No matter what you do, you just need to plan it first. Then, you implement it, and evaluate the end results. This will lead to a more target-oriented management mentality on your part. The same goes for participating in a trade fair after which you should evaluate the outcome. Given your initial purpose, we assume that you have already allocated a certain amount of your budget, time and energy into this area of work. So, you should definitely have some concrete knowledge after the analysis of end results. Such a knowledge will guide you in making your future decisions.

Considering that after effects usually last for a period of six months to four years following the actual event, a smooth transition from initiating business relations to improving the volume of your sales will not always be as easy as winking. And, the level of sales derived from the fair as a result of your trade connections prior to the event will confuse you even further in terms of calculation. Therefore, measuring your success at a trade fair is not an easy task, but you absolutely have something to do in this respect.

Let’s assume that you achieved a significant sales level for goods and services displayed at your fairstand during the fair period, then it would be quite easy to evaluate end results of this particular event. It might also be considered as a good measure for your success. The easiest way to calculate it: Just add up your profits on sale derived from the fair and then substract your total expenses from that. If you get a positive result, there is no problem. As I told you before, this is the easiest way of calculation, but we also know better that it’s not always much meaningful in itself.

You might not get any purchase requests during the fair, but you can collect some key information that will guide you in measuring your success at this particular time period. For instance, collecting statistical data on visitors might provide some guidance on the measurement of your success. One way or the other, you should absolutely collect some data on people who visited your fairstand. These records can contribute a lot to a significant increase in your sales level after the fair. Keep in mind that, it’s your priority responsibility to pay a visit to each and every visitor afterwards that you had contacted earlier during the event. Furthermore, you should keep track of all promotional materials distributed to your target audience at the exhibition center. The distribution of sales brochures on your goods and services will also provide some background information about the most preferred items within your product range. Don’t be too lazy to collect statistical data. Such information will provide guidance for your dealers as well on how to reach specific targets as identified.

Another applicable method in performance evaluation is to compare the general information on visitors provided by the fair organizer with the specific information on those who actually visited your fairstand. For instance, any classification based on the field of business, nationality, and the total number of visitors can be compared with data collected on your fairstand visitors in particular. By comparing these two figures, you can develop a better understanding of your contact management, i.e. whether the share of your specific contacts in the total sum of visitors is at an acceptable level or not. If your records indicate that the number of visitors at your fairstand constitutes only a minor portion of the total number of visitors, either your employees have not done their jobs correctly or you had a pretty bad fair event in terms of trade connections. So, you need to check your activities first. If you had your employees worked too hard without any mistakes, then you should start further questioning. All questions you need to ask yourselves are listed below. And, your relative responses will also provide a good guidance in terms of your future trade activities.

Another measurement of success is to calculate the unit cost per visitor. You can either use the total number of visitors at the exhibition center or of those at your fairstand as a proper basis in your calculation. You need to compare unit costs you’ve just calculated with those of other marketing tools utilized. Furthermore, you should calculate the total amount of time and cost required, if you consider to visit each and every company stopped by your fairstand earlier.

If you’re satisfied with end results of your evaluation, then there is no problem. But, if you think that your participation in the trade fair resulted in failure, you would need to ask yourselves some questions as listed below:

- From your perspective, is this particular trade fair is a right choice for you?
- What was your initial purpose in participating at this trade show?
- Are you sure that you have chosen the most well-suited trade fair for you?
- Is your timing right? 
- Did you really do your part required to attract more visitors to your fairstand?
- Are visitors satisfied with your innovative approach?
- Do your fairstand design  and products displayed grab the attention of visitors?
- Is your fairstand located at the correct spot in the exhibition center?

As you can see, saying that you’ve just attended a trade fair is not enough in itself. It takes a considerable amount of time and effort to make the best use of your participation in such events.