How to Achieve Better ROI with Outdoor Displays
May 4, 2017 — When it comes to justifying your budgetary decisions, one of the hardest tasks is showing good ROI on investments into physical outdoor advertising. It’s difficult to tie purchases specifically to outdoor displays and related products, and in turn, that can make it hard to show a positive ROI – even if you know, intellectually, that outdoor displays contributed.
Much of the time, justifying the ROI on outdoor display products boils down to getting as much use out of them, specifically so they have as many opportunities as possible to contribute to sales. You may not be able to attach a specific dollar amount, as in “This pop-up display generated $10,000 in sales” but you can show how much use you’ve gotten out of specific products. It can also be useful to look for ways to lower the TCO of your investments as well, since that also contributes to the ROI.
Tips for Increasing the ROI on Your Outdoor Display Investments
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Pay for quality when it’s reasonably affordable
Outdoor advertising tends to take a beating, from the sun and the weather and various other factors beyond your direct control. There’s often an enormous difference in durability between the lowest-cost options and more expensive, but better-made products.
Unless you know for a fact that a piece of display equipment is intended to be one-use only – such as for a very specific promotion – it’s usually worth paying a little extra for better quality specifically because that allows pieces to be reused. On the other hand, if it is a one-and-done scenario, then don’t pay any more than is strictly necessary.
- Purchase with an eye towards reuse and repurposing
Trade show display equipment doesn’t have to only be used in trade shows. Items such as flags, banners, literature stands, and tabletop displays often have a wide variety of promotional uses even once the show is over. Flags and banners can be put just about anywhere. Literature stands or tabletop displays can easily go into your lobby. Even more expensive technology investments, such as into tablets or dot-matrix displays, can easily find new uses later.
When selecting outdoor trade show equipment, always be asking “What else could I do with this?” In a best-case scenario, one smart purchase could eliminate the need for multiple other purchases later down the line.
- Plan ahead with your storage decisions
Let’s say you’re buying equipment, such as tents or large pop-up displays, which you know you’ll only be using at trade shows and exhibitions. Further, you know you’ll be attending several shows in upcoming months which will use those pieces of equipment.
In this case, you often save significant money in storage by picking a single central location to store the equipment which is roughly equidistant from the various trade shows you’ll be attending. It allows you to negotiate one single storage rental fee, and have known costs for transporting the materials back and forth. You might even be able to cut a deal with a logistics provider in the same city as your storage space to handle all the shipment, saving more money in the long run.
On the subject of storage, don’t neglect properly storing your trade show materials! A little extra time and effort ensuring each piece is properly protected can easily add months or years to its effective lifespan.
- Utilize interactive digital elements on your outdoor displays
Want to try to get some idea how many people are influenced by your outdoor display materials? Use interactive elements such as QR codes which passers-by scan, in exchange for little freebies such as coupons. Since QR codes are trackable, you’ll have a solid count of how many people were interested enough to interact with the materials directly. That can go a long way towards demonstrating the overall value of your promotional investment.
- Check your exhibitor’s manual for freebies
Finally, before deciding what to purchase, be sure to read the exhibitor’s manual to find out what the venue is providing. Many shows, for example, include a table as part of the display package. So, instead of bringing a full pop-up display, you could instead just get a tabletop cover and a tabletop display – cutting your costs significantly.
Best Displays & Graphics Can Lower Your Trade Show Costs
Our all-in-one approach to trade show display design, construction, installation, and logistics can significantly cut investment costs. Contact us today to talk about how we can boost the ROI on your trade show appearances.
