I periodically get phone calls from people who find themselves at a standstill in their business. I had such a call the other day from a woman in Maui. She called into my trade show exhibit company inquiring about renting an exhibit for a show in Southern California but it quickly became apparent that she was more in need of counsel than an exhibit. I understood her postion, for while I have a successful exhibit business, I am also an author wondering what the next step should be in marketing a children's book series.

Because of the product she is marketing, I suggested that rather than going to the expense of flying over, getting a hotel, renting an exhibit and exhibit space, she might consider finding an SEO expert and attempting to build her business online. The reason was that I felt that her ROI would be better online because of the relatively narrow market and the price point of her product.

Thus, if you have or are considering building a new business, one of the first strategic questions to answer is as to whether you are offering the sort of product or service that is best sold through one on one contact at trade shows or whether to focus your attention on online sales. If your decision is to attend trade shows, you might enjoy reading "Trade Show Exhibit Homework: Purchasing Tips".