5 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Next Trade Show

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The potential for increased sales is rather high, notes Statista.com, considering that around 82 percent of attendees at trade shows are directly involved in making purchasing decisions and they’ve noted that the events have a significant impact on what they decide to buy.

The Audience

The first thing you’ll want to check is whether or not the audience at the trade show you’re considering is the audience that will best help you grow your business. Consumer only shows are open to the general public while trade only shows include attendees that are wholesale distributers, retail buyers and other influencers in the industry. If you’re hoping to sell directly to consumers, obviously you’ll want a consumer-only trade show related to your products and/or services. If you’re hoping to expand your network and distribution with others who can help you grow your business, it’s trade only shows you want.

Success of Previous Events

Be sure to do some research on the shows that you’re thinking about attending. Check Google to find a list of exhibitors who’ve participated in previous events, as well as reviews from those who’ve attended which can help you determine whether exhibiting is going to be worth your time and money.

Availability of Trade Show Experts

Does the hosting city for the trade show for experts available that can assist? For example, if you’re hoping to set up one of the best trade show exhibits in Kansas City, partnering with experienced experts in the industry can make or break your success. Oftentimes, what you’ll gain in new clients and sales pays for the related fees and then some.

Location and Timing

When evaluating the potential for a particular trade show, take the geographical location into consideration. The majority of attendees tend to come from within a 200-mile radius – is your target audience in that area? Do you distribute there? Another thing to consider is other events that may be scheduled around the same time frame – could they impact attendance?

Available Booth Space

Even if a trade show is an ideal fit for your brand, if a good space isn’t available, it’s probably not going to be worth your investment. Trade shows are all about location, that will have one of the biggest impacts on your potential success so it’s important to ensure the space you choose isn’t on a dead-end aisle for foot traffic is likely to be limited. You’ll also want to find out where your competitors will be – do you want to be close to them, or farther away, and is the appropriate space available for those requirements? You may want to look at where entrances, elevators and food stations will be as well, which will allow you to visualize where the most attendees are likely to be walking when looking at available space on the floor plan.