By Mark Brousseau
Potential recession aside, exhibitors always are on the lookout for ways to get more bang out of their trade show buck. One strategy may be to minimize costs and avoid unnecessary charges on their material-handling bill. In the February issue of Exhibitor Magazine, exhibit-management consultant Candy Adams provides the following six ways to save money on material handling:
Stop shipping unnecessary items. Think: massive quantities of literature.
Consolidate small shipments. General services contractors typically charge exhibitors a weight minimum for each shipment they handle, which can add up.
Choose your shipping method carefully. Palletizing your pad-wrapped pieces can mean significant savings, for example.
Meet the inbound target dates and times. If your carrier misses the targeted window of time for its truck to arrive in the marshalling yard to unload your freight, you’ll be saddled with additional material-handling surcharges or penalties, Adams notes.
Verify weight slips. Adams recommends stopping at the service desk the day after your freight arrives on site and ask to see your inbound certified weight slips.
Audit your material-handling invoice. Review every line item of your general services contractor’s invoice to make sure your have been billed correctly.
Do you have any tips to pass along? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Showing posts with label exhibit booth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhibit booth. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Skinny On Trade Shows
By Mark Brousseau
Many vendors wonder about the true costs of exhibiting at trade shows. Now, Exhibit Surveys Inc.'s 2006 Trade Show Trends Report provides some answers. According to the study, exhibitors spend an average of $126 per attendee that enters their exhibit and expresses an interest in their products and/or services. Moreover, exhibitors spend an average of $236 per attendee that engages in conversation with a staff member. How does this compare to your company's exhibit costs? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Many vendors wonder about the true costs of exhibiting at trade shows. Now, Exhibit Surveys Inc.'s 2006 Trade Show Trends Report provides some answers. According to the study, exhibitors spend an average of $126 per attendee that enters their exhibit and expresses an interest in their products and/or services. Moreover, exhibitors spend an average of $236 per attendee that engages in conversation with a staff member. How does this compare to your company's exhibit costs? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Setting Trade Show Expectations
By Mark Brousseau
Go to any trade show – big, small, crowded or sparsely attended – and you’re sure to hear some vendors grousing about how lousy it was. Quite often, the problem isn’t the trade show; it’s the lack of objectives and expectations that the grumbling exhibitors set for the show.
Many exhibitors try to determine their expectations for trade show expenditures after the fact. These same companies would never dream of embarking on a product development initiative without setting clear objectives, so why in the world would they spend considerable time and money on a trade show without doing the same?
What companies need to do is define clear objectives and expectations before ever placing a deposit on their booth space. These objectives might include generating a specific number of leads, building corporate visibility, meeting potential partners, coddling key customers, providing so many product demonstrations, or creating buzz about a concept.
With these objectives in place, exhibitors avoid the sliding scale of expectations that typically leads to disappointment (and uncomfortable conversations with the senior management who sign off on the expenditures). These objectives also enable exhibitors maximize their expenditures by helping ensure that they don’t buy too much (or too little) booth space, bring too many people (or the wrong people), print the wrong product collateral (or too much), have a needless or inappropriate booth giveaway (more on this another day), or create the wrong product demonstrations or booth signage. Want to know more? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Go to any trade show – big, small, crowded or sparsely attended – and you’re sure to hear some vendors grousing about how lousy it was. Quite often, the problem isn’t the trade show; it’s the lack of objectives and expectations that the grumbling exhibitors set for the show.
Many exhibitors try to determine their expectations for trade show expenditures after the fact. These same companies would never dream of embarking on a product development initiative without setting clear objectives, so why in the world would they spend considerable time and money on a trade show without doing the same?
What companies need to do is define clear objectives and expectations before ever placing a deposit on their booth space. These objectives might include generating a specific number of leads, building corporate visibility, meeting potential partners, coddling key customers, providing so many product demonstrations, or creating buzz about a concept.
With these objectives in place, exhibitors avoid the sliding scale of expectations that typically leads to disappointment (and uncomfortable conversations with the senior management who sign off on the expenditures). These objectives also enable exhibitors maximize their expenditures by helping ensure that they don’t buy too much (or too little) booth space, bring too many people (or the wrong people), print the wrong product collateral (or too much), have a needless or inappropriate booth giveaway (more on this another day), or create the wrong product demonstrations or booth signage. Want to know more? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Want to be Remembered?
By Mark Brousseau
Attention vendors: If you want to make your exhibit booth more memorable, focus on the steak, not the sizzle. According to Exhibit Surveys Inc.’s annual Most-Remembered Exhibits study, 68.1 percent of respondents attributed their memories of the top 22 exhibits of 2006 to “product interest” followed by “company name” (54.8 percent) and “product demo” (51.2 percent). Promotional giveaways – which swayed only 13.9 percent of respondents – was the least important factor to which respondents attributed their memories of top exhibit booths.
So before you buy those cases of light-up bouncing balls, remember that recognizable company names, buzz-worthy new products and engaging presentations are traits that put exhibits permanently on attendees' minds. What exhibit booths did you think were most memorable at this year's TAWPI Forums & Expo in Boston? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
Attention vendors: If you want to make your exhibit booth more memorable, focus on the steak, not the sizzle. According to Exhibit Surveys Inc.’s annual Most-Remembered Exhibits study, 68.1 percent of respondents attributed their memories of the top 22 exhibits of 2006 to “product interest” followed by “company name” (54.8 percent) and “product demo” (51.2 percent). Promotional giveaways – which swayed only 13.9 percent of respondents – was the least important factor to which respondents attributed their memories of top exhibit booths.
So before you buy those cases of light-up bouncing balls, remember that recognizable company names, buzz-worthy new products and engaging presentations are traits that put exhibits permanently on attendees' minds. What exhibit booths did you think were most memorable at this year's TAWPI Forums & Expo in Boston? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.
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