8 Cost Saving Tips for Your Next Trade Show Exhibit

Exhibiting at a trade show is an important business opportunity for companies. However, it is also a big expense. Often the expense of exhibiting is a calculated risk. Mitigating that risk will help make exhibiting at trade shows more affordable.

1. Consider Renting Your Booth: There are companies that offer booth rentals. You can save on shipping, storage, and not have to lay out a large investment to purchase booth equipment.
2. Design a Reusable Graphics: Even though you may not be able to completely reuse everything, if you design things that can be at least partially reused. This will keep your booth fresh at each event without having to spend time and money recreating everything.
3. Shop for Free Shipping: Shop online for supplies and booth materials at big box stores that offer low prices and free shipping. Then sell off the booth including the display or donate it and take the tax right off.
4. Choose Centrally Located Storage: Rather than bringing or shipping the contents of your booth to each trade show, calculate the most central location for shipping so that each time you can send the contents of your booth back to the central location for less.
5. Use Models: Rather than shipping all of the heavy samples, create lightweight models or use digital models to illustrate the details of your products instead.
6. Eliminate the Need for Rigging: Instead of designing the setup with truss and rigging to light your booth, set up the fixtures themselves to include the lighting. This will eliminate the cost of having an electrician set up the lighting at every trade show.
7. Bring Your Own Supplies: When you bring your own supplies for setting up the booth, you will save a great deal on the mark up prices on supplies at the trade show.
8. Offer Wrapped Food: If you are giving away food at your booth to attract attendees or as part of a promotion, using pre-wrapped or packaged foods will help you avoid having to use the convention-center caterers.