Trade Show KPIs: What to Measure Before, During & After the Show

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. But you also can’t improve by measuring the wrong things. Most trade show exhibitors fall into one of two camps: they measure nothing, relying on gut feeling to evaluate their shows, or they drown in data that doesn’t connect to business outcomes.

The solution is a focused KPI framework organized around three phases: before the show, during the show, and after the show. Each phase has a handful of metrics that actually matter. Track those consistently, and you’ll have the data you need to make smart decisions about your trade show program.

Pre-Show KPIs

Measurement starts before you arrive at the convention center. Pre-show activity directly impacts on-site performance, and tracking it helps you understand what’s driving results.

Appointments Scheduled

The number of meetings booked before the show is one of the strongest predictors of overall show success. Pre-scheduled meetings with target accounts are higher quality than random booth traffic. Track total appointments scheduled, and break them down by prospect type (new prospect, existing customer, partner).

A reasonable target: 15-30 pre-booked meetings for a mid-sized B2B booth at a major show. If you’re below 10, your pre-show outreach needs work.

Pre-Show Outreach Response Rate

Track the response rate on your pre-show communications—emails, LinkedIn messages, direct mail, phone calls. This tells you whether your outreach is resonating and helps you refine your approach for future shows.

Industry average response rates for pre-show outreach: 8-15% for email, 15-25% for personalized LinkedIn messages, and 20-35% for phone calls to warm contacts. If your numbers are significantly below these, revisit your messaging and targeting.

Registration and Attendance Signals

If you’re hosting events at the show (hospitality events, product demos, educational sessions), track registrations as a leading indicator. Also monitor attendee list overlaps—how many of your target accounts are registered to attend the show?

Pre-Show Investment

Track what you spend on pre-show marketing as a percentage of total show investment. Best-in-class exhibitors allocate 10-15% of their total budget to driving pre-show engagement. If you’re spending less than 5%, you’re likely leaving qualified traffic on the table.

During-Show KPIs

On-site metrics capture what’s actually happening at your booth. These are your real-time indicators, and they should inform on-the-fly adjustments during the show.

Booth Traffic

Count the number of people who enter your booth space or stop for a meaningful interaction. This is different from the people who walk past or glance at your graphics. Some exhibitors use traffic counters, others rely on staff tallies, and larger booths may use RFID tracking.

Booth traffic alone is a vanity metric. It becomes useful when combined with lead capture rate (what percentage of visitors become leads) and when compared across days and time blocks to identify peak periods.

Leads Captured

This is the headline number, but it needs segmentation to be useful. Track total leads and break them into quality tiers:

• Tier 1 (Sales-ready): Active need, budget, timeline, decision-maker. Route to sales immediately.
• Tier 2 (Qualified): Right profile and expressed interest, but not yet in active buying cycle. Nurture sequence.
• Tier 3 (Contact): Badge scan or business card with minimal qualification. Marketing database.

Most shows produce a ratio of roughly 10:30:60 across these tiers. If more than 50% of your leads are Tier 3, your booth staff may need better qualification training.

Demos and Presentations Given

If your product or service benefits from demonstration, track the number of demos delivered. This is particularly important for technology companies, manufacturers, and anyone selling complex solutions. A completed demo typically represents a much more engaged prospect than a conversation alone.

Track both scheduled demos and walk-up demos separately. Scheduled demos from pre-show outreach tend to convert at higher rates.

Meetings Held

Count the number of substantive meetings—conversations lasting 10+ minutes with qualified prospects. This is distinct from quick badge scans or casual chats. Meetings are where relationships form and deals start.

Compare meetings held to meetings scheduled pre-show. A completion rate above 70% is good. Below 50% suggests your pre-show confirmations need improvement or the show’s attendance didn’t match expectations.

Staff Activity and Utilization

Are your booth staff engaged productively throughout the show? Track how many conversations each team member has per day. If some staff members are consistently idle while others are overwhelmed, you have a scheduling or training issue.

A well-utilized booth staffer should have 20-40 meaningful interactions per day at a busy show. If your team is averaging fewer than 15, examine whether booth design, traffic flow, or staff engagement is the bottleneck.

Post-Show KPIs

This is where the real story emerges. Post-show metrics connect your trade show investment to business outcomes. Measure them in defined waves to account for B2B sales cycle length.

