Trade shows are a great way to gain visibility for your product or service, but you must determine your return on investment (ROI) to determine its worth. Many companies are trying to recycle old trade show booths or update their graphics to increase the revenue gained from trade shows. They could benefit from knowing what is effective to determine how to calculate the ROI. From a participant’s perspective, they need to know which trade shows offer the most “bang for their buck.” When people know how to calculate return on investment (ROI), they will know the best results.
1. Revenue
One way to determine ROI is to determine “net profit divided by sales multiplied by sales divided by sales.” This will help you determine the revenue earned and the ROI from the trade show. The problem with trade shows is that the sales do not roll in immediately from the show. The sales will trickle in months or even a year after the relationships are made. DoubleDutch.me is a company determined to show the metrics behind an event ROI. They developed an application that is capable of measuring event metrics and ROI by giving a deep level of visibility into leads to exhibitors, attendee engagement, sponsor branding in-app and more.
Business owners must be diligent about tracking numbers to get an exact return on investment after the trade show is over. Just be certain to keep up with the leads gathered and any products and services sold at your trade show displays. Keeping up with how many people stopped by can help also.
2. Cost Savings
Determine how much it will cost to gain this number of leads before calculating ROI from the trade show. If pursuing leads at the trade shows is less expensive than pursuing leads through regular means, then you will realize your ROI from the trade shows. Most people appreciate the ability to meet a number of contacts in one location without having to cold call or travel to multiple locations. The cost savings can be tremendous.
3. Customer Relationships
Set goals and determine how many people you want to meet with and reconnect with at your trade show. If you meet or exceed your goals, you will have received your ROI from the event. Always determine what you want to gain in terms of customer relationships from an experience and save time by going directly to their customer display. Call the vendors you want to connect with ahead of time and create awareness of your presence at the trade show so a connection can be made. Then, go directly to the trade show displays until you meet the people you want to meet.
4. Promotions
Offering promotional items can give companies the exposure they need to entice customers to buy from them in the future. The most memorable companies with the best products will always win the prize. Calculate the amount of money spent on the promotional items. Then, compare it to the amount of profit or customer relationships gained from the event when the promotional items were used. If the profit or customer relationships are greater with the use of promotional items than without, then the promotional event was fruitful.
Calculate Your Return on Investment
Your return on investment is the key to the success of your company. Calculate the ROI and determine if a trade show is worth the investment required to host a booth or attend. You will be amazed at the results.
