Determining Your Trade Show Objectives

Millions of individuals attend and thousands of companies participate, but relatively few who are involved in trade shows fully understand the exhibit medium. Many exhibitors at the average trade or industrial show make gross errors in their exhibits because they do not know what the medium is or how to use it wisely.

There are many reasons why a company enters a trade show, and it is important that a company spell out its objectives before making this decision. These objectives can include: to make sales; to maintain an image and continuing contact with customers; to initiate contact with new customers; to introduce a new product or service; to demonstrate equipment; to offer an opportunity for customers to bring their technical problems and obtain solutions; to obtain feedback from booth visitors; to relate to the competition; etc

The most common objective, of course, is the first one: to make sales and the trade show can play a unique role in leading a prospective buyer from mild interest to the decisive act of placing an order. While making sales and sales contacts is the most common objective of an exhibit, it is certainly not the only one. Participation in a trade show is a good way to sharpen one