We all are aware of these unprecedented troubled times. As a business owner or a decision maker for your company, you must make tough choices on where to cut expenses and keep your business afloat.Marketing expenses for most businesses range between 12-18% of total revenues and this is often an easy target for trimming costs. However, it is the last place you can afford to put on the chopping block.

Countless articles, research, and experts have shown that businesses that cut marketing expenses during a recession see a much higher corresponding decrease in sales and lose valuable market share to competitors who maintain or increase their marketing. It is simple and intuitive, if you cut back on the spend to create sales, you lose the vital revenue you need to maintain your business.  It is as if you stop watering a plant.   Depriving your business of something as critical of water (marketing) often sets off a downward spiral that too often companies never recover from.

This is all easier said than done. And we are all faced with decreased consumer spending that has already deeply dented our sales. Generating sales must be your top priority and this is only accomplished through successful marketing. It is more prudent to spend more on marketing and work with decreased margins than to cut your spending and lose vital revenue.

Exhibiting at trade shows has been documented by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (www.ceir.org) as the most cost-effective way to generate sales leads than any other marketing medium.

Other industry reports have documented that key buyers are still actively attending shows and the value propositions of trade shows actually increases during recessions.

While we realize your investment in the World Tea Expo is much more than your exhibit space with cost of travel, staff, meals, freight, site services, and more, there are a number of ways you can cut back expense without cutting the opportunity to meet with thousands of buyers.

First, the World Tea Expo offers a complete turn-key booth package. No other major food or beverage show in North America adds this value into your exhibit space fees. Your booth includes a full hard wall shell scheme, shelving, tables, chairs, wastebasket, carpeting and first-night cleaning. The costs for these items individually at other trade can often exceed the cost for a 10′ x 10′ space itself.

We have also worked painstakingly with the hotels to reduce their rates and have accommodations as low as $36 mid-week and $71 Friday/Saturday. All the hotels we have rooms blocked at are connected by a complimentary tram. Airfares are extremely low right now with airlines also looking to stimulate sales with reduced rates.

If you are forced to work on a shoestring budget, it is better to take a minimalist approach and be at the trade show than to not be there at all, or worse, come as an attendee. If you decide to just “walk the show” you will be announcing to people you see your business isn’t interested in capturing sales. You will also be subjecting yourself to watching thousands of potential customers walking by you as if you were invisible (you are if you don’t exhibit).

Rather than spend money on printing company literature and the costs of shipping, tell customers you are eco-friendly and to reduce your carbon footprint, you will send them a PDF of your catalog immediately following the show.  This also creates a opportunity for you to follow up after the show.  And for the record, it is estimated that close to 70% of literature attendees collect at shows ends up in the trash before they head home.

Another major expense you can cut is shipping and drayage costs. Bring only the essentials and pack it in a rolling suitcase. Union rules allow you to hand-carry in to the show, and while this policy is intentionally vague, usually it applies to only one per person. But it can be done.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Reduce the number of people you staff your booth with. While this will mean long days for you or those who come, it can be done. Be lean and mean!

Forego lead retrieval and electrical and other site services. For tea companies looking to offer samples, contact your neighboring exhibitors before the show to see if you can share the cost of electrical and a hot water heater. Or simply use a candle tea pot. Lead retrieval is important and I encourage this not to be cut, but good old fashion business cards and a note pad for those attendees who run out can accomplish the same results.

You can run up hundreds of dollars in meal expenses if you use room service or dine out every night. Take advantage of the market. Vegas is back to offering ridiculously low promotions at their restaurants. While you might have to search for the $1.99 steak & eggs, the Excalibur is offering an all-you-can-eat-all-day for $25! Yes, a flat fee for all your meals all day at their buffet! Or even stock up at the local grocery store for your breakfast and lunch meals.

While we know many businesses are fighting to survive, you won’t get a return if you don’t invest. Exhibiting at the Expo gives your business the vital sales opportunities you need. Being frugal and planning ahead can minimize your out of pocket expenses that don’t directly contribute to sales generation.

We look forward to working hard for your business and delivering you buyers at the 2009 World Tea Expo.

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