For many marketers, this is Tradeshow season and thousands of vendors will be packing up their booths while thousands of prospects and clients are walking up and down the aisles searching for that next new thing that will change their world. From an ROI perspective, opinions about the effectiveness of tradeshows are mixed and often divided – you either love them or hate them. For some, tradeshows are seen as a necessary evil; a box to be checked to avoid giving a negative impression to customers and the market that “you are not there.” For others, it is part of an integrated omnichannel marketing approach that is critical to a marketing and sales strategy.

Regardless of which way you look at a tradeshow, it does come with its challenges. The CFO complains about the cost, while the CEO expresses frustration over the lack of closed deals. The sales team, meanwhile, grumbles about spending 3 days away from the field generating leads only to have to hand them off to other salespeople who manage that account or territory.