Are Trade Shows Worth Attending?
Trade shows are rising in cost, but they still deliver real value—when approached strategically. Companies that define clear goals before attending consistently get more out of their investment than those who attend out of habit. Tradeshow value depends on these goals.
Trade shows have long been a cornerstone of business development. But the price of showing up? It’s climbing fast.
Between booth fees, travel, hotels, client entertainment, and days away from the office, attending a major trade show can quickly balloon into a significant line item on your budget. And that’s true whether you’re exhibiting with a full booth setup or simply walking the floor as an attendee.
For companies in the packaging industry like us, major shows draw enormous crowds from beauty, food, cosmetics, and consumer goods—the options can feel overwhelming. There are a lot of shows to choose from. Not all of them are worth your time.
The good news? The companies getting the most value out of trade shows aren’t the ones with the biggest booths. They’re the ones with the clearest strategy. Here at Curtis Packaging, we believe tradeshows still provide value.
Why Attending “Because We Always Have” Is No Longer Enough
There’s a version of trade show planning that looks like this: the calendar rolls around, someone says, “we were there last year,” and the registration form gets filled out. No deeper conversation. No defined objective. One show we attend is LPNYC, but each year we go into the show with a clear objective and goals.
This approach made more sense when trade show costs were lower and competition for attention was less fierce. Today, it’s a fast track to a poor return on investment.
The companies winning at trade shows ask a harder set of questions before they commit. Not just what shows are we attending? but why are we attending them—and what’s the potential downside if we skip this one?
Those questions change everything.
What Does Real Trade Show Strategy Look Like?
A strategic approach to trade shows starts with one simple exercise: defining what success looks like before you arrive. That definition will look different for every organization, and that’s exactly the point.
Generating New Business in a Target Market
Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships
Some of the most valuable trade show moments don’t happen in a sales pitch—they happen over dinner, or during a quick walk between sessions. For companies with long-standing client relationships, trade shows offer something that Zoom calls simply can’t: genuine, unhurried face time. That kind of connection is difficult to put a price tag on, but its impact on loyalty and retention is real.
How to Evaluate Whether a Show Is Worth Your Budget
Not every show deserves your presence. Here’s a practical framework for making that call:
- Define your primary objective first. Are you there to sell, recruit, or retain? Your answer should drive every other decision—from which show to attend to how you structure your time on the floor.
- Research the attendee profile. Does the audience match your target customer, talent pool, or partner network? A mismatch here is a red flag regardless of how prestigious the show is.
- Calculate the true cost. Booth fees are just the beginning. Factor in travel, accommodation, staffing, pre-show marketing, and the opportunity cost of time away from regular operations.
- Weigh the downside of not attending. Will competitors have a visible presence? Are key customers expecting to see you there? Sometimes the cost of absence is higher than the cost of attendance.
- Set measurable goals. Define what a successful show looks like in concrete terms—a number of qualified leads, meetings booked, or contacts made—so you can assess ROI after the fact.
Trade Shows Still Matter—But the Rules Have Changed
None of this is an argument against trade shows. Far from it. Face-to-face interaction remains one of the most powerful tools in business development, particularly in relationship-driven industries like packaging. There are conversations, impressions, and connections that simply cannot happen through a screen.
But the environment has shifted. Costs are higher. Calendars are tighter. And the bar for what counts as a worthwhile investment has risen accordingly.
The companies showing up with intention—with a clear reason to be there and a plan to make the most of every hour—are the ones walking away with real results. The ones attending out of habit are often left wondering why the ROI never quite materializes.
Being intentional about where you show up isn’t a constraint. It’s a competitive advantage.
Start with the “Why” Before You Book the Booth
Before your team registers for the next show on the calendar, pause and work through the questions that matter most: Why are we going? What do we expect in return? What happens if we don’t?
The answers won’t always point toward attending—and that’s a perfectly valid outcome. Reallocating budget from a low-value show to a high-value one, or investing in deeper pre-show preparation, can make a far bigger difference than simply showing up.
Trade shows reward strategy. Give yours the attention it deserves.
