The attendance at a trade show is the No. 1 factor influencing exhibitors' decision to exhibit, according to the Center for Exhibition Research (CEIR), which yesterday released the fourth in a series of fact sheets based on new exhibition-industry research.
The research, from CEIR's "2011 Changing Environment of Exhibitions" study, explores how the exhibition industry is evolving and provides key market insights on opportunities and threats. Study results are being released piecemeal in the form of 10 fact sheets containing data alongside actionable suggestions for organizers and exhibitors.
The fourth fact sheet, "Factors That Drive the Decision to Exhibit," reveals that show attendance is a deciding factor for 84 percent of exhibitors, followed by favorable ROI (54 percent) and positive past performance (50 percent).
"Results to this study indicate that an exhibition's reputation for delivering quality attendance is the most influential factor in persuading a company to exhibit," said CEIR Research Director Nancy Drapeau. "In a business climate where resources are scarce, exhibition organizers are wise to allocate some of these resources to audience acquisition and retention efforts. Bringing the right audience to exhibitors and the right content to attendees that keeps them coming back positions an event for stability and growth."
CEIR's first fact sheet, "Exhibitions Are Highly Valued in Achieving Marketing & Sales Objectives," revealed that sales and marketing executives assign high value to trade shows as part of the marketing mix. Its second fact sheet, "Marketers Intend to Maintain or Expand Number of Exhibitions," revealed that the use of business-to-business exhibitions remains constant and is projected to grow modestly. Its third fact sheet, "Exhibitions Offer Unique Value Not Provided by Other Marketing Channels," found that marketing executives find business-to-business exhibitions "uniquely valuable" due to the ability to see a large number of prospects and customers over a short period of time.
Free to CEIR members, all four fact sheets are available for purchase by industry stakeholders at www.ceir.org.