Getting to know your market

One of the most important factors in successful trade show exhibiting and small business management is recognizing your competitors strengths and weaknesses. This will give you a huge advantage when preparing a marketing strategy for trade shows and other marketing efforts. If your competitor is using banner stands for their main trade show display then it might be a good idea to upgrade to a pop up display in order to stand out. This will give you a huge advantage at trade show and other marketing events.

Understanding your competitors weaknesses is also a great way to find market share that others may be missing. This can include anything from lack of online presence or lack of direct marketing. Analyzing your competitors closely will provide you with the best marketing plan possible for any business!

Spending more during a recession = spending less in the long run

The recession has been causing many businesses to change their strategies which includes downsizing and cutting costs. Cost cutting is a great way to increase gross margin and maintain profit in the short term and works for many companies, but what's hard to grasp in a time like this is that spending more in certain areas of your business will actually save you more money. This is a constant rule that applies in almost any industry and should be taken very seriously when going through cost cutting procedures. Cutting costs without carefully examining the long term effects could cause a lot of harm to your companies long term profitability.

This is very true in the trade show and marketing industry. Many marketing efforts take time and effective research to work to their full potential and give a return on your initial investment. In the trade show display industry there many different display options ranging in price points and quality. Cutting costs in your trade show marketing budget can save a lot of money in the short term, but it is important to examine why certain products have a lower cost. In almost every situation a lower cost product will last for a shorter period of time than more costly product. When budgeting for long term marketing plans it is critical to examine how many uses each display will have to determine if a higher cost display should be purchased up front. This is a critical consideration because if it will last for more uses, it will result in a MUCH lower cost per use.

If most of your marketing displays and banner stands are only used a few times, then low cost options could be a very good way to save cash in your current fiscal year.

I offer both options for all the products I sell on my site. I offer very low cost products for temporary solutions as well as high quality options that will hold up year after year. Carefully planning your marketing plan and teaming with a good supplier that can work with you on every project will help to maximize your ROI on every marketing campaign.

-Matt
NWCI

How to reduce overall costs at your next show

Trade shows can be very expensive for exhibitors that are new to conventions and do not know the ins and outs of the industry. Trade show displays are a great place to cut costs but it must be done wisely. The best way to reduce overall costs of shows is to buy a display that will hold up over time, and design graphics that will be universal between shows. Banner stands are a great solution to low cost exhibiting. Purchasing a quality banner stand will give you years of exhibiting at minimal costs.

Pop up displays are another good solution to reduce costs and make an impact. When design graphics you should create a universal graphic that will be effective and eye catching. Trade show displays and graphics are meant to grab attention but not to inform. It is critical to make designs very simple and eye catching so you will maximize the number of potential leads.

-Matt
Northwest Creative Imaging