Tradeshows are very important for many different purposes. They boost any business’s outreach to perspective client. Especially when considering business to business marketing, tradeshows are greatly important. Tradeshow budget planning is very important for businesses of all kinds. Depending on the type and height of the tradeshow, budget spending and planning can be huge.
Are tradeshows worth all that investment? From a business point of view, they absolutely are. Every business industry has tradeshows at different times of the year. On these tradeshows, different businesses participate and buyers come to visit. This is where most business-to-business contracts happen making it well worth the while. Here are top tradeshow budget tips you didn’t know:
1: Do the Initial Costing Realistically
Initial costing is very important. You will need to include all your foreseeable costs in your initial costing. Make sure to not miss any. This is where all estimations will come into play. You can develop an idea on how much your tradeshow appearance ideas is going to cost.
- The booth space will be your biggest expense most probably usually accounting for more than half total cost
- Your personal and team travelling might cost depending on event location. Meals, hotels and every other people expense will be here too
- You might also have to pay for electricity on the tradeshow. Wi-Fi cost and also Drayage costs
- Technology rental devices in London or anywhere else in the world including laptops, iPads, VR devices and any others
- Any giveaways on the tradeshow booth that you plan, collateral and also marketing costs
2: If Exact Budgets Not Available, Get Close to Accurate Estimates
Not always will you have the most accurate budgets provided by vendors. Suppliers and rental service providers usually wait until the day to finalize their pricing. Go ahead and ask them ballpark estimates. Even if not 100% accurate, these estimates will provide you important tradeshow budget calculation help. Once you have estimates, you can go ahead and plan the rest of your events.
3: Minimize Overtime – It Leads to Overspending
When going through your tradeshow budget and its contract details, be sure to look at things in detail. How much time you get is a choice you need to make when planning the event. Often, businesses buy short times and then expand them through overtime. Keep in mind, unions on tradeshows will make your pay much more on overtime. Buy your time accordingly and avoid overtime.
4: Spread the Word on Social Media With Free Tools
Usually, businesses overspend on spreading the news of their tradeshow. This can lead to budgets swelling up and eating most of your business profits. A much safer option is to go through social media channels on your own. Spread the word as best as you can using free social media tools. These go a long way when done right without any additional costs for tradeshow budget.
5: Rent Equipment Instead of Buying It
iPads for hire, laptops for rental and even VR and smartphones hire are all available options. Large displays for hire are available for tradeshow booths as well. You can pretty much get just about any devices and piece of equipment you will need. All these provide better functionality and greater exposure for your products, services and business models on tradeshows.
6: Choose the Right Vendor and Renal Companies for Everything
Equipment you will need including devices, hardware including booths, desks, benches and whatever, will all cost money. Businesses and their managers usually contract with certain vendors and rental services. Nobody bothers to look for better cheaper options after this initial contract. It is always better to look for all your options. You might just end up saving large amounts of money for tradeshow budget.
7: No Promotional Items Are Needed
Looking to save on tradeshow expenses and also on paper waste? Start by cutting our promotional items and on-paper promos. These days are well past us by now. All you need is digital ads and promotions on digital devices. If you have rented any iPads or laptops, use their screens for your display on promotions and others. Double the functionality, minimal the expense on rental devices.
8: Early Bid Rates Will Be Cheaper – Book Early
For tradeshow booths, early bidders always win cheaper rates. So, earlier you bid, cheaper booth rates you can get. Don’t wait till the last day to book your booth. When doing your tradeshow budget, you can save lots when booking early. Go ahead and do that booking if you have decided to enter a tradeshow. This will always be beneficial.
9: Keep Your Booth Compact
More elements you add on your booth, higher you will end up paying. Firstly, the cost of adding those elements, then the added cost of using more space. Also, business people don’t really appreciate filled to the brim booths. Keep them minimal and keep them elegantly useable. You will get more audience when your booth is spacious with not much going around it.
10: Always Double Check Invoices
It is important to check your invoices against all kinds of agreements. Tradeshow budget can be one thing when you do it, quite the other when you pay for it. Often, reason for this is that invoices don’t match. There is just so much going on at tradeshows, it is easy for organizers to mix up your pricing with someone else. Double check and always pay for what you agree only.