Tuesday, May 12, 2015

10 ways to save money on your tradeshow program

If saving money is wrong, I don't want to be right!
 - William Shatner

Let me guess, you were handed an extra $100k to execute your booth this time, right? No? Oh... your budget got CUT by $30k. Been there. Here are 10 tips to save money on your tradeshow program:

  1. Use less signage. Every sign cost money. Sign reprints cost even more. Can you reuse elements from another show to save on printing costs?
  2. Reuse the booth. If you're renting a new booth for every show, chew on this: Most of the attendees at this event were not at your last event. They won't know that you've used the same booth for both of them. Better yet: use the same booth for a bunch of your events! It sounds elementary, but it's amazing how many companies reinvent the wheel for every show they attend. Just by using the same rental kiosks from event to event, you can save thousands of dollars. 
  3. Cut the giveaways. You don't need to feed the trick-or-treaters. Be strategic in your gifting and only give premiums to attendees who engage with you in your booth. 
  4. Standardize the staff attire. Do you buy new shirts for every trade show you attend? Consider implementing an event uniform program, tracking who has been given staff shirts, and only refreshing their uniform when theirs is lost or damaged.
  5. Lighten up your booth. If you send full, heavy enterprise IT racks to your events, consider a virtual version. If you have a metal booth, consider going with more of a stretch fabric design. The lighter your shipping load, the less drayage you have to pay. Money in the bank. 
  6. Demo offline. You can save thousands by not using a wired internet drop. Try canned demos, or using a personal hotspot if you need to get online. 
  7. Skip the rented badge scanner. Try a mobile app that snaps pictures of business cards. Have a backup plan, though, if someone doesn't have a business card on them. 
  8. Plan ahead. You can save upwards of 20% if you just meet all the deadlines the show organizer has put in place. Miss it and you start getting penalties and rush fees added on. 
  9. Reconsider your rental furniture. If you need a meeting table and chairs, it might be cheaper to find a local IKEA and bring in your own, then donate to a local charity after the event. 
  10. Go to fewer shows! This may sound really insane, but consider your event portfolio. Are you going to every show at a lower level to spread your brand around? Consider hitting fewer, more impactful shows to get the results you need and stop wasting money on the non-performing shows.