When trying to achieve better results with fewer marketing resources, knowing that your exhibit program is achieving a positive ROI is crucial.
When you examine your results, you want to be sure you have answered the question, “How do we know if our exhibit program is doing what it is supposed to do?”
Simple measurement does not tell you the whole story. For example, if you set your objectives too low, meeting them does not really prove anything. If you set them too high and miss them, you still have an information shortfall. In either case, you do not have enough information on how to improve your performance in the future.
While there are excellent formulas and guidelines to help you set focused, measurable, and realistic objectives, it’s not an exact science.
One of the biggest mistakes many exhibitors make is going back to the same event year after year and doing the same thing. I am not suggesting you have to go back to the drawing board and start over each time, but subtle changes can often fix what is not working and strengthen what is. Effective evaluation will ensure that you know what changes to make.
There are two methods of evaluating your exhibit program that you might want to try, and the first is internal post-show evaluation.
There are many people associated with the show who would be able to provide meaningful feedback on your exhibit performance. These can include your staff, senior executives, show management, or suppliers. Prior to the show, contact the people you would like feedback from and ask if they are up to the challenge. Then send them a list of the criteria you are interested in getting feedback on.
Criteria can include such things as:
- How you compared to the competition
- The look of your booth (eg signage, lighting, general appearance)
- The flow of the booth
- The use of draws, giveaways, and collateral
- The proficiency of your booth staff
- The quality of the event visitors
- The quality of the show as a whole
- The quality of related activities such as the show’s educational seminars
Give each item a scale of one to five, with one being less than satisfactory and five being excellent. Then create a form which includes all the questions and evaluation criteria you want your volunteers to look at. Remember to also include an area for additional comments and observations.
Prior to the show, send the form to each person who has volunteered to help, along with instructions on how it is to be completed and when it is to be returned to you.
As soon as the show is over, get in touch with each person and ask for their feedback.
With information from a number of different perspectives, you can analyse your overall performance and identify your strengths and weaknesses.
A second method for evaluating your show is an independent evaluation.
This type of evaluation can be described by a variety of names, including mystery shopping, booth auditing, or performance auditing. Regardless of the label, the procedure is the same.
You contract with an experienced independent consultant who will work with you to create the criteria, visit your booth and your competitors’ booths as a show attendee, and report back on how you fared with respect to the criteria.
Using an outside consultant means you will receive unbiased information. After the show, the consultant will provide you with a quantitative report on how you measured up—based on the weighting of your criteria—and a qualitative report based on personal observations. The report should also include photographs. The results of this independent evaluation will help you set benchmarks for future performance.
Both techniques work well. You can choose one or the other or both—it all depends on how seriously you wish to evaluate your trade show program.
Either of these evaluation options will provide you with many constructive ideas to incorporate into your future plans. Take the information you glean and file it somewhere where it is easily accessible when you are planning your next show.