Managerial Guidelines
for Trade Show
Effectiveness
Joseph A. Bellizzi DelilahJ.Lipps
This article examines some managerial aspects of successful
trade show promotions. In particular, trade show objectives.
advantages, preshow and postshow campaigns, and exhibit
evaluation are stressed.
INTRODUCTION
Imagine a marketing approach in which businesses invest
upwards of $4 billion a year. Next, hypothesize that this
technique can secure approximately 25% of your annual
sales goal, at considerable savings over traditional sales
approach. Now assume that 83% of all those persons at-
tracted by this effort have not been seen by a salesperson in
the last year [ 11.
The above describes an important sales promotional
method commonly used by the marketer of industrial
products-the trade show. The purpose of this article is
to show the more effective use of trade shows in the
industrial promotion mix. Particular attention is devoted
to trade show objectives, recent growth, advantages,
preshow and postshow campaigns, and exhibit evalua-
tion.
Address correspondence to: Professor Joseph A. Bell&i. Department
Marketing, Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA.
Industrial Markefir~~ Muna~rmenz 13, 49-52 ( 1984)
0 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.. 1984
52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, New York 10017
IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Most industries hold trade shows annually, inviting
companies in that industry to open a booth and display
products and services to interested industry members.
The most fundamental element a company must have
before opening an exhibit is a clear definition of a prod-
uct/market objective. This will in turn determine the
trade show selection and content of an exhibit. For exam-
ple, one expert advises that an exhibit geared toward
writing orders or obtaining leads should be designed
differently than an exhibit designed to promote company
image, introduce or gauge reactions to products, or con-
duct market research [ 1J. In another situation, a booth
designed for building leads may be built around a “break
the ice” theme and feature products typically purchased
by first time buyers. New customers and loyal existing
customers may very well differ in terms of the product
benefits that motivate their purchase. A display designed
to produce leads should emphasize new customer product
benefits. Not only should the booth be designed with
objectives in mind, but it is important for the people who
man the booth to know the objectives, in addition to
knowing how to achieve the objectives [8].
of In order to be effective and make the investment in the
exhibit worthwhile, a company must first have defined
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0019-8501/84/$03.00
its marketing objectives and trade show purpose. When a
company has a well defined set of product/market objec-
tives, exhibit design, show selection, and show evalua-
tion can be carried out more easily and effectively. Some
common trade show purposes are: to secure customer
leads, introduce new products, obtain industry exposure,
develop good will, obtain favorable publicity in local
media, reach otherwise hard to find technical buyers or
other influencers, and of course, to obtain orders.
VALUE OF TRADE SHOWS
Although trade shows have been accused of being
expensive [I], the cost per trade show is relatively inex-
pensive. According to a survey of Exhibitors Survey. the
"Some Keys to Selectand Utilize
Trade
Shows"
cost per visitor in 1979 was $56.88. This was compared
to the cost of an industrial sales call, which in 1979 was
$137.02. In addition, an efficient exhibit may reduce the
$56.88 figure by one third according to one estimate [S].
Dun and Bradstreet surveyed 125 executives on their
reaction toward trade shows. Sixty percent felt they were
very effective and only 17% felt they were ineffective
[4]. In addition, various unique opportunities may be
achieved only through trade shows. Included among
these are:
. the possibility of immediate follow-up, the knowledge
that the prospect is there because he is interested in the
product, the fact that the show is not an interruption of other
concerns, the one-to-one exposure to clients, and the oppor-
tunities for hands on experience with materials [I].
Trade shows also offer other significant advantages.
They include; a selling message delivered to a large
DR. BELLIZZI received a Ph.D. from the University of
Nebraska and is an Associate Professor of Marketing at
Colorado State University. He was previously employed by
Hilti Fastening Systems as a Market Research Analyst.
DELILAH LIPPS is a Research Associate for the Marketing
Department.
number of interested people at one time, introduction of
new products to a large number of people, potential
customers may be uncovered, goodwill may be en-
hanced, and free company publicity is gained [3 1.
IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS
Aside from the creative aspects of exhibit design,
certain aspects of exhibit design and certain managerial
concerns ought to be addressed by exhibitors. An exhibit
cannot be put together in a haphazard way. In order for a
show to be successful, preshow and postshow campaigns
are essential [ 51. While you have only seconds to pull in
a prospect at a show, it really takes months of planning.
The exhibitor cannot rely solely on the display to attract
customers. Potential customers should be reached prior
to the show. For example, two or three weeks before a
show, formal invitations could be sent out requesting
customers to come to your booth at specific times. Or a
campaign could include teaser mailings designed to in-
trigue prospects [ 51.
Various other methods are available to build traffic at
the trade show booth which have proven to be quite
successful yet inexpensive. Included among these are:
advertising in the print and broadcast media, outdoor
advertising, newspaper and broadcast publicity, promo-
tional methods, specialized media, and tie-ins or other
ideas for attracting last minute attention (21. It must be
remembered however, that the preprogram campaign
should be consistent with the exhibit’s theme. Any atten-
tion getting promotions should be tailored to the purpose
of the exhibit and the marketing objectives to be attained
151.
Like the preshow campaign, postshow follow-up is
critical for the success of an exhibit. Trade show inqui-
ries should be responded to before enthusiasm dies [ 11. A
follow-up mail campaign reinforces the purpose con-
veyed at the exhibit booth. It also allows the exhibitor to
place more literature in the hands of the prospect. Al-
though the prospect may have picked up literature at the
show, it was just one piece in a mass of other literature,
often not carefully read, and if it was, most likely not
remembered. If literature is received in the mail two or
three weeks after the show, it is more likely to be noticed
and can revive the whole effect created by the show [5].
If preshow and postshow campaigns are not made, the
exhibit probably will not reach its potential. As long as
you have decided to use trade shows you might as well
do it right.
Like other promotional programs, trade shows should
be evaluated to determine their effectiveness. Many man-
agers from marketing, advertising, and sales promotion
still question trade show expenditures. Many claim that
there is difficulty in accurately determining the effective-
ness of shows [4]. Numerous services and measures,
however, can be used to both plan and evaluate trade
shows. One such service that evaluates the results of a
trade show and is available to exhibitors upon request is
an exposition audit. This service, provided by Business
Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc., audits registered
attendance at trade shows. It provides detailed and ver-
ified statistical information about the visitors at a show,
who they are, what markets they represent, and their
product interests [6]. The information provided by the
exposition audit can help an exhibitor determine the
effectiveness of a booth.
“Reasons a show was remembered were:
seeing a demonstration, product interest,
obtaining literature, and exhibit design. ‘I
In addition to the exposition audit, a variety of other
measurements could be taken by exhibitors to determine
the effectiveness of an exhibition at a trade show. While
the burden of measurement and evaluation falls heavily
on the exhibitor, trade show organizers often make data
available to exhibitors thus reducing some of the mea-
surement and evaluation burden. Useful measurements
can be classified into three categories, audience quality,
audience activity, and exhibit effectiveness.
The prime audience quality indicator is a measure of
total buying plans, or the percentage of the audience who
are planning to buy at least one product as a result of
what they saw in the show. A second audience quality
indicator is the net buying influences or percentage of the
audience who have buying influence in regard to one or
more of the major products displayed. Another measure
of quality is the audience interest factor or the average
percentage of the audience who stopped by a minimum
20% of the exhibits. This measure can be used as a
measure of the ability of the exhibits to attract visitors.
For all three of the audience quality indicators, the higher
the percentage, the better.
The second classification measurement to consider in
determining the effectiveness of an exhibit is the au-
dience activity indicators. The first among these is the
average number of hours spent at a show. Generally this
amount is determined by the number of exhibitors at the
show. The second audience activity indicator is the aver-
age number of exhibits visited. A correlation seems to
exist between the average number of exhibits visited and
the total square footage of the show.
