Track These 5 Metrics to Determine if Your Trade Show Was a Success

Exhibit design

A lot of separate factors go into hosting an exhibit at a trade show, so it is sometimes difficult to determine how successful the show is unless you specifically track the details. Here are a few things you should take note of in order to measure your overall success.

  1. Number of booth visitors: You don?t necessarily need to know the exact number, but having a close estimate can provide you with some valuable information. When you track the number of visitors and compare with previous years or previous shows, you will be able to judge each show?s effectiveness and figure out how you can improve for the next one.
  2. Number of leads: This one seems relatively obvious and pretty straightforward. In order for the sales team to follow up with hot leads, it is essential that you keep track of them. Not only should you note the number of generated leads, but you should also take down as much information about them as possible. Another great tip is to categorize your leads into three levels: hot, warm, and cool. That way, the sales team can prioritize.
  3. Number of new leads: This metric is slightly different than the previous one since it singles out brand new potential clients, rather than those you?ve had contact with before.
  4. Number of new customers: Make sure you keep track of how many new leads turned into new clients because of the trade show.
  5. Budget: It is extremely important to keep track of how much you spend and what percentage of the budget is allocated to different aspects of your exhibit. For instance, how much did you spend on custom exhibit design services? We all know that having excellent trade show exhibit designs is essential, but did the cost put you over budget? Today, the average company allocates just over 31% of its total marketing budget to events and exhibiting. Make sure you keep track of your investment.

Once you?ve collected all of these numbers you can calculate your return on investment to determine if the trade show was a success (in financial terms, at least). To measure your ROI, divide your net profit over three, six, and 12 months by the net profit from the show.