Hello and welcome to our June issue.

This month we look at the value of doing a mid-year trade show program assessment.  By taking advantage of the typically slower summer months, program adjustments can be made to increase successful performance during the second half of the year.  Read on to find out how you can benefit from a "mid-year reality check."

In addition, we  share tips from readers who responded to our recent survey.

As always, we appreciate your interest,

Marc Phibbs - Vice President, Marketing

Benefit from a Mid-Year Reality Check

Doing a mid-year assessment of your trade show marketing program can pay big dividends.  Among the benefits are:

1. You can determine which elements are getting the job done, and which ones need help.  For example, if you find that your exhibit was not pulling in the expected share of traffic from a show, it may be that you need to look at what is being used for pre-show and at-show promotions.  On the other hand, if your exhibit is bringing in plenty of visitors, but the lead counts are falling short, you may need to concentrate on staffing and presentation issues.
   
   
2. See how well your measurement systems are doing to deliver useful information.  If you are using measurements that are appropriate to your goals and objectives, the information in your show reports should be clear and easy to read.  On the contrary, if the information does not seem to apply to what you need for assessment and decision-making, then you may need to look at what information you are gathering and its relevance to guiding your management efforts.
   
   
3. Apply performance-related adjustments to the second half of the year to increase the efficiency in your year-end outcome.  Take what has been learned from the first half and alter your game plan to do better.
   
   
4. Look ahead to 2006 budgeting issues, using the freshest data available.  It will give you a much stronger base to build your program for next year.
   

Like the major-league sports, use the mid-year slowdown as your own "all-star break" to adjust strategy, do some coaching and plan ahead for the remainder of the season.  It could be your year for the championship trophy.

Measurement-Driven Show Selection

We attend 40 shows each year, but three different types: large industry shows, medium b-to-b customer shows and smaller consumer shows.  We finally realized that we needed to group similar shows together and compare leads and results within each of the same group.

We gather cost per contact and then work the shows the following year to get the costs down and lead counts up on under-performing shows. If we can't bring an under-performing show into parity with those in the same group we re-evaluate our purpose for attending, our costs, who is attending and what our activities might be.  If a show routinely falls at the high cost/low lead end of the range of the group it might be eliminated and/or replaced with a bigger presence at those shows that do deliver results for us.

This approach also provides us with "ammunition" to use with event staff to negotiate better costs and better locations to drive our cost per lead to a desirable level. We now have quantifiable information that gives us leverage with show management. We are leaders in our industry. They don't want us to cancel and usually will accommodate reasonable requests to improve our show results.
     - Name withheld by request

Use Design to Help Control Costs

The only tip I have to suggest is when choosing a booth, remember to include in your budget the added expense of set up, tear down, storage and drayage. Perhaps spending a little extra upfront for a better-designed booth could actually save money in the long run.
     - Name withheld by request

Skyline Exhibits
3355 Discovery Rd
Eagan, MN 55121
Phone: 800-328-2725
www.skyline.com

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