Worried you can’t afford to exhibit at a trade show? From securing floor space to traveling to and from the event, taking part in a trade show can be a surprisingly expensive experience, particularly for small and mid-sized business.
However, like all forms of marketing and sales, exhibiting at a trade show is an investment. It is one that has a high value from extra leads and prospects to newly closed deals, often produces an incredible level of return on investment.
There are numerous ways to reduce the cost of taking part in a trade show, from booking as early as possible to reduce your booth’s footprint. Today, we’re going to look at one way to reduce your trade show costs and renting your booth instead of buying it.
From reduced costs to improved flexibility, renting your trade show booth has numerous key advantages. Below, we’ve covered the five biggest advantages of renting instead of buying, both for first-time exhibitors and seasoned trade show participants.
You’ll reduce your exhibit costs
The biggest and most obvious advantage of renting a trade show display instead of buying is the huge reduction in costs it provides.
While trade show displays aren’t as expensive as many businesses expect, there are costs to creating your own custom exhibit from the ground up. As a result, many smaller and mid-sized businesses are hesitant to take part in trade shows at all.
Renting your booth lets you cut down the total cost of taking part in a trade show, letting you exhibit without taking a major hit to your company’s cash flow.
You can “try” trade shows before committing to a major expense
When thousands or tens of thousands of dollars are on the line, it’s easy to write off an event as unnecessary. When the cost is half as much (or less, depending on your needs), it becomes far easier to consider new marketing and sales opportunities.
Renting your trade show booth means there’s no need to worry about a big initial cost. Instead, you can “try” trade shows as a sales channel without sinking your entire marketing budget into a customized exhibit.
You don’t need to worry about storing your booth after the show
Taking care of your own custom trade show doesn’t end with the event — instead, you need to store it between events. If you have a large booth and small business premises, this can pose major problems for your business.
When you rent your trade show booth, on the other hand, the worries are over as soon as the event ends. Instead of needing to find storage space, you’ll be able to store the displays with your trade show exhibit provider, saving you time, money and headaches.
You’ll cut down on stress for your entire team
For the most part, renting a trade show exhibit is a turnkey solution once you’ve provided the design information and specifications, you can move ahead with planning for the event with little to no concern.
Owning your own booth, on the other hand, can be a significant source of stress. From losing small parts to reassembling the booth for a new event, many of the small frustrations of booth ownership that can create stress that isn’t present when you rent.
If your booth is a success, you can buy with greater confidence
Ultimately, the long-term cost of designing your own custom trade show booth can be lower than the cost of renting again and again. As a result, most companies that exhibit at trade shows will eventually “upgrade” from renting an exhibit to developing their own.
However, renting is still an important step in the process. By renting before you buy, you’ll learn exactly what you need in a trade show booth (as well as what you don’t need), letting you create your own custom booth with greater confidence and experience when the time is right.
Interested in renting a display for your next trade show?
From small businesses to industry leaders, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses successfully exhibit at a wide range of trade shows and events. View our booth rental services online or call us today to learn more about how we can help your business grow via trade show marketing.