In many industries, participation and visibility at the right trade show can make a big difference in the bottom line. Trade shows are the places where businesses go to see and be seen, they are where new ideas in products and services are usually brought out for initial public showings and test runs.
While not all trade shows are expensive, they do carry a cost that many businesses might not have adequately forecasted into annual budgeting. There are travel and accommodations, promotional and follow-through costs to consider. Yet even with some flexible costs assumed, every trade show should have a measurable budget and this budget can be forecasted well before the actual event takes place.
How to Use a Merchant Cash Advance for Trade Show Participation
If your small business could benefit from attending a specific industry trade show, it may make sense to consider using a Merchant Cash Advance to secure the business capital needed to make it a true success.
Get There: Use a Merchant Cash Advance to handle your costs for travel and registration. Knowing the basic costs of the trade show are covered will help you to relax and get more from the experience.
Look Sharp: If you are presenting your goods or services, maybe it is time to invest in a new trade show booth. Create new graphic banners or invest in flat screen televisions on which to loop your messaging. Revamp your hand-outs and printed collateral to make your materials look as sharp as your ideas. You might pay for improving or developing a new online presence to capture your leads.
Reel ‘em In: Even the most dignified trade shows often have an almost carnival-like appeal. So what’s your hook? How do you plan to get them into your booth? A little investment can go a long way toward creating the buzz that brings them in. Rent a popcorn machine, a chocolate fountain, buy a few door prizes, hire models for help or try something really unique and memorable—you are limited only by your imagination.
Follow-Through: To make a trade show successful, you need to follow-through on your leads. Follow-through is made easier if you plan ahead and carve out a little budget to be able to reach out with the right second impression. You don’t want to stimulate interest and then leave them wanting…have your next steps built and ready for action.
One nice aspect of using a Merchant Cash Advance to pay for a trade show experience is that your business will not have to divert other budgets to the efforts. By carefully monitoring and isolating your expenditures and their returns, your ROI becomes easier to calculate. Trade show participation, like all marketing expenses, should be avoided if you can’t pencil-out a reasonable rate of return on the investment you are planning to make.
Looking at strategic trade shows as an opportunity to grow your business makes it easy to see how a Merchant Cash Advance often makes a smart choice for the business capital needed to get it all done.
What do you think? Are there some trade shows you'll be attending in 2009? What do you hope to gain from attendance?
