Budgeting for Trade Shows: Cost-Effective Solutions for Event Organisers
Trade show budgeting is what makes event management work. A strong budget keeps your operation on track, gives your organising team certainty and guides decision-making. Exhibition budgeting can also help you keep track of your contingencies and predict your ROI.
Key Cost Considerations for Exhibitions
On average, trade show budgets are around 3x – 4x the cost of your venue hire.
So if the venue hire cost for the duration is £10,000, the total budget should be £30,000 – £40,000. These proportions can set the standard for the rest of your budget.
Venue hire
It is worth choosing a quote for a venue first and using this as a rough guide for the rest of your budget.
Exhibitor services – Stands, Electronics and Decor
Exhibitors sign up for your event as an investment, and being able to support them is a key consideration. The more you can offer them, the better, but this comes with a line on your budget sheet.
Consider the sizes of shell scheme stands you offer, and whether your shell scheme suppliers can offer integrated services as part of a package.
Staffing costs
Your trade show budget should consider how many people you need to employ as stewards, security, reception staff and cloakroom staff, to name a few. Your venue might provide some staffing. You may need to include travel, hotel and catering for your team and staff.
Catering
Some trade shows serve a lunch buffet, others choose a venue with a canteen, and some encourage people to find somewhere to eat off-site, and take a break from the exhibition.
Signage
To support visitors during the exhibition, signage is essential. It can add up to quite a cost in printing, so keep it in mind.
Marketing
Set aside around 8-12% of your budget for marketing. Marketing will be how you sell exhibition spaces and tickets, so make sure your budget is proportional to the number you plan to sell.
Budget-Friendly Tips for Event Organisers
To help you stay within budget, here is our best advice for exhibition organisers.
Gather multiple quotes before choosing a venue, and understand what is included in each.
Book venues during their off-season to get a better deal.
Work with trustworthy suppliers with transparent, itemised quotes. LION Exhibitions are recommended by many of the UK’s top exhibition centres.
Reconsider catering: You may not need to provide catering if your venue is close to a choice of food outlets.
Shell scheme hire is a useful way to divide exhibition halls into the maximum number of spaces, and pass on savings to your exhibitors.
Use shell schemes for more than just shell scheme booth spaces, with door panels to create offices, green rooms or storage spaces, and reception desking with branded panels.
Using a single provider for multiple services reduces costs and administrative time.
Organise volunteer stewards where possible to save money on staffing.
Affordable Shell Scheme Solutions by Lion Exhibitions
Our versatile shell scheme hire system can create a range of spaces to provide everything your event needs. We work with the exhibition industry’s most respected system: Octanorm Style Shell Scheme. Its modular design is easy to set up in a variety of situations.
Design your event layout with support from our experts, using panels to create designated zones and feature areas. These might include lounges, reception areas and catering points.
With printed graphics, you can highlight registration desks and information points for your visitors to find easily. The customisable bespoke panels and graphics can also be used to create signage and branding around a venue.
