Test Your Trade Show Effectiveness

Many exhibitors simply throw up their hands and say “I’m not writing orders and therefore there is no real way to know if the show worked.” Other’s rely on anecdotal comments from their staff who say, “Our visitors seemed happy.”

Imagine evaluating the results of a television campaign with nothing more than comments from your family and staff. “Hey, saw the ad on TV last night. It was cool.”

Trade shows are serious marketing tools and taking a cavalier attitude is not good business practice. You need to test the results of each show. Your staff can provide a wealth of information but the real test is with the people you designed your booth for - your customers. Did they get the message? Did their visit to the booth change their perceptions?

Here are two ways to test your results and get valuable feedback.

An exit survey.

With the cooperation of show management, an independent researcher will stop delegates at the show exit and ask them to complete a quick survey.

Here are some of the questions you might include:

1. Do you recall visiting the ABC Company’s booth? If yes, what were your impressions if any?
Yes / No

If they answer yes ask What were the impressions_____________________ how important were the following services to you before and after your visit?

If they answer no, thank the delegate and move on to another

2. Were you familiar with the extent of ABC Company’s services prior to your visit?
Yes / No

3. How has your perception of ABC changed as a result of your visit to their booth?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the highest, how important were the following services to you before and after your visit?

A. ABC’s twenty four hour support service.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

B. ABC’s ability to provide customized solutions for you.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

C. ABC’s in-house design capability.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

Post-show telephone surveys

Within two weeks after the event a telephone campaign will be conducted by an independent research firm to contact show delegates in order to complete the following questionnaire. Trying to reach all delegates is often impractical so marketers may choose to take a random sample.

Here are some of the questions you might include:

1. Do you recall visiting the ABC Company’s booth at the Hardware Show? If yes, what were your impressions if any?
Yes / No

Impressions:
(If they answer no, move to question 2 and then end the survey. If they answer yes move to question 3)

2. Which exhibitors to you best recall? What do you recall about these exhibitors?

3. Were you familiar with the extent of ABC Company’s services prior to your visit?
Yes / No

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the highest, how important were the following services to you before and after your visit?

A. ABC’s twenty-four hour support service.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

B. ABC’s ability to be better able to provide customized solutions for you.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

C. ABC’s in-house design capability.
Before 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....
After 1.....2.... 3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10....

5. How has your perception of ABC Company changed as a result of your visit to their booth?

You can alter the questions to focus on the issues you want to test. By asking the questions and listening to the answers you will be in a strong position to get reliable feedback, measure the impact of your effort and make the correct changes to your exhibit plans.