“Do more with less.” You hear this a lot lately, and it’s often met with groans. It seems that in every industry, from business, to education, to transportation, to our planet’s natural resources, we are all being asked to “do more with less.”

We’ve already made cuts. How can we do more?”
Maybe all it takes is a long look at what that statement means.

DO: What are you doing?
First take a look at what “doing” really means at your company, and what your competition is doing better. Analyze which systems and programs gave you the best ROI and abandon the ones that didn’t. If your clients are asking for an added service that you do not specialize in, think twice before agreeing to deliver. Just like Orville Redenbacher said, maybe you should just “Do one thing and do it better than anyone.” Knowing what you do best will guide your next move.

MORE: What does more mean?
Does doing more mean more of the same? Not necessarily. It means being more productive by using simpler means. Do you really need to fly out of state for a face to face with your client? Yes, for important introductions and contracts, but for many meetings, a scheduled web conference might be more cost effective for everyone.
And “more” doesn’t mean you need to double your man-hours using fewer materials. Expecting the same number of resources to double their workload is a sure fire way to burn them out. Whether it means investing in smarter software or making your production lines more ergonomic, give your staff the tools to actually do more.

WITH LESS: Less of what?
In many cases, the “less” means less planning, less money in the budget or less resources to do the work. But you might be surprised at how many other variables you can consider when lessening your tradeshow expenses. A flatscreen in your exhibit space might be able to tell your story and answer FAQ’s better than a million samples, brochures and demos ever could. And we have all seen how tastefully lit fabric panels can often create a show presence better than hard wall construction panels with built in lighting. Think of how design choices like that can lessen your shipping costs!

People often assume that “doing more with less” is merely out of financial need, after all, necessity is still the mother of invention. But more than that, doing more with less is just a smarter way to work overall. At 3D Exhibits, giving our clients a bigger bang for their buck is our specialty. We thrive on the challenge.

How is your company doing more with less?

It’s a job that requires a special skill set: impeccable organizational skills, grace under pressure, and the ability to multitask, among others.

We spoke with Project Managers Bryan Jacobs and Tony Wojdyla about what it takes to make sure your project comes in on time, under budget, and within scope.

For 44 years the Consumer Electronics Show has been unveiling the latest technological advances to the public. In an industry that is changing exponentially, what were the things that set CES 2012 apart from years past?

For starters, 2012 International CES® was the biggest one yet, with exhibit space of over 1.8 million net square feet. That’s lot of ground to cover, for anyone walking the actual floor, not to mention anyone trying to recap the event. Here are a few of the highlights and trends we noticed.

New Products
In previous shows it was easier to identify one buzz worthy, must-have product. With over 20,000 product launches during the four-day event this year, there didn’t seem to be one clear-cut winner who stole the show. Among the things we are curious to watch for in 2012 are touch screen laptops, ultrabooks (thinner, lighter and quicker laptops), water resistant technologies, and Windows 8, which will reportedly have touch-based functions.

Connectivity
The integration of our computers with television seems to be inevitable, but consumers have yet to embrace this fully. One advance that might make this marriage more manageable will be when users swap out remote controls for tablets. Cloud computing continues to grow, as nearly every personal device will be designed for continuous connectivity to the web, from phones, to refrigerators(!) to cars.

Personalization
Products that learn from our behaviors were well represented, from gesture and voice controlled games, to thermostats that adjust to our preferences from day to day. Devices that know to display our personal favorites based solely on facial recognition were another promising feature.

Ecotech
Environmentally friendly technologies are still making a strong showing at CES, from built-in solar powered charging capabilities, to increased use of earth friendly materials. One company used a human-sized hamster wheel to demonstrate the cost of energy.

So many of these innovations will have an impact on brand marketing and customer engagement in the years ahead. As our ever-broadening list of tech options continues to become available, your 3D Exhibits team will be finding even more new ways to apply these advances to your show experience.

Did you attend CES this year? What was most memorable to you?

What’s my ROI? How many times have you heard a client ask you that question? Exhibiting at a trade show is a big investment and one you want to make sure you are maximizing.

