Newsletter - January 2009

Welcome to Exhibit Option's Trade Show Tips

I recently had a conversation with one of our client’s who informed me that their sales are up 20% from last year.  Of course I had to ask how.  He said the company decided to use their 2007 marketing budget versus their 2008.  In 2008 they cut their marketing budget due to the downturn.  Their goal is to increase sales by 25% for 2009, and they are making great head way.  Their overall plan –You have to market!

The first article below is by Laura Lake and seemed so completely relevant I wanted to share it.  She emphasizes exactly what so many industry leaders are saying: Don’t cut your marketing budget!  The second article I pulled together some of the best advice I’ve heard at an exhibit industry conference on how to help exhibiting companies do well during the downturn, in case you are forced to cut.

I hope these two articles will help energize and empower you with the positive choices you can make to get more from your exhibiting budget.

Should You Cut Your Marketing Budget During a Recession?

By Laura Lake, About.com

Oh my, the sky is falling and we are in an economic downturn. It’s on the news and it is in the papers. Everywhere I turn we hear of the downward spiral of our economic state. I know what you are thinking; it's time to cut that marketing budget. Signs of recession are all around us. Let's start slashing costs and marketing is the first to go. Makes sense, right? No! Let me explain.

Don't you dare cut your marketing budget. That is one of the first mistakes businesses make during times of economic crisis.
It's time to get smarter about your marketing dollar and spend it to bring results. Sounds good doesn't it? However, I can hear you - how do you do it? If ever customer intelligence was important it's now.

The key is to look at your marketing dollars as an investment not an expense. Use the customer knowledge that you have and implement SMART marketing during these times of financial distress.

SMART marketing consists of the following:

S - Strategize
M - Maintain market spend
A - Assess and allocate the budget
R - Research your customer thoroughly
T - Target and reach out to them

Stand fast during this time. I can not stress to you the importance of seeing your marketing spend as an investment during this time and not an expense. Companies have survived difficult times and have come out strong. You don't have to take my word for it. I came a across a fantastic and informative study done by Penn State’s Smeal College of Business entitled Research: Proactive Marketing During Recession . All business owners should read this article. In this study they remind of us of companies that weathered the storm and succeeded. A few examples include:

• Procter and Gamble - During the Great Depression they pushed Ivory soap.
• Intel - In 1990-1991 during economic difficulty they pushed out the campaign "Intel Inside".
• Wal-mart - Walmart launched their "Every Day Low Prices" campaign in 2000-2001.

I am sure you recall all of these campaigns as I do. Even when there are difficult times well-positioned companies can in fact survive and thrive in them. It truly is about being SMART and taking marketing seriously now more than ever.

A major key is to know your consumer. Know them inside and out. Know what they think and know where they are. Know how these economic times are hitting them. Create your message around that pain. Reach out to them. Look and revise your product line if necessary. Look at developing lower cost solutions if possible. Be flexible, but at the same time be aware and always assessing.

Consider this - if you in fact cut your marketing budget, how will your consumers find you? You have severed your business lifeline and future hope of potential growth. Perhaps you have a secret that I'm not aware of and can reach that success without marketing. If you do I'm always willing to learn and I’d love to hear from you.

I stand with you during these times and wish you most prosperous marketing campaigns. Success can happen and it can be done, but marketing is involved.

In Case You Have to Cut, What to Cut First

If your boss, or your boss’s boss, demands that you cut your budget by 5% or 10% or even more, what would you cut first?

Here are some tips industry veterans shared that can give you a place to start – and where not to cut first:

• If you’ve measured your trade show program’s performance and can prove its success, be vocal about advocating for your program – don’t just take proposed blind cuts lying down.  “Measurement is your friend” as those who measure are twice as likely to keep their budgets.  Your corporate executives may want to reduce costs, but they will also recognize the value of bringing in revenue at a good ROI.
• Don’t panic, keep your head and you will survive this downturn – and yes, there is a downturn now and it will continue, but we don’t know for how long.
• Recognize that if there are fewer attendees at a show, the tire-kickers will be weeded out, so the higher-quality attendees will remain.  Your booth staffers will have an easier time getting higher-qualified leads.
• Trim booth space at bigger shows – especially if there are fewer attendees expected.
• Eliminate under-performing shows – assuming you’ve been measuring already and know which shows bring the least return for the cost.
• Rent your exhibit properties to avoid large capital expenditures and add flexibility.
• Move more towards modular exhibits to lower shipping, drayage, storage and refurbishing costs, plus provide greater flexibility to adapt to changes. 
• Don’t cut booth staffers unless you really expect to have too many in your booth.  For example, if you have a show that costs you $50,000 to exhibit at, and you trim 2 of your 8 staffers to save $2,000, you will cut your costs by only 4%, ($2,000 divided by $50,000) but potentially trim your leads by 25% (2 divided by 8).  That decreases your R.O.I. with minimal savings.
• Similarly, don’t automatically cut your pre-show and at-show promotions budgets unless you have been measuring and know they don’t bring much impact compared to their cost.  For example, if promotions have been only 10% of your budgets but bring in an additional 30% of your qualified leads, then trimming your promotions will actually reduce your ROI.