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Finding the right trade show to take your business to is very important. Trade shows can be expensive, when you consider staffing, your trade show booth, promotional items and literature, and you want to make sure you’re going to be getting the best value for money. Going to the right trade shows means you will find the right target audience.

Determining your objectives

The first thing that you need to think about is what you actually want to accomplish at the trade show. Do you want to generate leads? Meet existing customers? Get exposure for your brand? Meet industry experts? Branch out into a new sector? Get contacts in the media?

Once this is decided, you can better research which types of events would most likely to help you achieve your objectives?

Finding an exhibition

Of course you have some knowledge about what events take place throughout the year, but it always pays to be thorough. There are several ways you can find out about exhibitions that are taking place.

• Trade show search engines and directories – yes there are such things! These are databases of events that are taking place that are searchable by various criteria such as dates, location and industry. Try http://www.tsnn.com/, http://www.biztradeshows.com/ .
• Industry publications – these are really good for finding events in your sector. They’ll probably list all the big industry-wide events. Individual publications may also list events they have organized themselves.
• Your contacts – Ask around people in the industry that you know. You can find out quite a lot by word of mouth. This can also help when narrowing down your list – if someone mentions that an event was badly organized, you might think twice before signing up.
• Your competitors – take a sneaky peek at your competitors’ websites. They may have lists of or news items about the exhibitions they’re attending over the next few months. And if you go to the shows your competitors are going to, it not only gives you the chance to compete for the same audience, but also to find out what your competitors are doing in terms of marketing, products and services.
• Industry associations – check their websites for event listings or give them a call to find out if there are any upcoming events.
• Local event and convention centers or chambers of commerce – these will often have events listings on their websites, or you can call them up and ask. If you’re not looking to go too far afield, this could be a good option for reaching new local customers.

After you have done your research, you need to collate the results and weigh them against your objectives. Which shows are most likely to help you achieve these? And how good is the ROI likely to be? Those trades shows that require you to travel, consider whether the expense is worth it.

Your customers

Think about where your customers are most likely to be. If you can, talk to them and see if they’re going to any upcoming exhibitions or trade shows. If your existing customers are going, then the chances are that other attendees will be interested in you too.

Once you have narrowed down your list a bit, you could also try contacting the organizers of the exhibitions and asking them for lists of last year’s attendees. This will help you narrow down your list even further. Review your list whilst keeping your objectives in mind, and you should arrive at a shortlist of the events that are most likely to help you achieve them.

Then all you need to do is sign up for each event and contact The Exhibit Source so we can get to work on an incredible trade show booth display that will wow your target audience and make them want to know more about you.

Business 2 Community

Business-to-business media industry revenue rose 6.9% last year—from $24.7 million to $26.4 million between 2010 and 2011—with trade shows making up 40% of that revenue, according to the latest report from American Business Media’s Business Information Network (BIN).

B2B media trade show revenue in 2011 increased 2.2%, from $10.2 million to $10.5 million, following two years of significant decline. Between 2009 and 2010, trade show revenue fell by 6.4 percent; the drop the year before was more than double that, at 15.8 percent.

Growth was seen across all four categories the BIN report measures in the b-to-b media space:

• Digital advertising revenue jumped 22 percent to $6.3 million, contributing 24 percent to the total.

• Print advertising revenue increased 2.9 percent to $7.6 million, contributing 29 percent to the total.
• Data services—the smallest segment, at 7 percent—increased 6.5 percent to $1.9 million.

The BIN report is created with help from a number of partners, including the Center for Exhibition Industry Research and publishing service bureau Inquiry Management Systems.

Expo

Words do not describe how The Exhibit Source trade show displays promote your business  with style and flare that put you light years ahead of the competition. You need to put eyes on our display products that create unparalleled first impressions within your business prospects.  

We are getting rave reviews about the success of our truly unique Backlit Pop Up Trade Show Displays using state of the art lighting and brilliantly colored fabrics.  http://theexhibitsource.com/backlit-displays.htm    If you are the type of business who tend toward annual or semi-annual trade show appearances, our state of the art trade show exhibit rental portfolio spans from table-tops to full-scale custom modular displays. 

Imagine your customer lobby bathed in branded and or customized corporate interior art, print, photos, and countless other materials that communicate you and your enterprise as a truly innovative company.   The image displayed above is just one of many ways we can customize your lobby or any other office space.

Come see The Exhibit Source in action at any of the upcoming Boston Trade Shows and imagine the countless ways to transform your brand and professional appearance. 

Is your business one of those where potential clients are regularly coming to your offices for workshops, seminars, meetings or information? If so, you need a way to set your office space apart. Your clients and potential clients need to be impressed.  While you are at it, create a motivating and welcoming atmosphere for employees, and showcase certain areas to guests with The Exhibit Source.

The Exhibit Source is a leader in trade show booths and exhibits offering a complete selection of event marketing and trade show exhibit solutions. But that is not all we do. We can help you create the corporate interiors you are looking for. With the Exhibit Source as your interior design partner, we can create corporate interiors that add inspiration, and promote your brand and message.

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The Exhibit Source creates dynamic corporate interiors, transforming reception areas, conference rooms, training centers with large-format digital graphics and custom wallpaper; Contact us.