Managers of trade shows and public expositions do essentially the samejob, yet they do it very differently. Both groups follow procedures tailoredto their own specific needs. Some approaches are effective for one group,yet impractical for the other.

As the exposition industry grows and changes, however, and as shows proliferateat the same time that exhibitors and attendees are becoming more selective,show managers are finding that they need new ideas. What worked yesterdaymay not work today. One source of new ideas could be your counterparts onthe other side of the industry. They may use some techniques that you cansimply borrow and follow; others may need some reshaping before you canuse them.

Do you know how the other half lives? Do you know what your peers dothat you don't? Following is a look at four areas for which show managersare responsible, pointing out the differences -- and the possibilities.

Booth sales
Both trade and public show managers reach their prospective exhibitors throughmailed prospectuses and telemarketing. But they each have their own methodsfor supplementing those efforts. Public show managers, for example, makefar more sales calls because it is both more practical and, some say, morenecessary for them to do so. "A consumer show typically is local, soit's possible to make sales calls inexpensively," says Jeff Haughton,President and CEO of Industrial Expositions Inc., in Denver, which managesboth consumer and trade shows. "But it's not practical to hop on aplane and visit a trade show exhibitor; exhibit sales revenue doesn't supportthat." Haughton gives another reason for making in-person calls: "Thecompetitive nature of consumer shows today makes it necessary to maintainstrong exhibitor relationships." In other words -- there's still nothinglike pressing the flesh.

Michael Fisher, Executive Director of the National Association of ConsumerShows, makes an even stronger case for face-to-face calls on exhibitors."Most consumer shows have an exhibitor turnover of about 40 percentper year; therefore you need an active sales force," he explains.

But Fisher believes that because of changes taking place in the expositionindustry, trade show managers will have to take a cue from public show managersand rely more heavily on direct sales. "Some trade shows just mailout contracts, the money flows in, and there's a waiting list of exhibitors,"he says. "But the idea that people can just do a show and exhibitorswill show up -- that won't hold true anymore. The exhibitor is becomingmore selective, and that's when you have to step up the selling."

Haughton, meanwhile, thinks that consumer show managers could get moreout of a low-cost sales channel commonly used by trade show managers: associationcommunications, including meetings as well as newsletters. "Consumershow managers could benefit from focusing more on association relationships,using that networking, rather than mass media," he says. "A lotof consumer show managers do that, but even more of them could -- and should."

Attendance promotion
This is an area that many show managers think is -- and has to be -- verydifferent for trade and public show managers. In general, trade shows relyheavily on direct mail to reach a targeted audience. Frequently, those peopleare members of an association, which provides the mailing list. Public showsemphasize media in order to reach an audience that is much broader and lessclearly defined.

The perception is that neither side can cross the line effectively. Directmail is considered impractical for consumer shows because of the difficultyin creating a targeted list. Similarly, broadcast media supposedly won'tbe cost effective for trade shows because the message will reach too manyof the wrong people.

But show managers who can break out of that mindset will discover manypossibilities. For example, Jim Wurm, President of The CleanRooms Show,a trade show that will be held in Atlantic City, bought 70 radio spots overa two-week period, and will run ads aimed at the many pharmaceutical companiesin the New Jersey area. To improve his chances of reaching his target audience,Wurm, who was formerly president of a consulting firm that worked with exhibitorsand show management, is going beyond the standard drive-time slots thatadvertisers usually favor. "A lot of the pharmaceutical manufacturershave three shifts, so we bought spots throughout the day and night,"he says. Wurm hopes the ads will decrease no-shows. "Radio reinforcesmailings and phone calls," he explains.

Although direct mail may be easier for trade shows than for public shows,because mailing lists are readily available, that ease can also be a pitfall,warns Peter McLean, Group Show Manager at Industrial Trade & ConsumerShows Inc., in Toronto. "I'm not so sure we look at demographics carefully,"hesays. "With a tradeshow, you fall into the trap of doing what you didthe year before, as opposed to digging deeper. But for a consumer show,in theory, everyone is a consumer and is a potential attendee. If a tradeshow is run properly, the manager's job is to reach as deeply as he can."

Public show managers have to dig deeply, because that's the only waythey can get their information. But those who do are finding that it paysoff. "Consumer show managers are starting to do some direct mail marketing,because they can see from the demographics that there are niches,"says Sandra Morrow, President of show management and consulting firm TradeShow Managers Inc., in Calgary, Alberta. "For example, one survey showedthat an incredible percentage of consumer show attendees are college educated.So consumer show managers are starting to market to segments and are gettinga greater return."

Morrow describes a technique that promoted attendance while at the sametime developed a mailing list for the next event. The show manager createdan admission-discount coupon designed to hang on a door knob, and arrangedwith the local gas company to have meter readers leave a coupon at everyhouse on which they called. "The coupon requested complete demographicinformation," Monow says. "People filled it out because they wantedtheir discount."

Another way to develop a public show mailing list, says Amie Hingston,Show Manager for the Metro Home Show in Toronto, is to have attendees fillout entry forms for a prize drawing. Here, too, the form should ask fordemographic information that would help to identify likely attendees forthe following year.

Renting a list is another option. Association relationships can be beneficialhere. For example, Dana Bobbin, Marketing and Public Relations Directorfor The Horticultural Society of New York, has used lists obtained fromgardening organizations, as well as gardening publications, to promote attendanceat The New York Flower Show. This year, expanding her reach into a relatedarea, she also used a list from a tennis association.

