Today's CMO is frequently asked to develop a set of operating metrics that measure the success of specific marketing channels against the marketing plan. After vigorously scratching my head asking myself why do I need to develop history lessons for display in front of the entire organization, and being dissatisfied with any result, I set out to measure our trade show marketing program.
The problem with trade shows is that while the lead flow and revenue that resulted from the show is "easily" measurable, other important aspects of show attendance such as customer meetings that take place are not...until now.
ExhibitorOnline has a great article by Ed Jones on best practices in trade show measurement. In addition to revenue, the article provides a methodology for measuring cost savings (cost of customer visits that require an independent trip), CRM impact (impact on prospects that attended the show) and promotion (impressions against prospects).
Thanks for sharing that article on ExhibitorOnline. Many exhibitors don't have an established goal for the event and, therefore, can't clearly measure their success. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Smash Hit Displays | August 18, 2011 at 10:33 PM
This is the best article I've seen on using quantitative metrics to measure the ROI impact of trade shows and events. The article shows that it is possible to capture the full value, both quantitative and qualitative.
Posted by: Jeff Grill | August 24, 2011 at 01:43 PM