The Exhibitor's Resource – Trade Show Marketing Blog

As the holiday season got underway last week with Thanksgiving, you might not have been thinking about budgets and business taxes. But the following year-end planning tips for businesses and marketing departments can help you make the most of your year-end financial situation.

1. Get a Marketing Budget Update from Accounting: As part of your year-end strategy, you should have a good idea of your company’s financial picture and how that relates to your marketing effort. Now is a good time to sit down with the CFO for year-end advice, particularly regarding any remaining monies allocated for marketing activities that will expire at the end of the year.

2. Pay Expenses Now: Pay for things your business or marketing department will need in the near future to possibly maximize the deductions for this year. If you can justify the need for new equipment or other items in the first quarter of next year, buy them now. Some possibilities include:

• Trade Show Displays and Equipment: If you will be purchasing a new trade show display, consider doing that now. Check with your accounting department to make sure that doing this now will reduce your tax burden and fits with your company structure and circumstances. Your new trade show display may have to be officially received or even physically be at your facility by the end of the year, so build that into your timeline. The sooner you get the ball rolling, the more likely your exhibit agency will be able to design, produce and deliver your new trade show display in time.

• Literature & Giveaways: Stock up on trade show related collateral such as brochures and giveaway items.

• Recurring Billing: If you can, try to pay recurring bills such as trade show display storage fees, software license agreements, publication subscriptions, and organization memberships in advance before the end of the year.

• Other Items: Try to pre-pay travel expenses, repairs to equipment, or maintenance costs that you know will occur early in the new year.

3. Postpone Income if Necessary: Coordinate with your sales department to delay the collection of payments until the first part of January instead of the end of December if this reduces your tax bill. Cash that remains on the books at the end of the year may be taxable for that year. Keep in mind that different strategies apply to your particular situation (profit/loss position, company structure, etc.), but it could make sense to get the cash on hand as close to zero as possible at the end of the year.

4. Check Inventory: If you have product that was used at a trade show and is now considered “refurbished” inventory or has otherwise experienced a drop in value, be sure to find out if your accounting methods allow deductions for this. And consider offering remaining inventory at special terms during any December trade shows or special events to further reduce your inventory tax obligation.

As mentioned above, the strategy for applying these tips will depend on the individual business circumstances and accounting methods. Be sure to review your company’s strategy with your accounting department, CFO, or professional tax accounting professional. But if you plan carefully, any taxes you save can be put towards face-to-face marketing initiatives for next year.

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Trade show exhibitors often struggle with what information and images include on their trade show display graphics. Many offer a wide range of products and services, and may feel frustrated when trying to distill their pitch down to a “billboard” message. But we have a workaround for this problem that seems to be working for our clients. We suggest that exhibitors create alternate sets of trade show display graphics for secondary markets or additional product lines. With a larger inventory of graphics, exhibitors can deliver the best message to the audience attending a particular trade show. Sometimes the re-skin is comprehensive, and the entire look of the trade show display is changed with the switch-out of graphics, but the change can be more subtle by only changing out market-specific panels and leaving the overall branding the same.

And the alternate graphics can go beyond just changing the look or message from show to show. Marketers interested in comparing one look or offer to another can do this type of A/B testing by using one set of graphics on one day of the show, and another set on another day. This type of testing works best when there is fairly consistent trade show floor traffic on the days that the display graphics are being tested, but can give feedback about what message or offer draws the most visitors to your trade show booth space.

As you begin your next trade show graphics project, keep in mind the benefits to creating multiple sets of graphics for different audiences and different marketing messages. It will help you improve your trade show marketing effort at a relatively low cost.

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Just after the fall busy season is a great time to look back at your 2009 Exhibiting successes and to consider your 2010 schedule. What shows were your best performers? Where could you expand your company’s presence to get more out of your event marketing effort? One strategy employed by some of our clients is to seek out shows in vertical markets outside of their primary industry in order to access to new business.

Take a look at your top 5-10 clients. What trade shows are they exhibiting at? Would it make sense for your company to have a presence at their industry shows? Would this give you an opportunity to get in front of similar companies who have similar needs for your products and services? Often, exhibitors become so focused on their own industry that they miss opportunities in other vertical markets. But having a presence at shows in industries that your company supports or works with gives you the opportunity to stand out in a less saturated field. It may even be worth investigating exhibiting at a show that your competitors’ top clients exhibit at.

Have you already been applying this strategy with success? Great! Perhaps there are still some niche vertical markets that are still untapped. Seek out regional shows or new shows that shift the focus slightly towards your best target audience. Test out these additional shows with a portable inline trade show display with graphics tailored to the attendees at that show.

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Exhibiting at trade shows is a vital part of the marketing mix, but the effort can represent a significant investment.  Trade show participation has been shown to be a cost-effective way to generate leads and close new business, according to the findings of CEIR, The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, as explained in their report The Cost Effectiveness of Exhibition Participation. The data from that report and others show that the typical cost of generating a sale from exhibiting at a trade show is just over $2,000, as compared to over the $3,000 average for all methods. Still, trade show professionals are looking to make the most of their event marketing budget, thereby lowering the total expense for each new lead or sale. One way to do this is to use modern online marketing techniques to squeeze more juice out of your next appearance on the expo floor.

Promote your event on your website and in online advertising
For quite some time, Exhibitors have been sending out pre-show mailers to show attendees, their customers and their prospects, often with an incentive to visit their booth space during the show. Exhibitors can translate this to the web by promoting their presence on their website and in online marketing campaigns. Add the trade shows you will be exhibiting at to your company’s online events calendar, or create a new section for a running list of upcoming events. Be sure to let potential expo visitors know what booth space you are in and when in-booth demos or product launches will happen.
Think about how to write about events you plan to exhibit at in this section since useful and interesting and content will both entice your visitors to attend the show and and seek out your display. Good content that includes the keywords of your industry, your product or your company will help people find your site. You may also consider an online advertising campaign to promote your appearance at the show. Similar to pre-show mailers that often include an incentive to visit the booth such as a drawing for a prize, online ads are good place to entice your target audience with some sort of “at show” offer. Remember, even if they are already planning to attend the show, you want to get on the “dance card” of your most important targets.

Tweet, Blog, and update other social media content from the show floor

• connect with show attendees using twitter, facebook, linked in and other social media
• add show photos to your flickr account or your website, and don’t forget to tag
• search for other blogs or forums about the show or your industry and post comments about your presence
• tweet news from your booth space as it happens
• publish blog posts each night to recap the days happenings

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