| Goals, objectives and evaluation hints appear in
several places in the site. Because the subject is so important, we think it wise pull all
of it together in one place, including a list of possible goals and objectives that can
stimulate your thoughts. You can use the terms interchangeably, or treat goals as an overall statement supported by specific objectives. There is a third term, Mission, which is often created as an umbrella, with goals beneath and objectives under each goal.
The Reasons For Goals and Objectives Businesses, and certainly all other institutions, try to guide their efforts with an understanding of why they are doing what they doing. There is a discipline about it. In larger organizations mission, goals and objectives are watchwords imposed on managers; and created by them. Small business have them too, often imposed because owners really know that what is spent is coming from their own wallets and their time is so precious. The trick at all levels is to keep the guide posts clear; easily understood. And in large measure they should be quantifiable. Unfortunately, exhibiting often falls into a crack. Well regarded research reveals that over half of mid-size and very large corporations set no goals at all for exhibiting. And half of the rest live only with wishy-washy mission statements. More often than not, the byword is exhibiting on autopilot; or maybe back-of-the-envelope scribbling.
The Advantages The goal and objective guide posts will drive the process and decision making. Often, the decisions are not whether to exhibit or not, but instead how and how much. The guide posts will dictate design and graphics - you don’t have to be one of those unfortunates who admit that they don’t know what is right, but will know it when they see it. Most often exhibiting is thought of as a cost; mainly necessary but evil. A clear statement of goals and objectives, and the ability to judge degrees of progress in reaching them, translates to a value relationship with cost.
The Mission Statement A corporate mission statement, or statement of purpose, establishes overall direction. They are sometimes summarized in advertising themes. "We Try Harder." "We Deliver." "Just Slightly Ahead of our Time." "The Document Company." An exhibiting mission is always supportive. Exhibiting is a corporate tool, just as research and manufacturing are tools to produce what is offered. Exhibiting can be supportive in context with selling, image creation, intelligence gathering, learning and employee relations.
Generic Goals And Objectives to Stimulate Thought Gaining Sales Leads Closing Sales Building Mailing Lists Press Feed Customer Research Industry Relations Image Development Employee Learning Presenting Seminars Meeting Competition Competition Analysis Products Display Products Demonstration Product Introduction Corporate Presence Employee Motivation To you, some of these may be goals and others objectives. For instance, "Meeting Competition" could be a goal at a general level and "Competition Analysis" an objective below it. Regardless of your goals and/or objectives, and we may not have guessed yours exactly, take two more steps: Rank them in order of importance. Then, if you have been thoughtful, you will be able to strike a balance when you are deciding on the amount of space you will want to rent, the design and graphics of your booth, the size and make-up of your staff and any related issues - pre-show mailings, at-event off site activities and so on. Identify which objectives lend themselves to something you can count. Otherwise, when it comes time to evaluate how you have done you’ll be faced with that sword of subjectivity based on how you feel all alone, maybe with some anecdotes, but little else. And then you look at what really is measured in numbers - cost. And groan.
Post Event Evaluation Evaluation methods are covered in the Exhibit Tips Electronic Books and in another special essay, but try to count something you do all the time so you can compare results and costs with other shows. Corporate exhibit managers like to use the phrase, "return on investment" or "bottom line." These same terms are applied to overall business results. Exhibit marketing returns must be measured within themselves, just as advertising or manufacturing labor unit costs are measured within themselves. By Ed Chapman To Review click here
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