SUMMER 2020
50
MANAGEMENT | MARKETING
EXHIBITOR’S CORNER
A Powerful Resource to Ensure Trade Show Success Jefferson Davis President, Competitive Edge
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xecuting an exhibit program that supports your company’s core business objectives and delivers measurable value beyond cost requires a very sharp focus and a whole lot of effort. In my experience, the average exhibitor spends 95% of its pre-show efforts on the logistics and operational side of their exhibit program. They have to book space, order show services, get the booth, graphics, products, and people to the convention center, get it set-up, tear it down, and send it home— on-time and on budget. Unfortunately, spending the lion’s share of your time on logistics and operations only guarantees that your booth, products, and people show up. It does not guarantee you will get the maximum from the big investment of human and financial capital you are making. So, where do you need to invest more time to ensure your exhibit program is a success? Based on working with companies of all sizes and all types, we’ve identified five critical exhibiting success factors: • Clearly define meaningful business outcomes • Identify and attract enough of the right people to the expo and your exhibit • Manage and deliver a high-quality visitor experience • Manage your leads more effectively • Measure and report exhibiting performance, value, and return on investment (ROI) PMMI views its relationship with you and your company as a long-term partnership to help you achieve your business goals. Because of this, it has invested in a new value-added award-winning exhibitor program, called the Exhibitor Success & ROI Center, which is designed to help your company maximize your ROI. The online ROI center contains a tremendous amount of useful resources, including sections on
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