The ROI Myths That Haunt Exhibitors
Is your trade show ROI just an illusion?
A busy booth with tons of badge scans doesn’t tell the whole story.
In this live episode of Trade Show Insights, guests Al Mercuro & Rob Stevens joined me to examine the misleading metrics and costly mistakes that make an exhibit appear more successful than it really is.
We cover several of the “scary myths” that limit ROI including:
- The Phantom of the Busy Booth
- The Badge Scan Graveyard
- The Unqualified Leads Nightmare
- The Curse of the Untrained Booth Staff
- The Fog of Vanity Metrics
Don’t be haunted by a lack of ROI long after the show floor closes!
Links mentioned during this episode:
- The Challenge of Using Salespeople as Booth Staff (previous TSI episode)
- Beyond Trade Show Booth Traffic: The KPIs That Actually Matter (Al Mercuro’s blog post)
- The latest Freeman Trends report says that only 16% of exhibitors believe events do a good job communicating the potential ROI of exhibiting or sponsoring, and Rob Stevens wrote a LinkedIn post about it.
About Al Mercuro
Al Mercuro brings more than 35 years of experience in trade shows and event marketing to his work at Genesis Exhibits. From trade show exhibits to mall tours, special corporate events and environments, and even the Super Bowl, he’s done it all … in virtually every type of live event format. As an Advisory Board Member of MUSE (Members United for Sustainable Events) and EDPA Sustainability Committee member, he’s widely recognized as the Event Industry’s go-to-guy for sustainable trade show strategies.
About Rob Stevens
Rob Stevens is the founder & principal of Rainmaker Consulting, where he helps organizations grow through fractional sales, business development, and go-to-market support. With more than 20 years in the B2B events industry, Rob specializes in sponsorship sales, strategic partnerships, and revenue growth. He’s known for building strong relationships and helping conferences, trade shows, & executive events attract the right partners and reach their full potential.
(transcript coming soon)
