Companies focus on building relationships, booths that tell their story
For decades, trade shows and industry expos have been the heartbeats of business development, serving as spaces to strike deals, show innovation and spark partnerships.
Far from becoming relics of the past, trade shows have become more important in today’s marketing mix. In an era defined by digital saturation and AI-driven outreach, these live events are an anchor for businesses aiming to cut through digital noise. They deliver face-to-face engagement, a powerful tool for growth and brand positioning.
“Business is a lot of relationship building, and that’s hard to do virtually,” said Chase Lowden, Crossroads Chamber expo committee co-chair and financial adviser at Lowden Financial Partners. “When people couldn’t communicate face-to-face during COVID, it hurt business-to-business. We’re still revving up from COVID. A place where business owners can meet is more relevant than ever.”
Companies across the Region are adapting to the increasing value of these events.
“Trade shows allow the unique opportunity to see multiple business partners from all over the country and the world in a compressed time frame,” said Tracy Soohey, trade show coordinator, and Paul Rekart, regional sales manager, at Chesterton-based Urschel, in an email. “This allows valuable face-to-face contact with more efficient use of travel time.”
While online marketing excels at generating awareness, in-person events accelerate trust and decision-making. Attendees typically arrive with intent. They are looking for solutions, partnerships or ideas — making these environments effective for moving prospects closer to purchase.
An evolution
Lori Daly, Porter County Expo & Fairgrounds director, sees the change.
“In our experience over the last couple of years, we have seen trending for smaller more intimate shows,” Daly said.
Some events have become smaller and more niche, focusing on specific industries or audiences. According to Daly, companies are adjusting their marketing and booths. This shift reflects a broader trend toward precision rather than scale. Instead of trying to reach everyone, organizers and exhibitors are prioritizing the right audience. Even as individual events may feel more intimate, the trade show industry continues to grow, driven by demand for meaningful, in-person connection.
Trade shows have not simply grown or shrunk; they have transformed. What matters now is not how many people attend, but how relevant those attendees are.
In the past, trade shows were largely transactional, with interactions often limited to introductions and the exchange of business cards. The emphasis was on quantity over quality. Exhibitors focused on collecting as many contacts as possible rather than building relationships.
Today’s trade shows are more than companies passing out business cards and promotional items smacked with the company’s logo. The best booths today are built around human connection.
“Just sitting behind a booth doesn’t generate much business,” said Lisa Fronek, CEO of Generate Sales & Marketing in Crown Point. “If someone walks past your booth and there’s no interaction and nothing memorable, it’s too much money spent for the amount of good it’s going to do.”
Clear messaging, visible from a distance, helps draw people in, but it is the quality of conversation that determines success.
“As a business, you need to make sure that the people at the event are your target audience. If you’re a bar, you’re not going to attend a children’s event,” Fronek said. “You need to hit the right events and connect with that audience. If that’s all done, then results are high.”
Redesigning booths
Bigger is no longer automatically better. In the past, large booths signaled dominance and drew attention through sheer scale. Today, a smaller booth with a strong message and thoughtful layout can outperform a sprawling space that lacks focus. The key is how quickly a visitor understands what a company offers and whether they feel invited to engage.
“Of course, people are drawn to the flash of big, fancy booths. That doesn’t matter if they are just there to look and have no use for what a company is offering,” Soohey and Reckart said in their statement. “It isn’t about traffic; it is about the right traffic. Having a booth that clearly illustrates the value being offered remains a solid principle.”
Booths are also incorporating lounge-style areas or meeting spaces, reflecting a shift toward deeper conversations rather than quick pitches. Open layouts with clean sightlines also perform well, as they reduce intimidation and make it easy for attendees to step inside.
The types of booths that attract the most attention are those that emphasize experience over display. Interactive and experiential setups are particularly effective because they encourage visitors to participate rather than observe. Companies like Portage-based Trinity Displays help businesses plan for trade shows by serving as a turn-key provider of custom trade show exhibits, displays and signage.
“Throughout the last few years, we’ve seen a large increase in requests for more of an experience within the booth,” said Marty McGinnis, business development at Trinity Displays. “People are always looking for something they haven’t seen before — something they’re excited to tell their friends about or post photos of on social media. Including a fun game to win prizes or a cool photo moment experience is a way to engage with clients and get them to share your brand without ever even asking them to.”
Whether through hands-on product demonstrations, immersive digital elements, or simple but engaging activities, these booths create memorable interactions.
Personalization
Tailoring conversations to the visitor’s needs or industry increases relevance and impact. Staff play a critical role, not as salespeople delivering scripts but as facilitators of meaningful dialogue. Any promotional items offered are an extension of the company’s story, not something unrelated.
“If you’re a care-based company, you’re not going to offer an arm-wrestling competition to draw people in,” Fronek said. “Using fun experiences like karaoke, crafts or playing a game at a booth creates a moment. It shows a company’s personality and leads to conversations. Attendees may still take home a promo item, but it has more than intrinsic value. It has a memory. It cements the message the company is trying to get across.”
Companies that excel in this area are rethinking the role of the booth entirely. Instead of serving as a static display, the booth becomes a hub within a larger engagement strategy.
The most successful marketers treat trade shows as part of a broader campaign rather than a standalone effort. Before the event, they identify target accounts, schedule meetings and generate awareness through outreach. During the show, they focus on qualifying leads instead of simply collecting contact information. Conversations continue beyond the show floor through dinners, off-site gatherings or follow-up sessions. The result is a more cohesive approach to lead generation.
Modern booths reflect this strategic shift. They are often divided into distinct zones that support different types of interaction, such as demonstrations, casual conversations and private meetings. Technology plays a supporting role, with digital displays and data capture tools enhancing the experience rather than overwhelming it. Above all, the design communicates a clear and consistent brand story, ensuring that visitors immediately understand the company’s value.
Behind the scenes
Trade show logistics have evolved.
Many companies now rely on modular booth systems that can be reconfigured and reused across events, balancing cost efficiency with flexibility. Companies like Urschel ship their large machines to expos. They store their booth, literature and supplies in ready-to-ship crates and assemble everything on site. They bring mini candy bars to sweeten the visit to their booth.
“We’re seeing an increase in clients who prefer not to be responsible for paying long-term maintenance of the exhibit and/or any incremental storage costs to house their exhibit assets between expos,” McGinnis said. “This has led to a large increase in requests for rental exhibits. Trinity now offers rental frames that can be customized with graphics, greenery, shelves, lighting and closets.
Ultimately, trade shows are not shrinking so much as they are sharpening. Success no longer depends on having the biggest presence or attracting the largest crowd. Instead, it hinges on creating meaningful interactions, delivering clear value and executing a well-planned strategy before, during and after the event.
In today’s digital world, the ability to connect in person has become more powerful than ever, ensuring that trade shows remain not only relevant but essential. Trade shows are ecosystems that combine marketing, education, networking and brand storytelling into a single, dynamic environment.
Companies that treat expos as a strategic investment rather than a routine obligation stand to gain the most. The format may be changing, but the underlying principle remains the same: business is built on relationships, and there is still no substitute for meeting face-to-face.
“The No. 1 benefit to trade shows isn’t necessarily direct sales then and there,” Lowden said. “It’s reputation and exposure. You’re showing up, dressing up and engaged, not just home sitting on the couch. A trade show is a starting point to building business and community relationships.”•
Read more stories from the current issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.
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Great ownership transfer
Bridge for skills gap
Passion project
Curiosity at heart
Employee wealth plans
Inside mid-career learning
Betting on Northwest Indiana
Digital infrastructure
Professional advancement
