Skyline Exhibits

With more than 9,000 trade shows, choosing the right one can be a daunting task.

Yet there are many sources that can provide the information you need to choose the shows that will be most productive for your company, and yield the greatest return on your exhibit investment.

A key source for the answers is the show management itself. But you can also get valuable input from exhibitors, attendees, industry associations, publications, and suppliers, such as installation and dismantle companies or service contractors.

Before talking with any of those sources, clarify your exhibit goals. Once you have your own objective in focus, you're ready to find out if a given show will help you meet that objective. One of the first questions you should ask: Who attended the show in the past?

Show brochures generally trumpet the number of attendees at the previous show. But what does that number represent? It's more important to know who is attending, than how many. Ask for the attendee profile. The demographic data a show manager provides can help you evaluate both the audience and the show manager's research

Comprehensive data is gathered by computerized registration systems used at many trade shows today. Those systems record attendee's company name, size, and location; the individual's job title, buying authority, purchase intentions, budget, and timeframe. Look for the facts behind the generalities.

Then again, if you want to keep it simple, ask 10 customers which shows they go to. If you hear the same show name repeated again and again, you know where to go!