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Your Exhibition Budget Needs to Consider these 7 Crucial Aspects

Preparing a detailed and accurate budget plan is one of the critical considerations for exhibitions. It needs to be readied soon after you define your exhibition participation objectives and plan for the event participation.

While several factors influence your budgeting, the type of exhibition you are attending, and partnering with the right exhibition stand company can help you plan better and more precisely while considering all the fixed and variable costs.

That being said, here are some of the crucial aspects for chalking out a failsafe budget plan for an exhibition:

• The Space Rental – Space rentals are fixed amounts that you need to pay to secure a stand at the show. This includes paying for your choice of booth space, meeting-room space, advanced deposits for using various facilities (for example, usage of conference rooms can be an additional charge), etc. You will require to pay this sum upfront and register for the event.
• Exhibit Structure – The next significant expense is the exhibit structure. While budgeting for this, think about the design of the exhibit, how you are building/refurbishing it, graphic design/production, tax on the materials, storage, rentals A/V, carpet, computer-equipment, floral, furniture cleaning costs, custom signage, and insurance. Complex, large structures will incur more expenses as opposed to simple, smaller ones due to more materials and talent involved in creating them. Do ask your exhibition design partner for a detailed breakup of all such costs.
• Shipping – Shipping costs can have a significant impact on your overall exhibition budget. For instance, a domestic trade show will be easier on your pockets due to low shipping charges while an international trade show will be a costlier affair. You need to consider factors such as ground transportation to and from the show and air/sea freight to and from the show.
• Show Services – There are certain expenses that you need to pay for on-site work. These include (electrical), exhibitor badges, plumbing/compressed air, riggers, security, Wi-Fi. However, since different exhibitions have different terms and conditions, check with the organizers to know the details and costs of these services. An exhibition stand company who has handled domestic as well as international exhibitions can manage all these logistical aspects for you.
• Promotion – To ensure the success of your exhibition, you need to promote it as much as you can. The budget for promotional activities include but are not limited to advertising, customer hospitality, direct mailers, exhibition-specific incentives/premiums/ offers, product/ service literature, management of mailing, production of various presentations, press kits/materials, and even event-specific sponsorships.

Promotional costs are as important as the cost of the exhibition stand as these can make or break your participation in the event. You can get an idea about the costs by taking a look at similar exhibitions and how various brands (including your competitors) promoted their exhibits.

• Personal Expenses – Next up on our list is personnel expenses. This will include all the salaries to be paid to the professionals, staff training costs, pre-show dinners, special attire/uniform for the booth staff, transportation, accommodation, food/entertainment, etc. In addition to this, you may also need to pay for temporary personnel.
• Lead Gathering/Fulfillment – If one of the main objectives of your exhibition participation is lead generation, then you need to have a proper system in place to capture the leads properly so that your sales team can take it forward post the exhibition. Some of the expenses this particular step encompasses printing the lead forms, printing the cover letter, on-site lead-capture equipment rental, postage costs, labor, etc.

Miscellaneous costs: Apart from these expenses, you also need to have some costs for miscellaneous or unexpected activities. This can be your contingency budget for things you didn’t see coming. What if you end up meeting potential business partner in the exhibition and have to go for dinner to network with them? Even crew overtime, additional catering, printing more collaterals when you run out of them, are some of the unforeseen costs that you may need to cover. So, it is better to assign at least 10-15% of the budget allocation to these extra expenses.

With a realistic budget in place and a well-thought-out strategy, nothing can stop you from ensuring the success of your exhibition participation. Need a hand with getting more details about how you can chalk out a budget for your next event? Benefit from our experience in a large variety of domestic and international exhibitions. Get in touch with us!

You can also download this Exhibition Budget Sheet prepared by one of the best exhibition stand companies in India!

Niloy Debnath

Niloy Debnath is the Founder and Director of First Rain. Having an MBA in marketing and an experience of more than 15 years in production, Niloy meticulously plans the execution of all the projects. He is skilled in project planning, scheduling tasks and delivering projects with zero hassle to the clients. His attention to detail and onsite solutions have always upped the exhibiting experience for our clients.