valuable.
There is interest in having data to support trade show measurements. Fifty-seven percent indicated they would be interested in supporting an industry-wide initiative to audit and pulish attendance data on key trade shows and exhibit events. Additionally, about three in four would be interested in haveing BMA publish the impact of pre-trade show marketing, 76 percent; overall ROI of trade shows and conventions, 76 percent and/or the impact of post-trade show and convention marekting, 74 percent.
Online events do not appear to significantly impact the effectiveness of tradeshows. Among those whose companies exhibit at tradeshows, 7 percent indicated online events have increased and 8 percent indicated they have decreased the effectiveness of the tradeshows where companies have exhibited. Howeever, 41 percent indicated they don’t know, perhaps suggesting the need for some direct measurements of the impact of online events.Nearly all, 93 percent, of respondents whose companies exhibit at tradeshows are involved in some way with developing and implementing exhibit booths, and trade show marketing strategies. On average, they devote mere 16.9 percent of their time to these strategies.
Interpreting the Results
From the survey, four things are clear and they all have to do with ROI:
- Everyone requires results
- Three out of four organizations have exhibit booths at tradeshows, with an average of 18 tradeshows per year
- Almost half of those organizations believe they are not seeing results
- Of that same group of organizations - of whom almost half fail to see results - 74 percent will exhibit at the same level or higher next year
Maybe the problem is in how companies measure ROI.
How Do Experts Measure ROI?
The survey goes into detail as to methods of measuring ROI. How is it being tried? What is being compared? How many respondents are feeling the pressure to measure it? But the net result remains that real communications ROI doesn’t appear to exist. The good news is that real communications ROI does exist, but not in the traditional sense CFO’s and others are used to demanding.