Space – your piece of trade fair real estate comes at a cost.  That cost will likely vary by exhibition type and scope.  Some fairs rent their space for a flat fee, while others calculate by the square foot.

Exhibition Stand, Graphics and Accessories – Many companies invest in a modular exhibition stand that allows them to use different pieces for different exhibitions, depending on the space they occupy.  Modular exhibition stands can be updated easily with graphics that change according to the venue or audience.  You should also calculate expenses for brochure racks, furniture, lighting and other necessary accessories.

Freight and Drayage – The cost of shipping your exhibition stand from one venue to the next, or back to the warehouse, can be done via air or ground.  Large exhibition stand vendors like Discount Displays are often able to provide the best shipping rates because of the volume of business they provide to the shipping companies.  Drayage is the charge that the on-site venue assesses for moving your equipment from the loading dock to the show floor.

Utilities – Each venue will assess charges for providing power to your exhibition stand.

Labour – Some venues required that you use their personnel to set up your exhibition stand; others will allow you to furnish your own labour.  Whichever it is, be sure to include it in your exhibition fair budget.

Staff – Your trade fair budget should include the expense of staffing your exhibition stand during the run of each show.

Travel and Entertainment – Calculate these costs carefully and advise your staff of what you have budgeted unless you like being surprised.

Promotions – Budget for any giveaways or trade fair promotions and assign the cost to each show so you can track the ROI by venue.

Now is the perfect time for marketers to renew their trade fair exhibition planning and re-examine how their trade fair marketing goals can contribute again to their bottom line:

Trade Fair Selection – which trade fairs you decide to attend should reflect how your organization and your customer base might have changed over the past three years.  You may have abandoned unprofitable product lines or entered new markets – does your list of trade fairs reflect these changes?  You should examine each trade fair on your schedule to ensure it still meets your needs and gets your company in front of the right audience.

Marketing Goals – if your company’s product and market focus has changed in the last few years, you need to ensure that your exhibition marketing objectives align with the overall marketing goals of your company.

Marketing Budget – if your trade fair budget was severely cut in recent years and the current budget has only been partially restored, you should re-examine every aspect of your exhibition budget to be sure it is being spent wisely.

Exhibit Design – if you stopped attending trade fairs and exhibitions, chances are that your old exhibition stand is now off-message and out of date.   Rather than trying to make the old pieces fit your new reality, it may be time to consult with a good exhibition stand design company to see what a new exhibition stand design can do for you.  There have been many new developments in exhibition stand design that can make an investment in a new trade fair booth cost-effective.

For more information on choosing the right exhibition stand display and graphics to help you maximize your marketing investment, visit our website or call us on 0844 800 1020.

Discount Displays has a new range of bunting flags in time for the summer season, so here is a brief overview of the different types of bunting and some practical uses.

Economy Party Bunting

This type of bunting is usually made from a poly PVC material, making it lightweight and also cheaper for the end consumer. Perfect for garden parties, a childs birthday and BBQ’s.

Outdoor Event Bunting

This type of bunting is aimed at customers that want longer term use, where regular use or adverse weather can take a toll on normal flag bunting. Ideally used at trade shows and fairs, this bunting is also ideal for fetes or places where the pennants are hung for an extended period of time.

Custom Printed Bunting

This is the ultimate type of bunting when branding really matters, or if you just want to display a personal message. Using in-house design and printing, this material can be printed on in full colour inks that are fade-resistant.

For more ideas on how to improve your outdoor event visit Discount Displays.

In response to this, one UK company has answered the need for cost-effective point of sale graphics and retail display equipment by leveraging its 17 years of industry experience and buying power to launch a website that offers retailers a variety of low cost options for signage and display equipment: www.discountdisplays-express.co.uk.

By investing in state-of-the-art printing equipment, the company can offer eco-friendly POS display printing at a low cost for banners, posters, retail signs, window stickers and floor graphics.

The website also offers discounted pricing on retail display equipment, including:

A Boards and Pavement Signs — Next day delivery on a huge range of versatile retail displays, including Poster A boards, swinging signs, chalk boards, and forecourt signs.

Printed Banners and Flags – Eco-friendly Banner printing using odourless inks for indoor banners, outdoor banners, mesh or canvas banners.

Café Barriers and Retail Queue Solutions — Cafe barriers and pedestrian crowd control barriers made from high quality stainless steel, and featuring large stocks for next day delivery.

Retail Display Stands — Display poster holders and stands, information displays and merchandising display stands that are ideal for shops and retail outlets.

Shop and Retail Signs — Magnetic signs, sale signs, door signs, and other POS promotional signs, custom printed for indoor or outdoor use.

Banner Stands – Cost effective, high impact banner stands, including retractable banner stands, roller banner stands and more.

