CEIR has reported in the past that 79% of all trade show leads are never followed up.  That’s not missing pay dirt.  That’s throwing it away.  One measurement of trade show success is cost / lead.  Industry statistics say that number should be around $200.  What would you say to someone taking two crisp $100 bills and throwing them in the trash?  Oh yeah, and repeat that for every lead!  If your staff knew the value of a lead, do you think they would throw it away or treat it with kid gloves?

Before you can follow up, maybe you need to increase qualified leads at your custom trade show exhibit booths.  Are you looking for cost conscious trade show training?  Joyce McKee of Let’s Talk Trade Shows offers a Member’s Site.  She is on a mission to know, “Are leads from 2009 trade shows being followed up?”

“Is the trend for no follow-up after a trade show being REVERSED due to our current economic conditions?”

Share with us that you have a lead follow up strategy or not?  Are you implementing that strategy?  If you need help with your process, we know how to cut your trade show budget and sacrifice nothing.  Joyce is going to compile and share the results with us all.

Are your exhibit booths aesthetically pleasing?  Are your exhibit designs providing measurable revenues?  The business model at The Moran Group is to provide aesthetically pleasing and functional designs that go hand-in-hand with your overall marketing, sales and trade show strategies.

Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow, posted Return on Design.  In this post he talks about how design can have a negative impact:

If the design actively gets in the way of the story you tell or the utility you deliver, you lose money and share.

Godin also talks about designs that have no impact.  You may have aesthetically pleasing custom exhibits, but they have no effect on sales.

So what is your story?  What is your core message? This is where brand consultants maximize your trade show exhibit booths ROI.  In Stop qualifying leads and start qualifying you, messaging expert, Rita Coco states that we need to

…capture the value from your prospect’s point of view.

…done right, they will have already chosen you… this significantly reduces the time and effort required to close sales.

Godin ends his blog with this, and so will we:

Knowing where you stand and where you’re headed is critical.

…skimping on design is plain foolish.