While trade shows are like snowflakes, there are some key metrics you should always use as a foundation to measure against.

But before you even start talking about metrics, it is important to keep one thing in mind.  Always have your sales and marketing teams work to develop foundational metric baseline. This will help ensure everyone’s on the same page with what success looks like for a particular show.

Any trade show program can offer countless measurement opportunities from the floor, to various publications, online and social, etc. Combined they can provide a solid metric for you to measure your trade show effectiveness.

Here are just a few metric examples we suggest using for a measurement of a trade show program:

• Sale Leads: While the goal is talk to as many people as possible, not all leads are the same. Break your leads into different categories based on qualified sales to measure the overall effectiveness of the show.

• Your Cost Per Lead: What was the total cost of that lead? What was the overall investment versus the number of qualified leads generated? You can use this number as a benchmark to evaluate the success against other shows.

• Trade Show Activity: How are you interacting with attendees? What show program elements are they engaging with? (Product demos, one on one meetings, exhibit touch points, etc.) What tactics were most effective?

• Website/Social Media Traffic: Set web traffic benchmarks before and after the show. Did you see an increase in site visits and time on site? What tactics referred the most web traffic (email, Microsite, QR codes, etc.)? Did your community increase,were they more engaged?

• Press: What was the total investment? Who was writing pieces about you? Where were stories placed (trades, newspapers, blogs, etc.)? Did you set-up interviews with writers or walk press through during the show?

• Post Show Activity: How many of the leads were qualified? How many sales did the leads result in?

As you can see, we are just scratching the surface when it comes to developing a solid foundation to successfully measure your metrics. Here at 3D Exhibits, we have a number of different programs that can help define success.

I’m sure you can add a number of various metrics to this list, so please share.
How do you measure your metrics at a trade show? What have you found effective?

The number one roadblock in the way of any potential relationship is the trust level. While transparency might be the business buzzword of the decade, it truly is still one of the most valuable approaches you can implement. If your competition is sharing their price structure online, for example, it will be hard to compete without doing the same. In the end, if you’re running your business right, you shouldn’t be afraid to show your clients what’s behind the curtain. From submarine sandwich counters to online reviews, product transparency is the industry standard in many businesses, and sales are no different.

In today’s increasingly social-heavy marketplace, building community goes hand-in-hand with finding qualified leads. And the best way to build your community is to help and inform your contacts.

• Does your contact have to go to a higher up for decision-making? Ask if you can help them present options, and take some of the legwork out of it for them.

• Is your potential client unsure of what they really need? Offer them a free consultation. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about what they do, at the same time assess their need for your product.

• Ask the right questions, and ask the right kinds of questions. Instead of asking “Would you like to buy our widgets?” ask them “What lead to your decision to shop for widgets?”. Even if your product is not the right fit, helping them find the right solution is a no brainer.

Instead of forcing a fit, being upfront and helpful is the way to build relationships, increase sales, and promote your brand.

Are you looking for ways to help your clients succeed? Share your tips!

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you enjoyed the season with your family and friends. At 3D Exhibits, we are thankful for another great year and very excited about the one ahead. We were glad to be able to meet up with so many of you in 2011 and look forward to the opportunity to reconnect again in 2012.

We continue to grow and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of our industry, but some things will never change. Your team will always be looking for efficient ways to provide you with a better product, a better service, and a better experience. So hang on tight as we get ready to propel to new heights this year!

Watch for new and exciting developments launching at Exhibitor 2012. We are going back to our roots with this one and cannot wait to take you with us! We’ll also be at the HCEA Annual Meeting, among many, many others, so be sure to stop by.

Just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean you should forget what you learned in the past. Remember, when thinking about your marketing presence, it’s important to measure online engagement as well as foot traffic. With the growth of interactive, we’ve been developing new programs and games to drive traffic to your online space as well as your physical show space, insuring return on your investment.

So many things to look forward to and those are just a few. Once again, we are looking forward to an amazing year and cannot wait to see you all again.

What are you most excited about seeing in 2012? What shows will you be attending this year? Be sure to let us know!