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Budgeting Advice For The Bottom Line
How to budget for a successful exhibit marketing program
volume #1, article #4
By Dianne Smirl, CME-Designate
The word "budget" can strike fear in the hearts of even the most seasoned marketers. It shouldn’t. A well-planned budget will ensure that you have everything you need to have a successful exhibit marketing program. Here are some guidelines to developing a useful budget:
Know What Makes 'Em Tick
Know and understand the needs of the individual(s) who approves your budget. Certain details and justifications may be required in order to get the approval, so know them in advance and place them in your budget. This will make for a smoother approval process. As well, use the same budget format from year-to-year, so that it’s easy to do comparisons. There are many software tools to choose from to help you develop and track your budget. These range from a basic spreadsheet program to more specialized software such as Show Go, Show Event Tracking and Traq It. The advantage of the latter applications is that they are designed specifically to help you manage your entire exhibit marketing program efficiently. They are very comprehensive and allow you to track and manage your program in a "real time" environment.
Organize Your Budget By Show
Organizing your budget by each event allows you to easily identify each one’s level of success or failure when calculating your individual and overall return on investment (ROI). You can then compare the leads and sales from one show to the other, identify variations in same cost categories (i.e. booth space), and make adjustments for the future.
Add A Heavy Dose of Data
Capture each and every cost to your program, no matter how irrelevant they may seem. A detailed budget protects you from exceeding it and accurately reflects your true cost of exhibiting. Include all expenses related to promotions, exhibit materials, graphics, booth spaces, sponsorships, travel, accommodations, meals, staffing, training, shipping, logistics, and show services. By breaking down your spending, you gain a much better understanding of where your money is going, and where future savings can be realized. Keep in mind that some show organizers require deposits to be paid 12 to 18 months in advance. This can have a dramatic impact on your budget if not planned for.
Become A Disciple of Your Budget
Once you’ve developed your budget and it has been approved, challenge yourself to work within its parameters. Check your actual spending against it regularly, not once or twice a year. This way, you are able to evaluate your spending immediately and can ensure that you are staying consistent with your budget. The last thing you need is having to explain at year’s end why you completely blew your budget! Budgets are a great way to plan for a successful exhibit marketing program. By plugging in all the expected expenses related to your program, you can quickly judge if you are on track with your spending for the year. You can also run comparisons of the shows you are exhibiting in and crunch out numbers to show what is working and what isn’t. This information will help you greatly in planning for each future event!
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