It’s a fact that exhibitions are expensive, there is no getting away from that. However, there are many ways in which you can reduce the cost and increase the return on your investment!
Value for money has become the mantra for both small and large organizations in the past few years. Over the years we have picked up many money saving ideas and thought we would share a few of them with you.
The best piece of advice I give any of my clients is this: If you want to save money, prepare everything for your exhibition well in advance.
Booking your stand space in advance is a great money saving tip! It usually means you can get “early bird” discounts. However be careful that they are not just telling you that they are giving you a discount to get the sale. Do your research, and if you attended the exhibition last year use how much you paid that year as a yard stick. Negotiate hard, there is always room for maneuver!
Next on your list should be your stand itself. Getting your stand designed and produced months in advance means that your design and build company can fill gaps in production over weeks and months and not have to stop all other production to get your stand built in a week. You can save somewhere in the region of 10% on your overall bill by giving your contractor months not days to produce your stand.
Look for a company that offers a free exhibition stand design service. A lot of companies will ask for an initial payment just produce you a visual. Why should you pay for something which is actually just an opportunity for companies to pitch for your business, by showing how creative and innovative their designs are? Here are details of our free design service and I would be delighted to take your call and discuss your stand with you.
Finally, make sure you know which of your staff are going to be attending the exhibition and make sure they know. So many times we have seen companies assume that their staff will all be available on the exhibition dates, only to find out a week before that they cannot make it. This then means using companies specialising in event and exhibition staff, and remember you are already paying your staff’s salaries. This really is an added expense you could do without!
So as the saying goes…
“To be prepared is half the victory” – Miguel De Cervantes