Wurm identifies another difference in promoting trade and public shows."Promotion at a trade event begins with the program. Professionalscome for information they can't get anywhere else. It's more difficult tocreate a perceptional difference at a consumer event. " Because consumersconsider a show a form of entertainment, and evaluate it against all theother entertainment options available, Wurm suggests a way to give themmore entertainment at the show than they can get anywhere else: "Createevents within the event. For example, bring in personalities like soap operastars or sports figures to give people an additional reason to attend."

Audience surveys
In addition to providing names of potential attendees for the followingyear's mailing, audience surveys can yield demographic information thatcan help to attract exhibitors, and provide insight into the effectivenessof the show itself. Trade show managers typically ask attendees either tofill out forms at the show or to respond to a questionnaire mailed soonafter. Attendees are likely to participate because they have a vested interestin the success of the show and of their own industry.

Public show attendees are usually surveyed on-site because mail surveyscan be impractical. First, few people would respond, because they wouldhave little incentive to do so; thus the returns would be statisticallyinsignificant. On the other hand, if a statistically significant numberof people did respond, the volume of mail could be overwhelming.

But in-person surveys shouldn't be considered the method to use onlywhen there's no other choice. "There is a real benefit to having aperson work on surveys at the show," says Haughton. "It makesit more personal. Trade show managers should take advantage of that techniquemore often."

In general, trade show managers have been greater users of audience surveys."Consumer shows are not doing audience surveys as much as they should,"Fisher notes. "But NACS encourages its members to survey attendees-- to find out who's attending, and what they're looking for. The informationthat comes out of there is very, very valuable. The consumer is changingdramatically, and you have to help the exhibitor change too." Datafrom audience surveys can tell the exhibitor what needs to be done.

Exhibitor relations
Public show and trade show managers have different attitudes toward exhibitortraining because of the difference in their shows' attendees, Marc Goldbergmaintains. Goldberg, President of Tulsa-based Marketech, which specializesin exhibitor staff training, works with exhibitors and managers of bothtrade and public shows. "The trade show audience is made up of professionalbuyers," says Goldberg, "and the consumer show audience is Mr.and Mrs. Joe Public." As a result, the trade show audience is takenmore seriously, and trade show managers have done more in the way of exhibitortraining. But, Goldberg points out, "Public show attendees are stillbuying influences and decision makers.

"Public shows would be far more beneficial to the exhibitor andthe attendee if show managers helped exhibitors with tools, ideas, tipsand checklists," he continues. For example, "Qualifying has tobe a lot sharper at a public show because people aren't even wearing namebadges." Thus, exhibitors must be taught what kinds of questions toask to qualify quickly -- "Tell me what area of interest brings youto the show" is one example -- and how to close in a positive way whenthe person clearly is not a prospect.

And although exhibitors have the ultimate responsibility for followingup on leads, Goldberg says, show managers can get them headed in the rightdirection. They can encourage exhibitors to use lead cards -- even a 3"x 5" card will do -- and can suggest appropriate questions relatingto the time frame for the purchase and the quality level they're interestedin. "Show managers can even help just by providing a sheet with tips,"says Goldberg. "Most consumer show exhibitors are in just one or twoshows a year, and don't understand the subtleties."

In fact, public show managers are beginning to provide exhibitor trainingand guidance, out of necessity. As Fisher at NACS puts it, "In thisday and age, you must take good care of the exhibitor. Trade shows do amuch better job of that, but consumer shows are getting better at it. They'rebringing in experts who are hitting on booth presentations, on how to qualifyand follow up leads. That's money well spent because successful exhibitorscreate a good show.

Amie Hingston exemplifies the change Fisher is observing. "We'rerecognizing that there has to be more value added, that we have to helpexhibitors get more out of a show. So we hold seminars for exhibitors todeal with boothmanship and power selling for salespeople."

Hingston, who stresses the importance of demographic information whendeveloping a mailing list, says that such data are also necessary if a leadis to be of any value. "A ballot that people fill out to enter a drawingshould ask pointed questions that qualify the person. We're putting moreemphasis on that for our exhibitors."

Meanwhile, Wurm says that some trade show exhibitors are less sales-consciousthan are public show exhibitors: "On the trade side, there's more ofa marketing than a sales mentality," he says. And he believes thatshow management bears part of the responsibility for that. "Show managerscontribute to exhibitors' reasons for participating in a show," hesays. "Consumer events are selling events. People exhibit because they'relooking for sales. But trade show people range all over the place. Sometimesthey exhibit because the marketing department said they need a presence."

This is where the show manager's influence comes in, Wurm explains. "Peoplewho exhibit for the wrong reasons got that from the show manager, who toldthem, for example, that their competition would be there. I'd rather convincemy exhibitor to come because of all the great benefits to be derived fromthe show." Both trade show and public show managers could do a betterjob in this area, Wurm maintains.

Businesspeople constantly warn of the dangers of "we've always doneit that way" thinking. Perhaps things are done the way they are because,through trial and error, the perfect system has evolved. But an idea exchangewith peers who do almost the same thing you do just might open upprofitable new avenues. Besides, if you do what you've always done, you'llget what you've always gotten.