o you attend trade shows? If so, do you come home with a pocketful of new contacts and a list of people already waiting to hear from you? Or, do you bring back an empty wallet, a bad headache and a couple of business cards from people you don't remember meeting?

Do you know in advance which shows are worth attending? Do you know if you will benefit more as an exhibitor than as an attendee? Do those dozens of flyers and postcards mailed to attendees in advance of a trade show drive people to a booth? And once there, do leggy models, toy cars and flashy pens lead to profitable sales?

While trade shows invariably provide ample opportunity to rub elbows with peers, customers and suppliers, if you view them simply as that, you are missing out on an important marketing tool.

Because just like advertising, direct mail, publicity and promotion, trade shows represent an expenditure of time and money-and an opportunity to reach a target market in a way that delivers sales.

Following are some things to consider in advance of the next trade show:

To Go or Not to Go?

That is the question. And it is one of the easier questions to answer, because it depends on only two variables: who will be there, and how much it will cost you to go. Usually those are the first questions answered by event management and posted on the Web site of the organization hosting the show.

Let's assume an event will attract 800 people, of whom 200 are competitors, 200 are suppliers, 200 are current customers and 200 are prospects. Let's also assume it will cost $2,000 for you to go.

Ask yourself: If I meet with 15 suppliers and learn about one new product, how much time or money will I save? If I wine and dine twenty of my current customers, how much will that boost my retention and save me future travel time and cost?

If I visit all 200 prospects and leave with one new customer, how long will that customer have to be with me for my investment to pay off? If I attend one class or listen to one panel, how much value does that add to my business?

To See or to Be Seen?

Should you exhibit, or simply attend? Once again, that depends on your objectives and your budget. If, for instance, your goal is to "shop the industry" by staying on top of new products and shaking a few hands, then the cost of exhibiting is probably better spent elsewhere.

Even if you hope to make a splash, exhibiting is not the only option. You can throw a party; you can give tickets to a hot show, you can distribute outstanding gifts. These options allow you to target only that part of the audience in which you are interested.

If your party is different and attractive, if your show tickets are in demand, or, if following the show, your gift sits on a desk as a visible reminder, you might even make more of a splash than you would by exhibiting.

At the same time, these "events" are not as conducive to actually doing business as they are to making an introduction and collecting a business card.

Exhibiting, on the other hand, gives you access to current customers, suppliers and prospects in the same environment; set yourself up right, and you can do business right there on the trade show floor.

As an exhibitor, you typically have a few other marketing advantages over non-exhibitors: You can get a free ad, you can get a mailing list in advance, and you get invited to select events. You've paid for these perks by registering for floor space. Take advantage of them.

Do You Really Need the Blonde and the Robot?

So you've decided to exhibit. This is a unique opportunity to showcase your products and services, and demonstrate to others how you exceed expectations; it should not be taken lightly.

Your goal is to create an exhibit that will attract the people you want to attract, communicate the message you want to communicate, make and leave the right impression, and be a working part of your overall marketing plan.

Be clear about what you hope to achieve and develop a budget that makes sense within these parameters. If the show is small and exhibitors are limited to tabletop displays, the wisest expenditure may be in the staff you bring with you to the show. If the show is large and booth space is the size of a room, you've got some thinking to do.

A professional booth will likely cost a minimum of $15,000, and that's only for the space and what you put in it. Plan to pay more for audio, Internet connections, cleaning, carpet, shipping and so forth.

Still want the blonde and the robot? Maybe. If your booth is in the back corner and doesn't tower above the competitors', you may need help getting people to visit it. Sending a robot out to cruise the floor, or announcing that visitors get a kiss from JLo might help. So might less expensive give-aways, contests and marketing prior to the show.

Even if you manage to attract every trade show attendee, the crowd won't count for much if you don't have a solid and noteworthy demonstration of your company's products and services behind all the glitz.

Carefully determine the image you want to project, the objectives you need to reach, and a budget that will provide adequate ROI. Then take the straightest road there.

Whether you attend as an exhibitor or a surveyor, don't forget the basic logistics of your attendance-registration, flights, hotel reservations and booth details if you're exhibiting. These shows, regardless of how personal and intimate they may seem when you arrive, are large and complex to plan.

The sponsors and show organizers will not be calling you to remind you of deadlines or particulars that you should have thought of.

No matter what your role, "bystander" should not be an option. For you to gain something from the experience, your eye should be on specific goals and determining how to reach them.

If you're going to the show as a regular attendee, planning is just as crucial. You must know why you plan to attend and the number of leads by which you intend to increase your portfolio at the end of the show.

Have a brief but convincing bio about yourself, your company and what makes you great, along with a snazzy business card, ready to hand out in an instant, which is all the time you might have with an influential individual.

Also consider which courses are important to you. Sign up before space runs out. Are there individuals that you would really like to tie down for a meeting? Contact them now and ask if you can get together for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for five minutes in between, if necessary. Don't forget to make a reservation at a restaurant. When thousands of people are in town at the same time, seats fly quickly.

Strategize to take advantage of every minute. Most likely, you will be able to get an attendee list, an exhibitor's list and a floor plan in advance of the show.

Get them. Study them. Write a tentative schedule of which booths you intend to visit and with which people you want to talk about which products or ideas.

Be prepared for your carefully formulated plan to be completely changed at the last minute when Mr. Smith cancels dinner and Ms. Brown-a very important executive who showed up unexpectedly-wants to have lunch to talk about a partnership when you were scheduled to go to a course on Time Management for the ISO.

You Came, You Saw, You Conquered?

After weeks of preparation and a day or three of no sleep and too many faces, you should have had several productive discussions and acquired a stack of new business cards if you followed your plan successfully.

Don't go back to the office in a state of post-trade show exhaustion and leave these great leads at the wayside along with your plane ticket stubs and receipts for overpriced dinners.

This is the time for the 3Rs: regrouping, re-evaluation and reaching out.

The sooner you follow up, the more likely it is that your newfound buddies remember you and your fantastic ideas. You should have a few notes about each person with whom you want to keep in touch. Move quickly and with conviction.

Then measure. You spent X dollars, you yielded X number of new clients, which produced X dollar volume. Did it pay? Think about which of your strategies worked and which didn't. Prepare to improve your plan of action for the next show, either by cutting costs or boosting reach and conversion.

But don't give up on these events. Despite rising costs and loads of potential stress, industry shows provide an invaluable tool for you and your company to gain exposure in the industry.

So, plan ahead, prepare yourself, and follow the trade show circuit to success.

Nancy Drexler is the Marketing Director of Cynergy Data. Jessica Rubin is the company's Communications Supervisor. Cynergy Data is a Merchant Acquirer that provides a wide array of electronic payment processing services while continually striving to develop new solutions that meet the needs of its agents and merchants. In addition to offering credit, debit, EBT and gift card processing, along with check conversion and guarantee programs, the company offers its ISOs the ability to borrow money against its residuals, to have Web sites designed and developed, to provide merchants with free terminals, and to benefit from state-of-the-art marketing, technology and business support.

Founded in 1995 by Marcelo Paladini and John Martillo, Cynergy Data strives to be a new kind of acquirer with a unique mission: to constantly explore, understand and develop the products our ISOs and merchants need to be successful and to back it up with honest, reliable and supportive service. For more information on Cynergy Data contact Nancy Drexler, Marketing Director at nancyd@cynergydata.com.