At their most effective, trade fairs can form an important part of the marketing mix (the combination of marketing tools you use to implement your marketing strategy such as advertising, direct mail, personal selling and public relations). Trade fairs can help to build new business by offering:

• a chance to demonstrate your product or service to customers face-to-face
  
• a direct way to test new markets or launch new products and services
  
• a chance to find out what customers want
  good opportunities for networking
  
• many potential customers concentrated in one place
  
• many potential suppliers concentrated in one place
  

As well as buyers and sellers, trade fairs can attract journalists, media, politicians and other "movers and shakers" in particular fields. It can be a good idea to invite your existing customers to visit your stand too, as face-to-face contact can revitalise relationships that exist mostly through email or on the phone.

At their least effective, trade fairs can be an expensive waste of time. Make sure you know what you want to achieve. Make your goals specific and measurable - for example, "sell £x of products directly from the stand", or "get 50 new sales leads". Choose your fair carefully and give yourself plenty of time to plan. When it's over, follow up the contacts you made.

Evaluate what you got out of the trade fair (based on your goals) so you can build on your experience for next time.