Not necessarily. It's up to you to determine whether or not the exposure is worth the expense.

You probably don't have to attend all of them but it might be worthwhile to pick out a few of the largest/most important shows and attend those.

We work with b2b customers in the plastics and rubber industry a lot and we've found that over the years, tradeshow attendance has greatly declined but with an increased web presence, it really doesn't matter so much. Instead of investing in the travel and other expenses of a tradeshow, companies instead make an investment in a professional, optimized web site. The upfront cost for a web site is often less than the cost of a tradeshow and although web sites do need to be updated, the benefits of projecting a professional image online often go further than the couple of days spent at a tradeshow.

It sounds like you answered your own question. If you belong to a trade association that 'puts on' trade shows, they do it for a reason.

But, like the other answers posted, there are a lot of other considerations. Are these shows the places that buyers visit to HANDLE the products? A picture of a toy is not the same thing as picking it up and playing with it. A picture of a helicopter is not the same thing as climbing inside it and feeling the space in the cockpit.

And the costs of exhibiting can be significant. Aside from travel and shipping, lodging, meals, booth equipment, signs etc. you need to think about exposure at the show. It doesn't do much good to be there and not have anybody stop and talk to you.

Charles Allen is probably the 'guru' in event/trade show marketing, you can get his newsletter free at www.cwallengroup.com

The 'plus' sides of event marketing:

Targeted audience, actual buyers who have probably paid money to be there

Enclosed space, you are inside four walls with your buyers

Your are able to go FACE TO FACE with your product in sight, even in hand.

Good Luck!