Attending a tradeshow exhibition can be a great way to showcase your business and get your products or services in front of a large audience that is actively seeking different business solutions.
However, it’s important that you have a plan in place to measure the success of your trade show campaign so you can determine the return on investment (ROI) of your efforts. In this blog, we will provide tips on how to track the success of your exhibition installation and ensure that you are getting the most out of your time and money.
Pre-Planning
Before the exhibition, it’s important to develop a plan for tracking the success of your event. This should include deciding on clear goals or key performance indicators for the exhibition, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or making sales. Ensure to use the SMART goal method: S – Specific, M – Measurable, A – Achievable, R – Realistic, T – Time-Bound.
For example, your goal may be that you want to generate 100 warm leads over the 3-day long exhibition. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you determine what metrics to track during the exhibition.
During The Exhibition
Of course, you’ll also need to plan your system in which you’ll track your lead generation efforts. A simple paper form will do, but it may be worth looking into digital solutions too for the sake of efficiency. Some key information you should aim to obtain includes the number of visitors (and their particular information, such as name, company, email address, etc.), the number of leads generated, and the number of sales made.
Be sure to keep track of any questions or feedback from visitors, as this can be valuable information for improving your trade show exhibition campaigns in the future. Additionally, take advantage of any opportunities to promote your business, such as through social media, giveaways or even exciting competitions.
Post-Exhibition
After the exhibition, it is important to analyze the data you have obtained and measure the success of your event against the key performance indicators and SMART goals you had planned during the pre-exhibition phase.
Follow up with any leads or customers that were generated during the exhibition to begin the sales process. Give yourself at least 2-3 weeks to follow up and nurture these leads into landing a sale.
Only around 1 month after the event, measure the sales you made versus the leads generated to determine your return on investment for the event. Additionally, make sure to measure any changes in brand awareness or website traffic that may have resulted from the exhibition.
Work With Professionals Who Understand How To Achieve Trade Show Success
If your internal marketing team is short on time or hands to be able to dedicate themselves fully to the pre-exhibition, during-exhibition and post-exhibition stages, then it is in your best interest to work with professionals who are experienced and understand how to achieve the best trade show success.
Our team at Salient Design has many years of experience with exhibition planning, exhibition installation and measuring the success of our clients’ trade show exhibition campaigns, and our clients have all been impressed with our work.
Please reach out to us to discuss how we can help you achieve your business goals.