Don’t go over your budget: Tips for saving money at Trade Shows

Chances are you’re planning out all the trade show events that your company will attend this year and as a marketer, one of your greatest concerns is managing the budget. While you don’t want to break the bank at any of these shows, you also don’t want to make sacrifices that could potentially end up hurting your company’s presence at the show.

We know how difficult it can be to plan a show and how easily you can go over budget without expecting it.  We’ve been there countless times and know that it’s no easy task so to help you out, we have gathered some great tips from Trade Show Advisor. These have saved us countless times and always help us stay within our Budget.

Early- Bird Specials

Always go for the “early-bird” registration dead line. If you wait till the end, you will pay almost double. Benefits of this also include, getting ahead of the game by selecting a better booth location which will also give you extra money to invest in other marketing materials such as a custom canopy etc.

Travel and Lodging

Plan your travel and lodging far in advance – According to recent studies conducted by cheapair.com, you should book 47 days in advance for a domestic flight and 335 days in advance for all International flights. So book early and get ahead of the game. Flight prices can be so volatile and change from one hour to the next so stay on top.  When it comes to the lodging, check with the show’s website, most likely they will have made special arrangements and deals with hotels near the event so make sure to always double check.

Marketing Items

Order all promotional items very early from custom tents to show displays in order to avoid costly rush fees or expensive shipping prices. Production times for promotional items can vary from 7 to 15 business days and you still need to add shipping days so give yourself at least a month in advance to order these items. We recommend that you order them as soon as you have your booth confirmation.  This will give you enough time to check if everything was done correctly, or if you need to re-order an item that was printed incorrectly or is damaged.

Printing Marketing Collateral

We recommend that you print pre-show and post-show marketing materials at the same time so you get a bundle offer.  Figuring out how many marketing brochures or pamphlets you need can be the tricky, but always aim for printing more than you expect. You really don’t want to get stuck at a show having to print extra brochures at 80 cents a piece.

Using Existing Promo Items

Don’t be afraid to use the same promotional materials from one show to the next. If you bought a banner for one show at the beginning of the season, then use it for the next shows. This helps establish branding and you will be recognized much faster as well by attendees. You don’t have to keep reordering new items for every show, just make sure everything is in good condition.

We hope these tips will help you save money and encourage you to attend more events. At Ins’TenT, we believe that attending events is an effective way to gather new leads and increase your brand exposure.

Learn more about how to Properly Allocate Your Budget and maximize your chances of running a successful event, and gathering & converting new lead.

 

For additional tips read:  Tips to Save Cost

 

Download below the perfect tool to manage your event budget:


Workbook Offer