Setting Trade Show Goals

		Set Your Trade Show Goals

A good trade show program should be planned to support your company's overall marketing objectives. If your goal is to break into new markets, attend shows that serve those potential customers. If you want to solidify relations with existing customer segments, plan your trade show schedule to focus on those groups and individuals.

Specific Objectives

Too often, companies attend trade shows simply because "our competition will be there." By setting very specific objectives for each show and then planning your exhibit to meet those objectives you can dramatically increase the return from your show investment. Here are some of the specific objectives many companies set for a trade show exhibit:

Build your company's image
Write contracts and orders
Launch new product lines
Generate sales inquiries
Meet existing customers
Canvas your competition
Recruit dealers or employees
Inform/educate your marketplace

Results You Can Measure

Next, set quantifiable objectives for your trade show exhibit. If your goal is to generate sales inquiries, for example, calculate the exact number of leads you should expect from a show, then plan and staff your exhibit to meet that objective.

Put It in Writing

Finally, put your trade show goals and objectives down in writing. A written plan can help build support for these goals and provides a useful tool for measuring trade show performance.

Set Your Trade Show Goals