Trade fair controlling: Making trade fairs measurable

Even in the age of social media, webinars, and digital events, trade shows have not lost their relevance. They offer something that purely digital formats cannot: direct personal encounters and conversations thatremain in the memory.

The figures impressively confirm this importance: the AUMA Exhibitor Outlook 2025/2026, a recent study based on a survey conducted in fall 2024, shows that trade fairs account for an impressive 45% of the total marketing budget, which is the same level as before the coronavirus pandemic. Companies with a turnover of less than €2.5 million even invest up to 53% of their marketing budget in trade fair appearances. This shows that trade fairs are by no means a thing of the past, but can be an important part of modern marketing strategies.

The reason for this is clear: trade shows combine factual information with emotional experiences – products are not only presented, but can also be experienced. Direct conversations can build trust and accelerate purchasing decisions.

Trade fair controlling refers to the systematic collection and evaluation of all relevant data relating to participation in trade fairs and exhibitions. This includes, among other things:

Visitor numbers

Number of leads generated

Increases in sales and profits

Costs of trade fair participation

The aim of trade fair controlling is to ensure that trade fairs are used effectively as marketing and sales tools and have a positive impact on business success.

Trade fairs are a key marketing tool—but also a significant cost factor. Stand rental, staff, travel, hotel accommodation, catering, and advertising materials quickly add up to a substantial item in the budget. This makes it all the more surprising that many companies still neglect to monitor the success of their trade fair appearances. Instead of concrete figures, we often hear vague statements such as: “The booth was well attended” or “We had good discussions.” But are such impressions really enough to justify an investment of more than ten thousand euros per trade fair participation?

I believe that trade fair controlling is not a tiresome addition, but a crucial management tool. Only those who weigh up the costs and benefits can make informed decisions about future trade fair appearances:

Overall, trade fair controlling is a complex process that requires good planning and careful evaluation of the collected data.

Step 1 – Defining objectives: e.g., number of qualified contacts (for specific industries, for specific regions, for potential investments greater than x euros)

Step 2 – Data collection: During the trade fair, (only) the data that is to be evaluated is collected.

Step 3 – Data analysis: In most cases, basic statistical values are sufficient, such as the total number of interesting conversations with additional characteristics (see 1.) and the average number of relevant contacts per day.

Step 4 – Data interpretation and evaluation: Trade fair participation is evaluated based on the previously defined objectives.

Step 5 – Derive measures: Decision on future participation, optimization of the trade fair stand, or a change in the target group approach.

Below, we would like to provide you with an overview of measurable performance indicators for trade fair appearances. You should determine which KPIs are important to you on an individual basis so that you can systematically collect data during subsequent trade fairs and ensure comparability later on.

In addition to these KPIs, other metrics may be relevant depending on your own business objectives and industry-specific conditions. Once you have decided to implement a metric system, you should apply it consistently to ensure the validity of the values. Leads should be tracked and the conversion rate (leads to new customers) calculated.

Trade fairs have been particularly important to Projektron GmbH since its founding. In 2001, the year the company was founded, the team, which at that time consisted of only four people, exhibited at two trade fairs (Internet World and Systems) with the clear goal of converting interested parties at the fair into customers. In 2002, Projektron participated in CeBIT for the first time at a joint stand sponsored by the state of Berlin. Projektron participated in CeBIT until the trade fair was discontinued. Especially after the introduction of trade fair controlling, we initially enlarged our booth in Hall 6 and later presented ourselves with an additional booth in other halls.

The basic strategy has remained the same for over a decade: in addition to the largest IT trade fairs, we check whether there are trade fairs for industries (e.g., automotive) or professional groups (e.g., project managers) in which we are strong or which we want to test. In this way, the company opens up new markets and wins customers who might not otherwise have become aware of the product.

Efficient organization as a success factor

For almost 25 years, Projektron has been combining trade fair experience with systematic controlling and efficient organization – and demonstrating that trade fairs are much more than just presentation venues: they are a strategic tool for growth, customer loyalty, and market positioning.

Sales control at Projektron

Sales control plays a central role in Projektron GmbH's trade fair controlling – orders that result from contacts made at the trade fair are assigned to it.

To enable assignment to the trade fair, we at Projektron document how the initial contact came about for each contact. After a purchase, we check whether the order can be attributed at least in part to trade fair activities. The time component is crucial here: especially in large companies, the decision to purchase our software can take years. To make the attribution of contacts clear, we use special keywords in the CRM module of Projektron BCS. Each trade fair is assigned its own keyword, and all meeting memos with potential customers are linked to it. This means that when reports are created, only those meetings that actually took place at the trade fair can be used.

The key figure “Revenue from new prospects acquired at the trade fair” is therefore a central measure of trade fair success at Projektron – transparent, traceable, and practical.

Key figure analysis at Projektron

We have adapted the key figure analysis to our needs. The central factor here is the contact price per relevant contact, i.e., the costs we incur per relevant trade fair contact. Relevant contacts are only those individuals who have shown serious interest in Projektron BCS.

