Having a successful trade show experience is determined—at least in part—by working with the right exhibit professionals. However, that’s just one choice you’ll have to make during this journey. There are many others to make, such as choosing the right trade show to attend in the first place. Here are five questions you should be asking yourself during this research process.

Is This Trade Show Established Enough?

Not all trade shows are created equal, and some have more credibility, prestige, and industry relevance than others. It’s up to you to ask this question and do your research about the trade shows you may be interested in attending. Just because a trade show will bring a lot of people together doesn’t mean that it will be relevant to the specific interests and needs you have.

What Is Attendance Like?

However, numbers do matter. A well-attended trade show means that more people show up, and potentially, more leads can be generated. Look at the track record of attendance for the trade shows you’re interested in. What are those numbers like? Are the numbers dropping with each year? Holding steady? Or even rising with each year? If you’re trying to grow your business, you want a trade show that affords plenty of opportunity to interact with potential customers and clients.

Will Your Target Audience Be There?

As a complement to the numbers mattering, it’s important to look at what kind of numbers are showing up. If you offer a product or service primarily relevant to businesses, then a consumer trade show is likely to yield little return on investment, regardless of the number of attendees.

Are The Activities Relevant?

Will there be seminars? Speakers? Workshops? Other activities relevant and related to your industry and of interest to the people attending? If there are, then this is beneficial for you. If you’re researching early enough, it may even provide your business with the opportunity to participate in a speaking engagement or conduct a workshop. The presence of such activities affords networking and promotional opportunities for people who take advantage of them.

Will Competitors Be Attending?

It’s a double-edged sword, but if your competitors are attending, that’s usually a good sign, as it means they find it beneficial to their business, so you should too. However, this also means that you’ll have to put in the work to stand apart from your competitors and be a compelling, distinctive offering compared to them.

If you want to work with experienced exhibit professionals to ensure you get a good return on your investment, contact Lighthouse Exhibits.