PUBLICATION CENTER

A: Offer a multi-tiered pricing structure that elevates the concept of value over price, and deliver a product that exceeds your customer’s expectations.

With trade show season kicking into full gear, now is the time to develop an effective strategy to build business and increase profits (and build a positive customer experience). The first step is to develop a tiered pricing system that provides your customer with options, adding additional value and profit at each level.

A good guideline system that successful trade-show producers have created uses three tiers, going from Standard to Quality to Premium.

You’re ultimately aiming for the solution that meets the customer's requirements. The Premium solution will provide the customer with the most positive experience, so it's a good idea to present it to the customer first (though it’s presented last in the list below).

Even if you decide to sell the Premium solution for around the same amount as the Standard one, the total cost to you is not that much higher, as you can see from the numbers below. The profit margin shrinks a bit, but it’s still an excellent margin.  The long term profits yielded from a returning, satisfied customer far outweigh the potential negative impact of providing a lower-quality solution.

Moreover, you’ll save big on materials, production time, and all the headaches, hassles, and additional costs associated with having to re-do graphics that fail in the field. The Premium solution is designed to eliminate those problems, and comes with a Lifetime Warranty to boot.

Standard

8 Mil Production Satin Photo Paper with 10 Mil DisplayGuard VI low melt vinyl overlaminate and 10 Mil White Backer Low Melt.

Total material cost, including ink: $1.29 per square foot, $129 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Sales price: $15-$20 per square foot, $1,500 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Gross profit: $1,371

This combination, which provides a front laminate and a backer to sandwich the photo paper, is less expensive, but there is a slight sacrifice in overall durability since the paper could eventually split. This solution is recommended for the budget-conscious customer who will use the display sparingly.

Quality

LexJet 5 Mil Gloss Display Film with 5 Mil DisplayGuard Ti low-melt polyester overlaminate and 10 Mil LightBlock low-melt backer.

Total material cost, including ink: $2.50 per square foot, $250 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Sales price: $18-$25 per square foot, $1,800 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Gross profit: $1,550

This combination is more durable and opaque than the Standard graphics solution.

Premium

LexJet Clear PreLume HD with 10 Mil Coex PreLume Opaque White Backer.

Total material cost, including ink: $3.85 per square foot, $385 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Sales price: $25-$35 per square foot, $2,400 total for a 10x10 pop-up booth

Gross profit: $2,015

This is a two-step reverse-print solution on the brightest white combination available in the industry today, and it comes with a Lifetime Warranty. LexJet’s Lifetime Warranty is an effective sales and marketing tool that you can promote to your customers and prospects. Contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538 for more information and a Lifetime Warranty certificate.

“I’ve been using the product since I’ve been here for about three years, and our company had been using it for several years before I started working here. I like it because it’s opaque and has a great white point; the light doesn’t shine through it on the trade show floor. Plus, the white backer is nice and rigid, and doesn’t curl at all. It’s very easy to laminate to the thick LexJet Clear. The edges do not delaminate over time, but with other materials I’ve seen the graphics separate at the corners. Graphics made with LexJet Clear do not come back to be re-done,” says Julia Liberatore of Purpose1 Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa.

With LexJet Clear PreLume HD and 10 Mil Coex PreLume Opaque White Backer, the graphics can be rolled up indefinitely without being damaged, and the textured matte finish provides a professional, non-glare look. For end caps, use the 5 Mil Coex PreLume White Backer. For mounting LexJet Clear to Sintra, acrylic, and other mounting substrates, substitute the backer with a GraphicMount Adhesive.

Clear, reverse-print materials offer a number of advantages over the typical print and laminate combinations, particularly for trade-show graphic panels. And, in an atmosphere where customers are increasingly clamoring for “green” graphics, a print process that effectively reduces the amount of materials used and can be used repeatedly for literally years on end offers the most practical and effective way to do so.

“LexJet Clear and Backer is all we use. Over the years it has been a consistent performer that never de-laminates or fails at a trade show,” says Roxanne Cockrell of Graphic Works in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Of course the selection of a reverse-print material and white backer is dependent on the parameters of the project. Generally speaking, reverse-print materials are ideal for trade-show graphics that will be used relatively often and for extended periods of time.

And, with this material combination the images have more pop and provide more clarity than a laminated graphic since the adhesive lies behind the print on the backer. With a laminate, the viewer is looking through both a clear film and an adhesive to see the image.

“We have definitely seen a difference with the new generation of LexJet Clear. The difference is the clarity and color. It’s crisper and more predictable than any other trade show graphics material. I keep a running log of four-color breaks for Pantone, and have found it to provide a very consistent color outcome,” says Robb Coppock of Carpenter Connection in Heidelberg, Pa.