Sensible Marketing for Small Business

As you know, I’m not big on events and trade shows. They’re expensive and it can be hard to break through the noise on the show floor. Especially at a big show like the recent ad:tech in San Francisco, where I managed an exhibit for a freelance client recently. A 15-person startup that just completed a small first round of funding. They mandated that I break out my “Tradeshow Tightwad” persona and keep everything on a shoestring budget.  From my experience doing shows since the pre-bubble days of the late 90′s and early 2000′s, there was one thing I could always count on—sticker shock with exhibitor storage fees.

When trade show manager’s budget for the ongoing expense of their programs, they look at the amortized cost of exhibit properties, ongoing changes to exhibit graphics, technology upgrades to equipment, and refurbishing expenses. But they often forget the cost incurred when they’re not using their exhibits – storage fees. Trust me, costs to store exhibits can count up quickly; even if you don’t have a big booth. To minimize your storage expenses, it’s important to understand all of your options.

Six tips to help you cut costs (without sacrificing convenience)

1. Don’t store unnecessary items

Your most expensive exhibit properties are the ones you’re paying to store that you’ll never use again. Many of us are pack rats – storing things we might need again in fear that we’ll throw out something valuable.

The first step toward streamlining storage is to compile a comprehensive list of everything you have in storage, including the type of container (crates, pallets, cases, or loose pieces) and each piece’s dimensions and weights.  Assess whether containers can be stacked and whether pad-wrapped pieces can be palletized and banded so they can stack more easily to save space and money.

Then jettison all outdated graphics, literature for long-dead products, exhibit properties in your old corporate color, and any heavy, old, damaged shipping crates that will likely cost more to repair and reuse than they’re worth. If you have empty crates or cases that aren’t too damaged to reuse, try to nest smaller exhibit properties or cartons in the larger ones. If you’re paying by the cubic foot and not by weight, nesting will reduce your storage costs considerably. When they’re in storage, four large crates that I use to ship computer racks to shows hold my stacked theater chairs, a small refrigerator, a vacuum cleaner, wastebaskets, and folding bistro tables and chairs. Nesting those items inside the large crates cuts my storage bill in half. 

2. Familiarize yourself with all of your storage options.

The majority of exhibitors store their properties in exhibit-house warehouses. This may not be the least expensive option, but it does offer you services you won’t get elsewhere. These can include any of the following services: Pulling, inspecting, and prepping your selected exhibit properties before each trade show; Tracking your inventory; Checking your exhibit’s condition upon its return from each show; Providing a shipping manifest with the items to be shipped and their dimensions, which you can use to request shipping-cost quotes; Packing your shipment to protect it in transit to trade shows; Preparing shipping labels and loading and unloading the shipment for transportation. I could go on and on. You would be surprised at the hidden fees these vendors can come up with—especially if it is a market where a labor union is in place!

3. Understand the various methods of storage-fee calculation.

Different storage facilities use different methods to calculate exhibit-storage costs. Make sure you understand exactly how you’re being charged, so you can avoid unnecessary charges and pack your items in the most cost-effective way.  Some exhibit houses charge “per cube” or for each cubic foot of property stored. (A cubic foot equals 1,728 cubic inches.) Be sure you know if you’re being charged only for the true cubic volume being stored, or if the storage facility is charging you for the footprint on the floor and the entire “air space” up to the facility’s ceiling, referred to as floor to ceiling pricing.

Ask the storage facility how accurately it calculates; some will round up the weight to the next hundred pounds – similar to the hundredweight (CWT) you’re charged by the general contractor for material handling – or round up to the nearest foot dimension on each of the three dimensions (height, length, and width), which will exponentially increase your storage costs without adding value. Also ask if there is a minimum charge per month or per quarter for storage. If so, you may be charged for more space than you actually use.

4. Understand storage extras.

Always ask what additional services, such as exhibit maintenance, inventory tracking, and show preparation, are available or included in your storage costs. Get this list in writing. Storage facilities often charge higher rates for property stored in warehouses that are climate controlled or are monitored 24/7 by security. Storage spaces with easy access can cost more than upper-floor or decked storage.

Exhibit houses might also charge a fee each time you need access to your exhibit properties, each time you need to inventory your exhibit in preparation for shipment to a show, to load and unload your exhibit on your chosen carrier, and to check for damage and repair your properties.

5. Negotiate your storage rates and fees.

Make storage an integral part of your overall negotiations, whether you’re renegotiating an existing contract with your current exhibit house or storage facility or looking for a new exhibit-storage partner. Determine the hourly and fixed costs for all services the facility can provide, and negotiate for the services you’ll need based on the value of the services and the value of your business to the storage facility.

Ask if you’ll be charged for labor plus materials and equipment, and whether or not any of the services the storage facility supplies are considered turnkey. This means that the facility will take care of all the details but add an additional 25 to 30 percent to the base costs.  Since a majority of these items are negotiable, it’s better to come to an agreement up front, when the ball is in your court and you have more leverage.

6. Audit your storage invoices.

Now, I am a very trusting guy….ask anyone! But, not when it comes to trade show vendors.  When you receive your storage invoice, which usually comes quarterly, check it thoroughly for accuracy. Make sure that it matches your contractual rates and correctly reflects the proper inventory and dimensions of the properties you have in storage.   The best way to avoid being overcharged is to be vigilant. If you simply write the check without auditing the invoice, you’ll never know if you’re overpaying…or not.

P.S. Yesterday I came across a good post from another Los Angeles startup exhibited at ad:tech. Frank Addante, CEO and co-founder of the Rubicon Project, explains how to “Make a Big Splash without Spending Big Cash“. Be sure to check out his blog.

“Build it and they will come” doesn’t apply to your trade show booth.

Given that trade shows represent 18.6 percent of the typical business-to-business (B2B) marketing budget, according to a Business Marketing Association poll, investing in targeted pre- and post-show promotions should be a priority.

The most effective (and least expensive) way to do this is with email marketing. But with CAN-SPAM and other international privacy laws preventing many trade show companies from giving out attendee email addresses and phone numbers, whats a marketer to do?

If you’re given a pre-reg list with only Name, Job Title and Company—with no phone or email address, there is a solution–email appending. Email appending matches email addresses to database/postal records allowing you to append missing email addresses to the trade show attendee list. One service I have used for several years is Email Appenders and have been very happy with the results. The deliverability rate of their email addresses is higher than most but they seem to be best suited for larger company contacts, and not small businesses (who may not have their own domain email address).

Ideal trade show promotions use a series of contacts, leveraging multiple media channels such as a phone call to targeted attendees who you want to meet and a series of pre and post-show emails to entice them to your booth for a demo, to register for a give-a-way or to follow up after the event.

P.S.  Check my “Secrets of a Tradeshow Tightwad” article at EXHIBITOR Magazine where I explain how to score an (almost) free ride at your next tradeshow.