For travel brands, trade show marketing is a great way to interact with prospective customers, increase profitability, improve productivity, and increase ROI. Why is this? Face-to-face marketing is the number one tool to get your travel brand to the top of it's market. The traveler of today wants to see, hear, and experience what you want them to open their wallets for. Trade show expenses are an investment, and the right travel show will provide ROI more impressive than any other form of marketing. So how should your brand go about budgeting for a trade show? Check out these helpful tips from Marketing Profs.

Trade Show Exhibiting: Essential Costs

When exhibiting at a trade show, expect to pay for floor space, the exhibit itself, and marketing materials. On average, 28% of total budget is spent on renting floor space, and 12% is spent on designing an exhibit. Of course, the cost of floor space will be different depending on the event and your location within the event. Renting the floor space and exhibit creation will take up about 40% of your budget.

 The cost of creating your trade show exhibit depends on the needs of your travel brand. Are you making a booth to be used at just one show, or will it be used at multiple shows? This is certainly something for you to keep in mind when budgeting for a show. Perhaps exhibiting in multiple shows will end up being a better investment for your brand.

 It’s a good idea to designate approximately half as much of the floor space costs to creating your exhibition stand, banners, etc.

Travel and Entertainment Costs

Don’t forget to take into account the costs of travel, hotel rooms, dinners with prospects and customers, and entertainment. On average, about 21% of all trade show costs will be spent on accommodation.

Of course, these costs vary based on the location of the show. If the event is located fairly close to your business, travel and entertainment costs will be much less. This is why it’s important to invest in a travel show that offers events in more than one location. For example, the Travel & Adventure Show offers events in 8 major cities across the U.S. Exhibit with TAS for a better chance in finding a location closer to your business.

Transportation Costs

Most trade show exhibitors spend about 9% of their budget on getting their exhibit to and from the trade show. If the trade show is close to your business, logistical and practical costs will be much less. It mainly depends on how far away you are from the event.

These costs can also vary depending on your exhibit. Is your exhibit fragile and valuable? The cost of insuring your banners, promotional signage, etc. can increase your budget.

Promotional and Sales Costs

Promotional material is something many brands like to invest in for a trade show. These materials include brochures, interactive displays, business cards, gifts, accessories, etc. Be sure to allocate enough in your budget so that your booth can have all the promotional material desired. It’s best not to think about promotional materials as costs, but rather investments, as they can deliver a large return on investment for your brand.

Also, don’t forget to keep in mind the sales costs for commission paid to your sales reps!

Why is A Trade Show Worth it?

Just like any other form of marketing, trade shows are focused on achieving the right return on investment. Your brand has potential to gain a great deal of revenue at a trade show. For example, if you’re a small business with a budget of $6,000, your investment could very well produce over $120,000 in revenue.

Not only can trade shows make increasing ROI for your brand possible, but you can also learn to optimize your spending over time. The more shows you participate in, the more experienced you will be in reducing certain areas of your trade show budget and increases others to receive an even greater return on investment.

If you want to generate valuable sales leads and increase your brand recognition with the right audience, exhibiting at a trade show might be the best decision your business makes.

Source: Marketing Profs

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