As you prepare for a trade show, it’s crucial to understand how to maximize your investment. One key element is creating effective visual displays, like banners and 10′ size displays , that not only grab attention but also contribute to your trade show ROI (Return on Investment) and ROO (Return on Objectives). Here, I’ll share insights and tips on how to measure your trade show ROI, bolstering your trade show success.
What is a Trade Show ROI?
Understanding Trade Show ROI is crucial. It’s the measure of how effectively your participation converts into tangible benefits versus the costs incurred. These costs include booth space, travel, marketing materials, and personnel. You feel the weight of each dollar spent, hoping it transforms into more in return. Typical ROI metrics include on-site sales, number of qualified leads, scheduled meetings, brand exposure, market research, and new partnerships. Every aspect of your booth, especially your banner, plays a crucial role in enhancing these metrics.
What is a Trade Show ROO?
Trade Show ROO, on the other hand, focuses on non-financial goals. It’s about how well you meet your objectives, like building brand awareness, launching new products, generating leads, gaining market insights, expanding channels, and recruiting talent. These objectives might not immediately reflect in your sales but are crucial for long-term growth. Your Custom Trade Show Backdrop, in this context, is a storyteller and a relationship builder.
How to Calculate Your Trade Show ROI?
Calculating Trade Show ROI involves more than just tallying sales. It’s a blend of various metrics. For example:
Revenue Generated:
Formula:
Trade Show ROI = (Revenue generated – Total Trade Show Costs) / Total Trade Show Costs
Example:
- Revenue generated from trade show: $10,000
- Total Trade Show Costs: $5,000
- Trade Show ROI: ($10,000 – $5,000) / $5,000 = 1 (100%)
Cost Per Lead:
This is calculated by dividing total costs by the number of qualified leads. If your costs are $5,000 and you generate 20 leads, each lead cost you $250.
Formula:
Cost-per-lead = Total Trade Show Costs / Number of Qualified Leads Generated
Example:
- Total Trade Show Costs: $5,000
- Number of Qualified Leads Generated: 20
- Cost-per-lead: $5,000 / 20 = $250
Brand Awareness:
Measured by the ratio of impressions to reach, multiplied by 100. If 10,000 people saw your banner and your reach was 5,000, your brand awareness is 200%.
Formula:
Brand Awareness = (Impressions / Reach) * 100
Example:
- Number of Impressions: 10,000
- Number of people reached: 5,000
- Brand Awareness: (10,000 / 5,000) * 100 = 200%
How To Calculate Your Trade Show ROO?
Calculating Trade Show ROO (Return on Objectives) is a personalized process. It varies based on your specific goals for the event. Instead of a one-size-fits-all formula, you measure how well you meet each of your goals compared to what you initially aimed to achieve.
Here’s how you can calculate Trade Show ROO:
Define your objectives:
Before the trade show, clearly define your non-financial objectives. These could include:
- Building brand awareness and recognition
- Launching a new product or service
- Generating qualified leads and building relationships
- Gaining market intelligence and insights
- Expanding distribution channels and partnerships
- Recruiting new talent
Set target values:
For each objective, set a specific and measurable target value. This will be your benchmark for evaluating success.
Track and measure:
During and after the trade show, track and measure relevant data points to assess your progress towards each objective. This might involve:
- Website visits or social media engagements generated
- Media coverage and mentions received
- Brand sentiment analysis
- Increase in website traffic and leads generated post-show
- Number of new partnerships or collaborations formed
- Number of qualified job applications received
Calculate ROO for each objective:
Use the following formula to calculate ROO for each objective:
ROO (%) = (Actual achievement / Target value) * 100
Analyze and interpret:
Once you have calculated the ROO for each objective, analyze the results to understand how well you achieved your goals. Identify areas for improvement and use this information to refine your future trade show strategy.
Example:
- Objective: Generate 50 qualified leads
- Target value: 50
- Actual achievement: 40
- ROO: (40 / 50) * 100 = 80%
In this scenario, the ROO for lead generation is 80%. This means that the trade show achieved 80% of its target for qualified leads. While not 100% successful, this outcome could still be considered positive depending on the overall budget and other objectives achieved.