30-Day Metrics

Within the first month, you should know:

• Follow-up completion rate: What percentage of leads received follow-up within your target window (ideally 48 hours for Tier 1, one week for Tier 2)?
• Response rate to follow-up: What percentage of leads engaged with your outreach?
• Meetings booked from follow-up: How many post-show conversations are you generating?

These early metrics tell you whether your follow-up process is working. A follow-up response rate below 15% suggests either slow outreach, poor lead quality, or generic messaging.

60-90 Day Metrics

This is when pipeline starts forming:

• Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate: What percentage of qualified leads became active sales opportunities? For B2B, 10-25% is a reasonable range.
• Pipeline value generated: Total dollar value of opportunities sourced from the show. This is the metric that connects directly to revenue targets.
• Average opportunity size: Are show-sourced deals similar in size to your overall average? Larger? Smaller? This affects how you value the show.
• Cost per opportunity: Total show cost divided by number of opportunities created. This is arguably more important than cost per lead because it accounts for lead quality.

180-Day Metrics

For longer sales cycles, the six-month mark reveals closed business:

• Revenue attributed: Total closed-won revenue from show-sourced opportunities.
• ROI: (Revenue Attributed - Total Show Cost) / Total Show Cost. A positive number means the show paid for itself. For a complete methodology, see our guide on ROI and cost planning.
• Win rate on show-sourced opportunities: How does this compare to your overall win rate? Trade show leads typically close at higher rates due to the face-to-face advantage.

Some industries require 12 months or more for a complete picture. Decide on your measurement window based on your typical sales cycle and apply it consistently across all shows.

Building a KPI Dashboard

You don’t need expensive software. A well-structured spreadsheet works for most exhibitors. The key is consistency—use the same template for every show.

Your dashboard should include:

Show Summary

• Show name, date, location
• Booth size and type
• Number of staff

Investment

• Total cost (use our calculator for a complete breakdown)
• Cost by category (space, booth, travel, marketing, services)

Activity Metrics

• Leads by tier
• Demos given
• Meetings held
• Pre-show appointments vs. completed

Outcome Metrics (Updated Over Time)

• Pipeline generated (30/60/90 days)
• Revenue attributed (90/180 days)
• Cost per lead, cost per opportunity, ROI

Update outcome metrics at each measurement interval. Over time, this dashboard becomes the foundation for show selection, budget justification, and program optimization.

Avoiding Vanity Metrics

Some metrics feel important but don’t connect to business outcomes. Be cautious with:

• Total badge scans without quality segmentation. 500 scans of unqualified contacts is worth less than 50 qualified leads.
• Social media impressions from the show. Nice for brand awareness, but don’t confuse visibility with pipeline.
• Booth traffic counts in isolation. High traffic with low conversion indicates a design or staffing problem, not success.
• Giveaway distribution. Handing out 1,000 branded items doesn’t mean 1,000 people will remember your company.

These metrics aren’t useless—they provide context. But they should never be the headline in your post-show report. Lead with pipeline and revenue; use activity metrics to explain the story behind the numbers.

Setting Targets Before the Show

Measurement without targets is just observation. Before each show, set specific, realistic targets for your key KPIs:

• “We will capture 150 qualified leads (Tier 2+)”
• “We will hold 25 pre-scheduled meetings with target accounts”
• “We will generate $1.2M in pipeline within 90 days”
• “Our cost per qualified lead will be under $300”

Base targets on historical performance when possible. For new shows without history, use conservative estimates and benchmark against your best-performing existing shows.

After the show, compare actuals to targets. When you miss, understand why. When you exceed, understand what drove the outperformance so you can replicate it.

Making KPIs Actionable

Data on a dashboard doesn’t improve anything by itself. The value comes from decisions:

• A show with high CPL and low conversion? Consider dropping it or fundamentally changing your approach.
• A show with strong pipeline but low booth traffic? Your pre-show outreach is working but the booth needs help attracting walk-up traffic.
• Consistently high Tier 3 leads across all shows? Your booth staff needs qualification training.
• Great lead volume but poor follow-up response rates? Your post-show process is broken.

Every KPI should point toward a specific action. If a metric doesn’t inform a decision, stop tracking it and focus on the ones that do.

For a comprehensive approach to measuring trade show value, explore our ROI and measurement hub.