There's a new year beginning now - the school year. Whether you have children attending for the first time or finishing university, it's always hectic to get into the back-to-school routine. And, if you don't have school in your family, there might be your own remembrance of the excitement of starting afresh and learning something new.

This is a great time to review your trade show program in the same way you prepare for school.

Pick Your School = Industry

It's a business school question - Are you a railroad or a transportation company? In other words, what Business are you in? If you consider your industry a railroad, you will be concerned with rolling stock, laying track and logistics. If you consider your industry to be transportation, you will consider the railroad as a method of transportation - the same principles apply whether you run rail cars or airplanes. There's a engine, a carrier compartment, and now most importantly, customer focus. Railroads have to lay track, airlines have to have airfields, so there's difficulty in physically moving to meet customer demand. But railroads adapted by allowing piggybacking - truck trailers on flatbed rail cars. Airlines serve more markets with the hub and spoke system. You should look deeply into your own industry and determine customer focus for the next 12 weeks and 12 months.

Pick Your Classes = Shows

While your firm is part of an Industry, in times of slowing Business there are two avenues you can take to garner more sales. One is to hunker down and bore deeply into your niche, the other is to expand into other industries. In both cases, you may want to look at trade shows beyond the ones you have on your current docket. For example, if going deeper into your industry niche, you can consider local or regional shows, international expos, or shows which focus on discrete research in your niche allowing you an intellectual advantage. If expanding into other industries, you have a wide range of choices but the advice is to research, research, research before investing.

Pick Your Teachers = Find the Best for You

Not all executives of Fortune 500 companies went to an Ivy League or MIT caliber school, but considering the vast number of colleges and universities, a disproportionate number of these executives are graduates of the elite universities. Translated to trade shows, that means you should align yourself with well regarded shows, organizers attuned to forward thinking, and professional organization and management.

Pick Your Major = marketing Message

When you declare a major, it's your intention to complete the requirements and pursue a career in that field. People remember that you started off in theatre, switched to psychology, graduated in medieval history and then became a salesman. At a trade show, you don't get a second chance to change your marketing message. All the promotion before the show, the exhibit and goodies need to revolve around The Message. In essence, a trade show is not the time to change majors, confuse people and say "I really don't know what I'm doing here."

Pick Your Books = marketing Tools

A trade show is not an isolated marketing event but a continuum of your marketing efforts, so you won't be limited to books. Along the way, your marketing tools are selected for the best impact on the right people, whether you use print, video or the Internet. Once you understand the demographics of your audience, you use the right medium for the message. For example, a firm with a high-tech operation will expect to see detailed information about your firm on your web site - it's the first place they will look A low-tech firm will expect print materials and detailed manuals. And, y

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