July 30th – August 1st, 2013 McCormick Place, Chicago, IL Selecting the Right Goal and Objectives With Barry Siskind

Agenda Set clear, measurable objectives Identify the audience Determine your metric Create your performance indicators Find the right measurement tools Develop your benchmarks Make sure the exercise is realistic

What is your goal? Step 1 What are you hoping to achieve? Step 2 What will justify the time, energy and resources? Define your market

The generations? Traditional- ist/ Silent Generation Before 1946 Baby Boomers Gen X Gen Y / Gen C / Millennials Gen 2020 After 1997

Changing Attitudes Towards Exhibitions Baby Boomers Career driven Loyal to brands Competitive Want to leave a legacy Meetings & dialogue

Gen X Trust has to be earned skepticismIndependent Individualism Self-reliantSelf-focused

Gen Y Source: The Center for Exhibition Research – CEIR.org

Step 3 - Quantify Quantified objectives set standards that can be measured. Quantifiable objectives can be checked periodically. Quantifiable objectives can be divided among your exhibit staff.

Examples - Sales My objective at ExpoSystems is to find 25 senior managers of companies that organize trade shows in Brazil with a minimum of 100 booths and are currently not tied by a long-term contract to one of our competitors.

Sales Objectives Metrics and Performance Indicators MetricPerformance Indicator Number of quality contacts- Lead to sale conversion - Cost per quality contact

Examples - Communication My objective at ExpoSystems is to add 75 new names to our data base. These names should include people who influence the ultimate decision to purchase and should be either exhibitors at trade shows or organizers. My objective at ExpoSystems is to introduce 50 people to the benefits of choosing us as their preferred supplier. I will introduce three key benefits of our company to senior decision makers who have expressed an interest in change.

Communication Objectives Metrics and Performance Indicators MetricPerformance Indicator Reinforcing the corporate brand- Change in visitor perception - Number of requests for information

Performance Indicator Measurement Tool (s) Benchmark Potential Applications Example #1 Cost per potential show visitor from defined target market Example #2 Level of awareness Target Audience Profile from show organizer + Event Budget Exit Survey – change in perception $100,000 budget divided by 50,000 target audience = $2.00 per potential audience reach % of respondents who mention one or more of the core messages Use as a Show Selection Tool or to establish a Budget e.g. priority shows are those where the cost per potential market is below $2.00 Review visibility / type of messages and how communicated to improve response rate Performance Indicator Measurement Tool (s) BenchmarkPotential Applications Example #1 The number of quality conversations Example #2 Awareness of the corporate brand Lead retrieval, or Manual lead sheet Survey – Change in perception 25 quality conversations % of respondents who mention one or more of the core messages Use as a tool to measure the effect of changes in the exhibit program Review visibility / type of messages and how communicated to improve response rate

Benchmarks Set realistic goals for ExpoSystems 2013 Measure staff performance Assess the impact of change Compare ExpoSystems against other shows Judge the impact of pre-show promotion Justify future exhibition marketing budgets Other

MAKE OBJECTIVES REALISTIC DO THE MATH a. TOTAL FAIR POPULATION = 2,500 b. PERCENTAGE WHO FIT THE PROFILE = 10% OR 250 PROSPECTS c. AIF - 16% = 40 d. AVERAGE TIME SPENT WITH EACH ATTENDEE = 15 MINUTES or 4 per hour e. NUMBER OF ACTIVE FAIR HOURS Dec 4 - 6– 2:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. daily= 21 NUMBER OF REALISTIC LEADS = d x e = 84 Deduct 50% 42

Calculate R.O.I. a) Leads= 42 b) Total exhibit cost (net)= $12,000 c) Success ratio= ⅓ d) Viable leadsa/c= 14 e) Average sale (net)= $ 10,000 f) Potential revenue d x e = $ 140,000 g) Less cost of sale of 60% = $ 56,000 h) Return on Investment b/g = 560%

The steps Set clear, measurable objectives Identify the audience Determine your metric Create your performance indicators Find the right measurement tools Develop your benchmarks Make sure the exercise is realistic

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