Budget expo idea

So you've managed to negotiate yourself some cheap expo space at about a 10th of the price of other exhibitors...now what do you do with your stand??

This was the question a friend was facing, who is also a marketing consultant. The other exhibitors were big companies with big budgets. So their stands would look rather flash.

So I suggested going back to marketing basics ...make the stand about your visitors, not about you. I suggested we brainstorm 100 or so quick "marketing ideas" that we could "paper" the walls of her stand with. That way, people would hopefully stop and read - then engage with her - rather than just wander past.

So, how did it look and how did it work? I've included a picture in this post. It actually looked pretty good, and cost around $10 in production. And how did it work? She got 23 leads in 2 days - and she only needs 3-4 to turn into business to make it a worthwhile exercise.

Yet again proving - a little bit of tenacity and creative thinking beats a big budget every time.

So next time you're doing an expo, rather than fill your stand with posters and logos about you - why not make the space about EDUCATING your market. Cheaper AND more effective.