An exhibit house is important for creating the right environment to promote your business at a trade show, but are you picking the right trade show to work in? Here’s how you should go about making this choice before committing to the major investment of an exhibit house and other services you need to succeed.

Is Your Market There?

The first thing you should do before making—or even planning—any commitments is to research which trade shows will actually give you the results you want. For example, your product may be something that is considered consumer electronics, but if a trade show is catering largely to consumers or even a specific industry within that market, such as programmers, this might not be the show for you. However, if a show is playing host to management-level decision-makers who make purchases, that might be the market you actually want to reach out to.

What Is Exhibit Time Like?

Research the trade show schedule carefully. If anything in the schedule is labeled “unopposed exhibit hall hours,” that’s a positive. What this means is the show organizers are providing at least some time where there are no events, conferences, or seminars to attract attendees, so they are free to take some time to visit the exhibit hall and check out what’s on display. Just remember that even if a trade show bills itself as running for three days, if all three days are packed with events attendees would rather go to, they won’t be on the trade show floor.

What Is The Attendee List Like?

This will vary from one show to another, but some attendee lists will include helpful information, such as email addresses or other contact details, while others will not. There is no legal standard here, so depending on your needs, what a trade show provides for the attendee list may be sufficient or may not be what you’re looking for.

Costs

Beyond the actual price of renting floor space for your exhibit, check carefully to see if the trade show organizers may require any additional expenses. For example, if the show organizers mandate using an advance warehouse for shipping, this may be an extra cost you weren’t prepared for, even if it provides additional benefits. Always make sure to look carefully at the expenses beyond the show floor itself to see how they affect your budget and your ROI calculations.

If you want to work with an experienced exhibit house to ensure the success of your trade show, contact Lighthouse Exhibits. We can help.