A third set of measurements are made to evaluate the
effectiveness of an exhibit. The first of these is exhibit
efficiency, an overall performance measurement which
tells how well the exhibit attracted prospects to the exhib-
its and how well the personnel manning the booth estab-
lished person-to-person contact with them. Exhibit effi-
ciency is simply measured by recording the total number
of show visitors attracted by a display. By trying various
techniques at a variety of shows and then measuring the
efficiency, determination may be made of which tech-
niques work the best for a particular company. Another
effectiveness measure is the cost per visitor reached. This
measure gives an indication as to the economic success
of an exhibit. A visitor reached is any person who stops
by and talks to those at the booth or acquires literature,
shows an interest in the product, and remembers the
exhibit eight weeks after the show. It is considered to be
a valid contact comparable to a sales call. The costs in
this measurement include: exhibit space cost, exhibit
construction cost, refurbishing costs, set-up and disman-
tle costs, shipping costs, and other miscellaneous costs.
An exhibitor should keep in mind that the cost per visitor
51
reached in the trade show may be reduced by doing a talking to the right people about the right product. Show
more effective job in the exhibit. For example, adding audit data needs to be reviewed carefully before selecting
more display personnel may be more effective than re- shows to attend and products to promote. Many firms
ducing display expenditures. have measured recall increases immediately after the 5-6
Finally, memorability is an essential exhibit effective- week following the show which can be attributed pri-
ness characteristic. The results of a study by Exhibits marily to postshow follow up [7]. In addition to show
Surveys, indicated that the single most important element evaluation after-the-fact, data can be used to select ap-
in becoming most remembered is the size of the exhibit. propriate shows for exhibits and offer some clues for
However, at a large show it takes a large display. A selecting display themes and products to be displayed.
mathematical formula has been used to determine how All promotional programs including trade shows.
much space is needed to become remembered as the size should be evaluated. Improvements over time can only
of the show increases [7]. When attendees in the study by be achieved by evaluating how well an exhibitor has
Exhibits Survey were asked to give their reasons for done in the past.
remembering shows, four reasons were cited: they were;
seeing a demonstration, product interest, obtaining litera-
REFERENCES
ture, and exhibit design.
I. Calginaitis. Carol, “Trade Shows Exhibit Some Promise.” Adrertisin,q
Age. sl4-~15 (June 9, 1980).
SUMMARY
2. Greif. Ed. “On-Site Support: Cost Effective Trade Show Traffic
Builder,” I~~dustrial Murkding. 78-85 (April 1979).
For all promotional efforts marketing objectives need
3. Hutt, Michael D., and Speh. Thomas W.. Industrid Marketing Munugr-
to be specified before a plan can be developed. Trade ment. The Dryden Press: Chicago, 463 pp. 198 I.
show managers need to avoid the temptation to jump into 4. Konopackl. Allen, “More Products, Competition and Companies =
trade show planning before marketing objectives have More Exhibit Dollars.” Industrial Marketing, p. 71 (April 1978).
been set. Both preshow and postshow efforts can make a 5. Paget. Dennis. “Trade Show Success Depends on More Than a Good
well designed exhibit pay off. Exhibit planners should Exhibit Booth.” /ndu.strict/
Murkrting. p. 7.5 (April 1978).

consider ways to enhance exhibit recall and memo- 6. “Service Available to Evaluate Results of a Trade Show.” Imhstriul
Murkding. p. 8 (March 1979).
rability. Perhaps a demonstration would be helpful. Ac-
7. Swandby. Richard K.. and Jonathon Cox, “The 14 Most Remembered
tion always gets attention. Provide each booth attendee
Trade Show Exhibits of 1978,” lttrluwial Markctitrg. 71-76 (April
with take home literature. It may not be read immediately 1979).
but sooner or later it reminds attendees of what they have 8. “Zager Didn’t Estimate Trade Show Objectives.” Industrial Murkcvity.
seen at a show. Make sure that you are at the right show p. 17 (April 1979).

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