Small-business owners can profit from attending business-to-consumer and business-to-business trade shows, says Barry Siskind, a Toronto-based exhibit-marketing expert and author of Selling From the Inside Out (Strategic Book Publishing). There are thousands of these shows staged every year.

The first important question that business owners must ask is, Which type of trade show should they attend? Do they want to meet directly with the public, or with businesses (wholesalers, manufacturers, suppliers)?

“Computer-consulting businesses, for example, need to carefully define their target market,” says Siskind. “Are they looking to do business with manufacturers, home-based businesses or retail stores? Knowing this information gives them an important clue about the type of show they should attend.”

Take specialty retail food stores. Who are business owners trying to reach? It could be both consumers and businesses, for different reasons. The business may sell gourmet specialty-food items to consumers and catering services to organizations. The business owners would profit from attending both B-to-C and B-to-B shows.

“Whatever the market, the trade show is a proven way to generate traffic to a store or Web site,” says Siskind.

In addition to traditional B-to-B and B-to-C trade shows, many small businesses across Canada attend local B-to-C and B-to-B shows sponsored by local business groups, chambers of commerce or boards of trade. These are designed to give local businesses exposure to local buyers, whether they are the ultimate consumer or a business.

Whether business owners plan to attend a B-to-B or a B-to-C show, Siskind offers the following tips to help them reach their target customers in a short period of time.

Seven tips for getting maximum mileage from a trade show

1. Set realistic goals. Limit downside risk by preparing a well-thought-out strategy, outlining goals and marketing strategy and how to achieve them.

2. Don’t cheap it. Exhibiting requires a financial commitment so that the business’s products are elegantly and attractively displayed. The booth must convey a feeling and attitude of success. A shoestring approach can create a negative image.

3. Strategically set up booth so that it defines the business. The booth ought to be a microcosm of the business, which isn’t easy to pull off. “There are too many people, too little space and too many distractions,” says Siskind. “Trying to re-create a retail booth in a trade-show environment requires serious attention to not only the detail of the display elements, but a clear understanding of what visitors expect.”

4. Promote the business’s presence. Don’t assume that once a booth is set up, people will stop by to learn about its products or services. The magnet drawing people is a strong pre-show promotional campaign, which should include pre-show mailers, announcements on the business’s Web site and strategically placed fliers in the trade show’s reception area.

5. Use trade-show opportunities to promote other marketing efforts. In addition to selling products or services and gathering quality leads, small-business owners also should consider promoting other activities, such as seminars, open houses or tours of the facility or factory.

6. The right booth staff. As important as an appealing-looking booth is having the right people to run it, represent the business and draw people in. Hard-sell techniques never work. Staffers must be gracious, pleasant and welcoming so potential customers will feel comfortable to enter and leave without being pressured to buy.

7. Measure success. Information is king. Future success can be measured by gathering information during the show in order to evaluate how well the booth did. Critical information includes: Traffic flow during the show; types of visitors; companies represented; business generated; and leads cultivated.

Barry Siskind can be reached at barry@siskindtraining.com or call (within North America) 1-800-358-6079.