You may have given careful thought to the merits of exhibiting your business at a trade show. Be assured that it is one of the most rewarding forms of marketing and well worth all the effort.

Success comes from well thought out planning, an inspiring strategy and a comprehensive budget allowing for all the variables involved.

Whether you need pop-up banners, brochures or posters, we can help you plan and budget for a successful trade show with this easy to follow guide.

How To Budget For A Trade Show

At Eazy Print we provide all the materials needed to make your trade show one to remember! But we also want to help you create the absolute best experience possible for your visitors and also for your staff.

That’s why we’ve compiled this handy guide on how best to budget for your trade show – so we can share our experience and hopefully make life a little easier for you! So go ahead, read on for our tried and tested breakdown on how to budget for a trade show…

Exhibition Stand – 40 %

It might seem like a large chunk of your budget, but imagine paying for floor space and then having nothing to show for it! Attending an exhibition or trade show isn’t enough to get noticed, and renting floor space doesn’t guarantee visitors. It’s the exhibition stand that will draw the crowds, catch the eye and ultimately promote your product or service. So the largest chunk should be spent on your stand, complete with plinth, graphics and additional complementary desktop displays.

Staffing – 20 %

Staffing is absolutely essential to a successful trade show. It’s important to pick experienced, professional and proactive staff that are used to communicating well with potential customers or clients.

It’s therefore a good idea to look for a promotional agency like Coalition for your staffing. Companies like this tend to provide work for performers – meaning they are very experienced, confident and can easily memorise a script!

If you’re looking to cut costs, you can staff internally – but make sure your colleagues will present your brand in the best way possible. Don’t forget: if you’re bringing staff from a different city or even country you will need to provide accommodation, increasing your costs.

Services- 20 %

Services should cover the floor space and general venue hire that allows you to promote at this particular exhibition. Generally, space is sold by the square foot and is very expensive. Although it’s tempting to blow your budget on a bigger space, really bigger isn’t always better. It’s much more prudent to have a small, well put-together and visually appealing stand, than a large empty one.

Promotions – 10%

Set aside 10 percent of your budget for your promotional material. This could be anything from leaflets and flyers to online campaigns and social media advertising. Advertise your attendance at the trade show and make sure to promote yourself well when there.

It’s also a good idea to create some freebies – as stands with giveaway merch are much more likely to be popular. Make sure your giveaways are branded with your logo and are useful: a notepad, for example, is always a good giveaway as you can guarantee it will be engaged with at some point. The more the viewer sees your branding, the more reinforced it is in their minds. Then they’ll be much more likely to consider your specific brand, should the need arise.

Shipping – 10%

Once you got your eye-catching stand and your engaging marketing materials, you’ll need to get it all to you and to the venue! These things always end up costing more than initially imagined, so budget 10% and you’ll find you probably have some money left over. Still, better to be safe than sorry!

Add a 5% contingency

The more eagle eyed of you will have added up our pie chart and seen it comes to a nice round… 105%! Although we’ve now reached 100% budget, we’d recommend you have a 5% contingency amount at the ready just in case. You shouldn’t need it – but emergencies happen and you wouldn’t want to be caught out, especially if the trade show is a serious distance from your company base.

Should you need any help or advice on creating your perfect exhibition stand or promotional materials, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team today!

Download the trade show planning and budgeting infographic by clicking on the image below.