Trade show risk planning, identification and management
Trade shows are a fantastic opportunity for companies to showcase new products and services. If a show is well planned and managed, companies can expect to meet numerous potential customers and generate strong sales leads. A poorly planned and managed show, however, can tarnish a company’s reputation and provide a poor return on investment.
As part of the trade show project planning process, the project manager must lead the show team in identifying all risks associated with the trade show. The goal of this process is to document all essential information relating to project risk.
The below information is intended to assist in this trade show planning process and is not intended to be a complete risk assessment. Each company will have unique business objectives supporting with the trade show project. The risk identification process must support these business objectives
For additional information relating to risk, refer to the Project Diva article on project risk identification and management.
|
Risk ID |
Category |
Description |
Conditions |
Impact Description |
Possible mitigation |
|
1 |
Overall |
Poor event turnout |
Unforeseen conditions may also contribute (e.g. weather, |
Poor ROI; minimal sales leads; poor sales; over-purchase of give-aways, |
Vetting of show venue; show attendee profile; purchase re-useable |
|
2 |
Overall |
Poor ROI |
|
|
Define measurement of show success; clearly define show goals and |
|
3 |
Scope |
Lack of site traffic to booth |
Booth location |
|
Staff to physically direct potential customers to |
|
4 |
Budget |
Trade show costs limit booth location and size options |
Limited budget |
Reduced traffic to booth; reduced sales leads; poor ROI |
Consider partnering with a supporting product vendor; show business |
|
5 |
Materials |
Manufacturer delay in shipping show materials to home |
|
Materials not available for show; negative credibility |
Research and identify alternative vendors; order materials |
|
6 |
Materials |
Booth/materials damaged in shipping to show venue |
|
|
Professional packing and unpacking; contingency plan for display; |
|
7 |
Staffing |
Personnel not available; show marketing and/or execution plans are too |
|
Negative credibility; technical trade show staff are unavailable to |
Schedule at least 1 month in advance; identify and train alternative |
|
8 |
Technical |
Technical display failure |
|
Poor sales; negative credibility |
Full system testing; budget for and bring redundant |
|
9 |
Technical |
Demo errors |
|
Negative credibility |
Full system testing using multiple test groups |
|
10 |
Technical |
Useless prospect data gathered from show |
|
Poor ROI |
Standardized forms; staff bonus based on data |
|
11 |
Technical |
Positive risk of overselling units |
|
Unable to deliver on time |
Review historical trade show sales records; |
Trade show risk planning, identification and management (.docx format)
