A Trade Show Bureau Publication,  By Rayna Skolink 

Will the people you want to reach be there? 

Will the show management be an effective matchmaker?

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. To find out if management seeks the right data, "Ask to see last year's registration form,' suggests Stephen Sind, senior vice president, corporate planning, for Reed Exhibition Companies, the world's largest producer of trade and public shows. Comprehensive data are gathered by the computerized registration systems used at many trade shows today. They record each attendee's company name, size, and location; the individual's job title, buying authority, purchase intentions, budget, and timeframe. "Computerized registration is always a good sign, says Sind.

Look for the facts behind the generalities. "If the brochure says, 'We bring in buying teams from the largest companies,' ask for examples of the types of companies, and ask for the titles of the people who make up those buying teams," cautions Sind.

Scrutinize Public shows, too. Although public shows don't use the computerized registration systems that are common at trade shows, demographic data can still be captured, say Carleton Rogers, president of Exposition Management, Inc, a producer of trade and public shows. "We can do an exit survey, ort people may be asked to fill out their ticket stubs." Thus, Rogers says, management can learn attendees' ages, household income, distance traveled to the show, reason for attending, areas of interest, and purchase intentions.

 The last point is especially important for the public shows, says Neil Grossman, vice president and general manager, Boston Division, Reed Exhibition Companies. "A lot of people don't buy at public shows, but they do set up appointments, for example, for home remodeling," he explains. "So we do surveys that show planned purchases."

"Today, anyone who doesn't offer audience statistics isn't offering the type of service an exhibitor should expect," cautions Mackler. "That doesn't mean that the show isn't good, but the information should be available for the prospective exhibitor."

Ask show management for the names and phone numbers of contacts at such companies. "I'll make those names available to prospective exhibitors," says Mackler. "Or they can call members of the show's exhibitor advisory board. We encourage that."

Ask previous exhibitors if they saw the kinds of buyers they needed to see. Did they make sales at the show? Or can they trace subsequent sales to the show? Is the show important in its industry? Is it keeping up with industry developments? Did management work with exhibitors to help them have the best show possible?

Ask attendees these questions, Mahon advises: "How much time did they spend at the show? Did they go on more than one day? Did they urge others to go? Did they see the new products they wanted to see? As a result of visiting the show, did they-or will they-purchase anything? What would they have liked to see at the show-what was missing?" Each conversation should take no more than five or ten minutes, Mahon maintains. Yet it yields vital information.

Will management target the audience that's right for you? Will direct mail and ads be aimed at the people you want to reach? In what he calls "a real change from the way things were done five or ten years ago," Mahon says that exhibitors should "demand that show management tell them what they're planning to do to promote the event." Exhibitors have made such demands on him, he says. As a result, "We prepare a sheet almost a year in advance that lists the trade publications we'll use and their circulation, the number of ads that will run in each, the number of news releases we'll send and when , and the number of mailings we'll do and to whom.

"If the target list doesn't meet your needs, speak up. Says Roger, "Show management welcomes calls saying. 'This is who we need to target. Are you bringing them in? We'll come if you do.'"

What are public show plans? Because many people learn about public shows only from advertising, these plans are key, says Grossman. "A potential exhibitor needs to know how much radio advertising, will be done, on which radio stations, how much TV, how much print." Review the content of the ads, too, he urges: "The features addressed in the advertising indicate what type of audience is being targeted. We let our exhibitor prospects know exactly what they can expect from our advertising plan."

Before the show opens. Find out if attendees can preregister and thus enter the show more quickly, says Mahon. Other points: "Will the show guide be sent in advance? Is the floor plan easy to read? Is it color coded?"

At the show. Look for electronic terminals that help attendees locate specific products, and may even print out lists of companies with booth numbers.

Another consideration, say Mackler: "does the schedule give people time to attend the seminars and still see the exhibits?"

Reed's Grossman points to special concerns for public shows: "Is parking accessible? Is the show close to mass transit? Inside the show, how is the foodservice? Is there something to entertain the kids? Remember that the more comfortable people are, the longer they'll stay."

Before the show. Says Mackler, "Tell show management what you're planning, and what problems you may have had in the past-and ask them how they can help you avoid a recurrence." Among the ways management might assist an exhibitor before the show, Mackler mentions co-op promotion programs or advice on how to create an appealing exhibit."

We'll do a complete marketing campaign, including direct mail, for our exhibitors, "says Lawson Hockman, chief operating officer of the National Solid Wastes Management Association. " We can target people from the exhibitor's list, or our registration list, or a publication's list." Mahon says that computerized registration enables him to tell exhibitors what the attendance was hour by hour. That helps exhibitors plan their booth staffing so that they are covered during busy periods and not overstaffed during busy periods and not overstaffed during slower times.

At the show. "Look for marketing opportunities," says Sind. "There could be show dailies, or sponsorship opportunities that will increase your company's visibility." 

Another possibility, says Mackler, is special events that can be used for networking. He adds, "You also want to feel confident that you will get immediate and knowledgeable assistance with operational issues-for example, getting your freight in and out in a cost-effective and efficient way."

After the show. One of the most crucial parts of exhibiting happens after the show, when leads are followed up and converted into sales. Although you, as an exhibitor, have most of the responsibility for follow-up, show management might help you locate a lead tracking service. Or, says Sind, some show organizers provide post-show lists of attendees.

Learning what management offers, and whether it is given willingly or grudgingly, can help you decide whether or not a particular show is for you. 

Ask industry associations: Are they sponsoring the show? Are they participating? If not, why not? Mahon says the key consideration is whether or not the management company belongs to such umbrella associations as the International Associations for Exposition Management, the Canadian Association of Exhibition Managers, or the Trade Show Bureau. "That shows if they're really involved in the industry," he points out. Ask those associations, too, about management's reputation.

Ask your customers: Which shows do they attend, and why? The shows at which they learn about the industry, the ones where they make their purchases or buying plans, are the ones in which you should exhibit.

Check with publications. "Ask show management for the names of publications participating in the show," says Hockman. His reasoning: "Some of the best information comes from publications' advertising salespeople. They're talking to attendees trying to build their circulation or sell ads. They know if a show is growing, what the exhibitor base is, what audience management is targeting, what management's reputation is."

Check with suppliers, such as decorators or installation and dismantle companies. "Their customers are exhibitors, and they get a lot of feed back," says Hockman. "They know the exhibitor mix, the audience mix, and if a show is viable.

Evaluate the operation. Begin right at the beginning: how smoothly is admission handled? Chronic long lines at a public show may be a warning sign, says Grossman, because it's often a simple matter to add another ticket seller and thus increase the traffic flow. "If the lines are long because of understaffing, and not just at peak periods, a potential exhibitor should be concerned," Grossman explains, "because that would show up elsewhere at the show as lack of attention to detail."

Inside the show, check for traffic bottlenecks at concession stands, restrooms, and in the aisles. Pay attention to the exhibitor mix, too. "Be sure that there aren't irrelevant products like jewelry exhibitors at an industrial show," cautions Hockman. "They could cheapen the show."

Evaluate the attendance. Visit your competitors' booths and observe the crowds. Are they large? Do the color-coded name badges indicate that many people are either decision makers or buying influences?*

After all, trade shows are an important part of your company's overall marketing efforts. And remember, if a show organizer is providing measurable demographics, take advantage of it.

Rayna Skolnik is a New York City freelance journalist who specializes in the trade show industry.

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