Exhibition stand cost
How to calculate return on a stand investment
Ömer Faruk Süer · Senior Sales Manager · 2 min read · Last updated:
Short answer
How do you calculate return on a fair investment?
Take the gross margin on business closed from the fair, subtract the total cost of attending and divide by that cost. For the sum to mean anything, three numbers must be written down before the show: the target number of qualified conversations, the conversation-to-quote conversion rate and the average order size. Post-show measurement without a pre-show target is just a story.
Three numbers to write down first
First, the target: how many qualified conversations. Qualified means a conversation of at least five minutes with someone close to the buying decision, who leaves contact details. Not everyone who walks past.
Second, conversion: what share of those conversations becomes a quote, and what share becomes an order. If you do not know the rate, derive it from past sales; keeping a separate rate for the fair channel is better still.
Third, average order size and gross margin. Margin, not turnover; a fair investment returns out of margin.
Both sides of the sum
The cost side takes all six items: rental, stand, power, freight, accommodation, staff. If you bought a reusable system, divide its cost by the number of fairs — charging the whole of it to the first show makes the investment look worse than it is.
The return side takes only business that came from the fair. A deal that started at the show and closed six months later still belongs to the fair, which is why the measurement window should be at least two quarters. How the stand type affects this is covered on the stand types page.
Return that resists the sum
Not every return fits the sum: face-to-face time with existing customers, seeing competitors’ stands, learning where the market prices sit, meeting a potential distributor. Forcing these into numbers is artificial; reporting them in writing under their own heading is enough.
But they should not be used to defend a budget when the measurable return is weak. A fair attended three years running on the grounds of "brand awareness" is probably the wrong fair.
How long should the measurement window be?
As long as your sales cycle. Two months is enough for short-cycle products; a capital equipment supplier needs six to twelve.
Over how many fairs should we spread the stand cost?
Over as many fairs as you plan to use the system. Three is a realistic assumption; the cost of renewing graphics is charged to each show separately.