“Best Show Ever!” But, was it really?

Every show ends with someone calling it the best show ever. Here’s how to find out whether it really was — and what to do next.

By Jennifer Bowman – Founder Bowman Effect

The adrenaline high of events

I love shows! I always have, and I will tell anyone I meet how thrilling it is for me to plan, execute and attend trade shows. There is no better way to feel the energy and collective love for an industry than to have it all under one roof. The people, the ideas, the hustle. In gaming, especially, there is something about walking onto a show floor that reminds me why I love this industry so much.

I love seeing shows come together. During installation, what looks like organised chaos slowly becomes a place ready to welcome the world. Crates disappear, screens come to life, carpet colours are revealed beneath protective vinyl, and those inevitable last-minute hiccups and overnight print jobs get resolved. Usually with a few heart palpitations that cannot be blamed entirely on the copious amounts of coffee consumed along the way.

Then comes that moment just before the doors open. Every product is polished. Every presentation is checked. People choose their best outfit, shine their shoes and prepare to bring their A game.

I always ask my teams to take this minute to stop whatever they are doing, step away from the booth and take it all in. Take one giant, deep breath and acknowledge that they are ready. All the work they have put into getting the show to this point is now physically displayed in front of them.

The doors open, and the endurance race begins! You see people you have known for years. You share what is exciting you about the coming quarter or year. You reconnect with old friends and meet interesting new customers, with all the promise of a deal beginning to take shape.

By the end, your voice is rough, if you have one left at all, from talking over the music and the constant hum of the floor. Your feet are aching, hopefully not yet numb, and your back and knees remind you that expo floors are unforgiving.

The good news is you barely care. You are running on adrenaline, good conversations and the feeling that you and your team have done something brilliant!

And here is the moment we reach at every single show. Someone asks how it went, or comes to thank you and the team for your work, and says wholeheartedly:

“This was the best show ever!”

But was it really?

After every show comes some version of a lessons learned discussion. Some companies have a thorough review. Some start with an immediate sales team review of captured leads. Others have a meeting where everyone is still tired and the loudest opinions do most of the talking. Anecdotes are presented as hard facts. Some receive a little final polish of their own.

Lead generation is compared with previous years and other marketing activity. ROI gets tossed around alongside “soft ROI”, “value” and “brand equity”. Those things can matter, but we need to be clear about what they mean and how we will judge them.

Then there is the sales funnel. If we want an honest picture of emerging opportunities, people need to be able to record them without being penalised for their uncertainty. Otherwise, we risk a funnel that only contains opportunities already 90% of the way to closed/won. We end up measuring confidence rather than the pipeline the event actually helped create.

Meanwhile, everyone has feedback on the booth. The catering. The coffee that ran out at exactly the wrong moment. Not enough food. Too much food. Not enough giveaways. Too many giveaways. And please, do not get me started on how much of the post-show discussion can be devoted to the carpet, or lack thereof.

The details matter. I have spent enough years delivering events to know how much they affect the customer experience. However, somewhere between the lead count and the floor treatment, we need to make room for the question people can be reluctant to ask in a room full of “best show ever” enthusiasm:

Was this really worth it?

That question deserves an honest answer, even after a show we truly, factually, absolutely without a doubt, LOVED.

If not the show, then what?

Once the surveys are in, the final invoices have arrived and the discussions have settled, it is time to look forward.

Is this still the best way to tell our brand story? To launch our products and services? To spend meaningful time with the customers we want to reach? Has the cost grown beyond the value we can reasonably expect?

And if we want to be there, or feel we must be there, are we doing it in the smartest way possible?

Perhaps the answer is a better-planned show presence, with clearer objectives and a different allocation of budget. Perhaps it is a smaller booth supported by private meetings or an event alongside the exhibition. Or perhaps it is time to skip a particular show and invest in a private customer event instead.

A private event gives you the opportunity to bring an invited audience together and create dedicated time around their interests. Time to hear what they need, show what you can offer and have a proper conversation, without squeezing a demo, a catch-up and a coffee into the few minutes before their next appointment.

And then there is the coveted dinner invitation. Who gets that precious evening with a key customer? Who misses out? Would a different gathering, or a party, give more people a meaningful opportunity to connect? Or would it simply add cost without adding value?

A private event will not automatically solve everything. Customers still have to choose to attend, and the experience needs to justify time away from their day-to-day responsibilities. You also give up some of the chance encounters and convenience of having an entire industry in one place.

But it is an option worth considering properly when looking across your entire events schedule for the coming year. The right format should follow the commercial goal and the audience. “We have always been at that show” or “All our competitors are there” should not be the whole business case.

Bowman Effect Asks All The Hard Questions with You

I created Bowman Effect to work in this messy, critical middle of business: where strategy, commercial goals, budgets and the realities of delivery have to come together.

That means asking where your organisation needs to be, who it needs to reach and what level of investment makes sense. Then getting into the detail of how to make that investment work harder.

With decades of global marketing and event experience, I know that the small things can make a big impact. A customer who feels welcomed and cared for is more likely to settle into a useful conversation. A team with the right space, tools and support can spend more time listening and less time solving problems.

I also know how much money can be tied up in choices that barely improve the experience. Materials, construction, logistics and supplier decisions can all affect the wider budget. Knowing where to look, and what to question, can uncover savings while protecting the quality your customers see and feel.

At times, the best decision is to reduce or remove a budget line. At others, it is to move that money into something that matters more: better booth design, thoughtful hospitality or a customer experience that gives your brand story room to be told.

Creating memorable moments and a favourable environment for selling can work together. The experience should help the conversation happen, and the follow-up should build on it with substance and value for your customers.

If a private, custom event is the right choice, I can help shape and deliver one that earns its place in your buyers’ calendars. It needs a clear purpose, relevant content and an experience worth travelling for or setting aside time to attend, especially when they are giving up the convenience of seeing everyone at an expo.

As you look at your 2027 plans and come down from the rush of event season, ask yourself whether you are happy with your events schedule and the outcomes it delivers.

If you are wondering what you could do better, give us a call. If your events budget needs to be trimmed, or you want to shift investment towards greater impact, let’s talk. And if you want to capture the magic of a live event whilst making the investment count, work alongside Bowman Effect.

Next year, I would love us to sit around a shared table, review the results and lessons learned, and agree:

It truly WAS the best show ever.