Last week my friends at The Expo Group unveiled 2 White Papers that could have a profound impact on the world of trade shows. The White Papers are:
- The Invisible Exhibitor – What Your Exhibitors Aren’t Telling You (and Why That Matters for the Future of Your Show)
- The Invisible Attendee – What Your Attendees Are Thinking (and Why You Should Care)
This research was conducted by MAYA. Here a bit of background of what they did and then I will make my comments.
“MAYA spoke with more than 100 exhibitors in completely blind interviews, partly by phone and partly on-site at trade shows, over a six-month period. Although our research was co-funded by The Expo Group, we did not mention this to exhibitors. Any time we asked about an exhibitor’s experience with show contractors, we did so without mentioning the specific company names,
or we mentioned the names of multiple contracting companies that exhibitors typically encounter.”
I have been a proponent of listening to the voice of the customer and I applaud the Expo Group for funding this important research effort.
In my opinion here is one of the most important “take away” from this research – exhibitors are confused.
A quote from the White Paper’s Conclusion
“Not all exhibitors were upset, but most of them were confused about something.”
For all those involved with shows – how can you eliminate exhibitor’s confusion? What processes or remedies can be put in place to aid this person?
Then to the other side of this coin – it is paramount that the exhibiting company to use the tools that are given them, so they can have a good show experience. Far too many rush into a show experience and then look to blame other entities, the show, the general contractor, etc, for their own lack of foresight.
So it is a dance and each partner must be well trained so they can bring out the best in each other.
I am sure that I will share more of my thoughts from these documents with you at a later time.
To get the White Papers, go to www.theexpogroup.com
Until later…
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