Picking the Right Show

If your company has never attended trade shows, the first thing you should do is make sure you pick the right show to attend. Attending the wrong trade show can be an expensive mistake. You may end up spending thousands of dollars to rent your booth space, travel to the show, etc., only to find that most of the show’s attendees have no need for your products or services. You may come home with only a few actionable leads, which will not generate enough sales to justify the show’s expense.

Even if your company regularly attends trade shows, it’s still a good idea to periodically review the shows you are attending. Make sure that each show you attend allows you to connect with the right target audience, and that each show provides you with actionable leads resulting in sales.

How do you determine whether a trade show is right for your company and its products? Take a good look at the people who have historically attended that trade show, and see how they match up with the demographics of your target audience. Every trade show today offers a demographic profile (usually available on the show’s website) of people who have registered for it in the past.

If the show is a business trade show, the demographic profile will typically include a list of past attendees’ professions and job titles. It may also list information such as the size of their companies and industry classifications. The profile may also provide a list of non-vendor companies that have sent delegations to the trade show. For consumer trade shows, the demographic profile will usually list the average age and gender range of attendees, their average household income, their interests, and other data.

Of course, you want to exhibit at a show where decision makers will attend. If the person who makes the decision to buy your product is the CEO, you want to attend trade shows with high attendance rates by CEOs in your target industries. If your decision maker is a home owner with at least $80,000 in annual household income, you should attend consumer trade shows where those home owners are on the lookout for your type of product or service.