The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced today the release of the first fact sheet in the Attendee ROI Playbook series on how attendees evaluate the ROI/value of attending and which metrics drive value.
“CEIR has conducted extensive research on what drives repeat attendance and motivations for attending exhibitions in general. Prior to this new study series, research has not addressed the process of how attendees evaluate the outcome of attending or the metrics most commonly used to determine whether the trip was worthwhile,” said CEIR Senior Research Director Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “The Attendee ROI Playbook series furnishes this information in short, information-packed fact sheets,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE.
Decision to Attend and Factors Driving Attendee ROI/Value is the first of multiple fact sheets that will be released in the coming weeks.
Key findings from this initial fact sheet identify that most attendees, 74 percent, are involved in the decision to attend an event, indicating the importance of marketing to meet the value meter of all professionals attending an exhibition.
This fact sheet documents 22 different metrics used by survey participants to assess the value of attending by pinpointing which are most popular, how users determine an event performed to their expectations and where they feel B2B exhibitions deliver the best ROI/value against each specific metric.
Meredith Rollins, Executive Director, PCMA Education Foundation, remarks, “Business event strategists and event marketers will find great value in the results of this research in crafting attendee marketing strategies that focus on the elements that matter most.” The PCMA Education Foundation is a major sponsor of this research along with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE).
CEIR’s CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE stated, “CEIR thanks the PCMA Foundation for its financial support that makes this critically important research possible. The viability of any B2B exhibition is contingent on delivering the value attendees expect to experience. Success in this area helps boost attendee retention and helps fuel positive word-of-mouth marketing. This fact sheet provides industry benchmarks organizers can use to compare their event’s performance and make adjustments to position their event for success.”
This five-page report includes:
- Snapshot of the decision-making process to attend
- Summary of the most important reasons for attending
- Process used to evaluate the value of attending – nature of the process and among those who follow a process, who is involved.
- Attendee NPS (Net Promoter Score)
- Attendee ROI/Value Scorecard – list of 22 metrics used, how well exhibitions perform per metric user scores and for which metrics users identify B2B exhibitions deliver the best ROI/value
Through the generous sponsorship of this study by the PCMA Education Foundation and IAEE, all reports released in this study series are available at no charge on the CEIR website here.
About CEIR
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering knowledge-based research tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.
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