Tricks of the Trade Show

As attendance levels rebound at shows across the country, a cottage industry has sprung up to help companies improve their return on investment

by Christopher Palmeri

At this year's Exhibitor2007 conference, a trade show for people who put on trade shows, there were showgirls, a hypnotist, and a pool player doing trick shots, but they weren't there just to entertain. Instead, they were pitching themselves to companies seeking to boost returns on their trade show investments.

The show was held—where else?—in Las Vegas during the last week of March. Some 7,200 road warriors checked in, among them corporate event managers and marketing execs, as well as the folks who provide them with booths, lighting, and business-card scanning equipment. The show's creator, Lee Knight, says attendance hit a record in this, his 19th year, but beneath the surface there are currents rattling the trade show industry.

Attendance at the top 200 shows in the U.S. was 4.7 million last year and is on the rebound but still down from the peak of 5.1 million in 1996, according to TradeshowWeek. Some big shows, such as the tech industry's Comdex and E3, have folded or shrunk in recent years, as companies shift marketing dollars to online advertising and private events (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/2/07, "Take a Page from 3M's Pad").

"We do fewer shows," says Glenda Brungardt, trade show manager for Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) printer group. "We really have to prove they are worth it."

Conference Consultants

That's why a cottage industry has sprung up to improve the return on investment at shows. Consultant Martin Smith puts cameras over the booths of clients such as Toshiba and Xerox (XRX) to monitor performance. He discourages them from designing booths with walls, platforms, or sharply contrasting carpet that can discourage walk-in traffic.

His cameras often catch salespeople sitting, talking on cell phones, or eating when they should be at the edge of the booth drawing in prospective clients. The best way to boost customer contacts? "A really aggressive sales staff," he says.

That's music to the ears of Matthew Hill, who trains corporate salespeople to maximize their time in the booths. "A big mistake a lot of people make is that they treat this like a one-on-one sales call in the field," he says.

Hill tells salespeople to invite other prospective clients into a conversation so they can connect with two or more customers at once. He says that if someone comes into a booth and asks for a specific company representative, and that person is already speaking with someone else, tap the rep on the shoulder and let him or her know someone is waiting. "Sometimes they love it because they're trying to get out of a conversation," he says.

A rising number of the 13,100 trade shows in the U.S. have turned to independent firms to audit their attendance figures. Skip Cox, president of Exhibit Surveys, analyzes attendee data to help companies maximize their trade show investment.

If most of the attendees at a show are first-timers, he says, a company may not need a dramatically new booth design each year. If the number of attendees drops off in the later days of a show, he tells clients to scale back their staffing to save money.

"Rarely do we find companies in the wrong show," Cox says. "Instead they're either overinvested or underinvested relative to its importance."

Message with Magic

Exhibitor show founder Knight has taken advice from consultants to improve his event. He added a "town square" at the entrance with bean-bag chairs and a map of the world where attendees could put their photos and business cards to create more of a sense of community. This year he included a display of 10 events that changed the trade show industry, including the first Great Exhibition of Works of Industry at London's Crystal Palace in 1851 and the 1969 fire at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center that led to stricter building codes.

Booth builders, such as Czarnowski Exhibit Services, are designing booths made of fabric and lightweight materials to cut transportation and set-up costs. Some are even building them out of recycled, environmentally friendly components.

The corporate magician has also learned some new tricks. Charles Greene III says he increases sales leads by 135% at companies that hire him to perform at their trade shows.

At his booth, he pulls out a questionnaire and a sample script that he reviews with clients to help them hone their message. Then, by way of demonstration, he takes out three different-size pieces of rope and magically stretches them to equal length while stating several times that client Alcon Laboratories' (ACL) Patanol eye drops are the No. 1 treatment for ocular allergic conjunctivitis.

"Everybody gives out bagels and pens," Greene says, before sliding a reporter's trade show badge through a reader that captures his contact information. "We're giving them what you want them to remember."

Palmeri is a senior correspondent in BusinessWeek's Los Angeles bureau.