Branding, Marketing

Tips for Saving Money at Trade Shows

trade-show-areaWhether you are a multi-national who attends dozens of corporate trade shows each year, or a small start-up who might only be able to get into one or two; there are many ways in which you can save yourself money.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that in recent years, there have been many companies that have seen better days and plenty of others who will see no more. Costs need to be cut somewhere and given the amount of money that is spent on trade show exhibits throughout the year; it is a pretty good place to start.

One cannot deny that you want to make a good impression, be it your first trade show or if you are something of a stalwart. It is true that you may not want to sacrifice the joys of having a beautiful, state-of-the-art stand-all bells and whistles, flashing lights and the latest technology. Essentially, you don't have to; there are ways in which you can save your company money and become somewhat of a more environmentally friendly company in the process (and everybody loves environmentally friendly!).

Let's start with the little things. How many flyers do you produce each time you roll up to one of these trade shows; a few thousand? Perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands? The fact is, not everybody wants a flyer; you can see this in action by looking at the floors and in the bins throughout the exhibition centre. It might seem like a small, trifling thing but you would be surprised how much of this goes to waste - especially if they are not placed in specific recycling bins.
Entice people to your stand with a swift video promo or maybe have a few tablets dotted around your booth so your potential customers can peruse at their leisure? If they want to know more, then by all means, print something off! It's that simple.

Saving on the bigger things such as the trade show displays themselves can be just as easy. If you consider how much time, effort and let's be honest - money - goes into the design and construction of your display then you may want it to still be up and running a few trade shows down the line. Many large companies don't give this a second thought and will happily let their profits dwindle, but using a display that is durable and eco-friendly as well as easy to construct could be the way forward for your business.

The best thing about taking this route is the number of options you have available. You may be happy with the setup you have currently, but that doesn't mean you can purchase auxiliary pieces of equipment such as pedestals and banner stands and be sure that they will last you for many trade shows to come. If you are a small business, there are excellent ‘pop-up' displays that can be constructed (and taken down) in no time at all. There are even rental options should you wish to ‘try before you buy' or don't think your business is quite ready for hard-core trade show attendance.

Saving money is one thing, but helping to save the planet by reducing the amount of waste that your display and its contents produce is one giant leap further. Imagine the difference that using some of these methods could help your business and indeed the planet. It is well documented that the trade show industry is second only to construction in terms of the waste produced globally - quite a shocking statistic. Saving money and saving the earth could go hand in hand if everyone took heed of this advice and the greener your company, the more likely it is that word of mouth will spread and get you more attention and hopefully more business!

If you have any questions, please ask below!