Thousands of display products are currently in stock for next-day delivery. For more information, visit the website or call 0844 800 1020.

The good news is that attending trade fairs that attract targeted prospects for your products or services is already a job half done.  The prospects are there and are in the right frame of mind to listen to your marketing message.

So what is the best way to turn those prospects into buyers?

Qualify Your Leads – just by talking with many of the visitors to your exhibition stand will help you weed out the hot prospects.  The important part is remembering who they are after a day or two of talking to scores of visitors.  There are technological solutions available, including lead retrieval software and badge scanners with custom qualifiers that help you keep track of your best prospects.  At the very least, a paper lead form will allow you to jot a few notes to remind yourself of the important leads.

Rate Your Leads – it can be as simple as hot, warm or cold, but however you do it, rating your trade fair leads will give your sales team the important information they need to know on who to follow up with first.

Hand Off Your Leads – don’t wait until after the trade fair is over before distributing your leads to your sales group or that hot lead could start to cool.  Hand off your best leads at the end of each day and get a jump on wrapping up the sale.

Stay in Touch with Your Leads – send an email to all your exhibition stand visitors to thank them for dropping by and ask if they have any immediate needs.  Consider setting up an auto responder series of emails to stay in touch over the next few months.

Of course, the best way to increase trade show sales is by having an exhibition stand that displays your products best and delivers an impactful marketing message – something you can obtain easily by contacting Discount Displays on 0844 800 1020 or by visiting our website.

Sometimes all you need is a blank wall to attract attention. Online billing company Freshbooks made their exhibition stand a blank canvas and hired an artist to create a mural during the run of the show. Visitors were stopped in their tracks, and came back each day to watch the mural take shape, giving Freshbooks sales personnel ample time to talk about their product.
Need more ideas for making a great trade fair appearance? Visit our website or call us on 0844 800 1020.

Durability. If you want an exhibition stand that will last, invest in one made from the highest quality materials like strong, lightweight aluminium for frame durability and M1 fire-rated fabric that will not crease, score or buckle.

Quality graphics. Attention-getting graphics are a must for trade show exhibits. Look for an exhibition stand supplier that has invested in state-of-the-art large format graphics printing equipment, like Discount Displays, which has environment-friendly large format printers that utilize water-soluble Latex inks for rich colour saturation and an environmentally-friendly printing process that eliminates the release of hazardous pollutants.

Low cost of ownership. In today’s economic environment, marketers are under increasing pressure to maximize the ROI from their trade fair budgets.  Look for exhibition stands that are lightweight and designed for easy set-up, which will help you save on delivery and labour costs.

Scalability. Modular displays can be reconfigured for smaller trade show displays, and can integrate with each other to create larger exhibits.

Superior warranty. Your trade fair exhibition stand investment should be fully protected with a long-term warranty covering manufacturer defects.  For example, Discount Displays’ exhibition stands carry a 10-year manufacturers’ warranty, the best in the industry.

After-sale support. When setting up a trade fair exhibit, you need ready access to assistance whenever you need it.  Along with next-day delivery and worldwide shipping, Discount Displays offers set-up and teardown services so the expert service you need is always there.

For more information on trade exhibition stands, visit our website or call on 0844 800 1020.

Quality – choosing a graphics supplier with in-house large format printing capabilities ensures that your exhibition stand graphics will be top quality, since the vendor will have total control over the printing process.  Ask to see samples of the same size graphics you will be featuring in your trade fair exhibition stand; better yet, ask if they have a showroom so you can see the level of quality that will go into making your entire display an impactful statement of your branding strategy.

Experience – there is no substitute for experience, so choosing a vendor with many years of large format printing experience – especially if you don’t have much yourself – can help you save time and money.  Most experienced large format printing suppliers also offer their customers in-house design services, and post easy-to-understand instructions for formatting and uploading artwork via the Internet on their website.

Delivery – outstanding graphics suppliers pride themselves on delivering their products on time, every time and understand that missing a deadline is simply not an option.  Reputable vendors will offer delivery of your exhibition stand displays and graphics directly to your trade fair site and will assist you with set-up and teardown.  Going with a “one-stop shop” like Discount Displays virtually ensures you will have an on-time, trouble-free experience.

Price – exhibition graphics suppliers who serve a large volume of customers are generally able to provide better pricing since they purchase materials in bulk.  Look for vendors who have already invested in the latest technology large format printing and production processes, which save both time and money and allow them to offer more competitive pricing to their clients.

For more insight into choosing the right exhibition display graphics supplier, contact the experts at Discount Displays on 0844 800 1020 or visit our website.  Operating from a 7,000 sq. ft. factory in Croydon on the outskirts of London, Discount Displays has been in business for over 17 years and are specialists in large format printing, with a large in-house production facility and a 2,000 sq. ft. showroom that displays our comprehensive product line.