It is particularly important to us that the method is applied consistently to all trade fairs.

At Projektron, it is important to us to evaluate not only the number of conversations, but also their quality. The AUMA suggests criteria such as the following for this purpose:

New customer or existing customer

Origin

Position/competence

Order behavior

We record the first three attributes directly during the trade fair, while order behavior is only included in the trade fair report when a purchase is made, whereby we only take license sales into account and not sales from services. At Projektron, we focus on new contacts and their license potential (LP). This is graded according to company size and ranges from A to E. The higher the LP, the higher the value of the contact. The contacts are included in the weighted contact price as follows:

We also take the origin of the customer into account: contacts from regions such as Asia or Africa are usually not weighted with contact value points.

Budget or cost control is not a direct method of performance review, but it is an important prerequisite for reliably assessing the cost-effectiveness of our trade fair appearances. It is crucial that all costs are allocated according to their source – which is often a challenge in practice. For us at Projektron, it is particularly important to record personnel costs in detail (working time and project time recording). These are often underestimated, even though they account for a large proportion of the trade fair budget.

After each trade fair, we at Projektron create a detailed trade fair report. This report contains not only figures, but also qualitative assessments. We document the most important results, analyze the stand visits, evaluate the quality of the discussions, and list new contacts and existing customers whom we want to continue to support in a targeted manner. The costs for personnel, travel, logistics, and stand materials are also recorded in full. The report is supplemented by photos, trade fair flyers, and internal feedback to provide as complete a picture as possible of the trade fair appearance.

The trade fair report documents the trade fair appearance and offers the following advantages:

Traceability: All costs and results are recorded transparently.

Continuity: Findings are incorporated into future trade fair planning.

Basis for decision-making: Management and marketing can make informed decisions about future trade fairs.

After each trade fair, the success (order behavior of the contacts) is checked via the trade fair report. The trade fair report is revised when a decision is made about participation in the next trade fair. If the report shows that participation was not worthwhile, participation in the next trade fair is not recommended.

Structure of the trade fair report

The report covers several areas:

Project master data: Information about duration, stand size, number of stand operators, project duration, and date of report creation.

Summary: All important key figures at a glance; basis for decisions about participation, personnel deployment, and adjustments.

Contacts during the trade fair: Presentation of visitor numbers per trade fair day in order to optimally plan personnel requirements.

Personnel costs, including external staff: Broken down by preparation, booth staffing, booth setup and dismantling, and follow-up. This allows us to see exactly which tasks incur which costs.

Material costs: All costs directly attributable to the trade fair, such as booth rental, booth construction, furniture, or logistics.

Travel expenses: Costs for employee travel, including expenses; usually low due to early bookings and the proximity of our branches.

New contacts: Contacts with companies we are meeting for the first time; broken down by license potential (LP) and interest in the BCS version.

Known prospects: Contacts we already had in our database; these are also evaluated according to LP and software version.

Customers and trial installations: Overview of which existing customers or trial customers visited our booth.

Key figures in the trade fair report

The report not only provides us with data, but also makes success measurable and comparable:

Total costs: Sum of personnel costs, material costs, and travel expenses; basis for calculating the contact price.

Contact price (KP): Total costs divided by the number of relevant contacts—a measure of the trade fair's efficiency.

Weighted contact price (WCP): Takes into account the licensing potential of the contacts; high-quality contacts (A+) have a positive effect and lower the WCP, while less relevant contacts can increase the CP.

License sales through initial contacts: Shows how much revenue new customers generate after the trade show and whether the trade show is profitable in the long term.

Proportion of German-speaking countries: Indicates how many discussions were held with German or foreign prospects, which is important for market focus.

Discussions per employee hour: Helps to evaluate the workload of our team and plan staffing for future trade shows.

Appendices to the trade fair report

The appendices provide additional detailed information that is important for the analysis:

Appendix 1: Detailed breakdown of personnel, travel, and material costs, revenue from initial contacts, and employee feedback.

Appendix 2: Calculation rules for the weighted contact price, explanation of terms, and overview of purchased licenses.

This transparency enables us at Projektron to not only assess the economic efficiency of a trade fair, but also to track the quality of contacts and the revenue generated. At the same time, the report provides the basis for planning optimizations for future trade fairs – whether in terms of staffing, stand size, or the selection of relevant target groups.

At Projektron, we don't see trade fair controlling as a chore, but as a crucial management tool. Only those who systematically record all costs, results, and qualitative aspects can realistically assess the success of a trade fair appearance. Our approach—sales control, key figure analysis, contact value calculation, and budget control—provides the basis for using resources efficiently, achieving trade fair goals, and ensuring our long-term competitiveness.

For us, trade fair controlling is not an add-on, but part of our trade fair DNA: it makes our trade fair appearances transparent, measurable, and sustainably successful – and has been for 25 years.