Attempting to use data to describe people's feelings in the exhibition hall is almost a thankless and impossible task. But every year's exhibition is trying to do this. How do they write these contents?
If the compilation of exhibition data is imperative, then this creates a topic. People always have their own feelings about the organization and busyness of exhibitions. But this feeling is always influenced by certain people and factors in the exhibition hall, although it is almost impossible for two different people to have the same feeling.
Sometimes, exhibitions misuse some data, which cannot help them expand more options. For example, a recent exhibition rejected a claim made due to a shortage of international visitors, citing that the number of international visitors had only decreased from 26% to 25% of the total number. But they overlooked one issue, that is, the decline in the total number of people is very significant, almost a decrease of 12 percentage points.
Although some fabricated data can provide more positive information in public relations and will not have a negative impact on the entire industry. But there are still people who have done a lot of work to ensure that every published data is accurate and trustworthy. We have conducted research on every visitor to the Australian exhibition. We are also working towards this direction in India, "said Matthew Pearce from Diversified Communications. Throughout the entire research process, we highlighted the display of data for special visits, repeated visits, and exhibitors separately
Not every organizer has done such meticulous work to ensure the accuracy of their data, but that doesn't mean they can't be trusted. In fact, all organizers are puzzled by one issue, which is that regardless of whether their data has been audited or not, their processes and methods of counting the number of visitors are extremely similar. The number of visitors is strictly based on the actual number of people who come to the exhibition hall, "said Richard Tan from Info Comm Asia. Those who registered in advance but did not come to the exhibition were not included. “
This method of counting the number of visitors also goes against common sense, which is that every time a visitor's ticket is scanned, it will be counted towards the number of visitors. Taking ISE as an example, we need to know if those who registered in advance actually came to the exhibition, "said Dan Gold stein from Integrated System Europe. When our staff see the sign worn by a visitor at the entrance, they do not know if the person has already been here. Therefore, if they have already been here and have only been out for a while, their repeat visits will not be recorded in our system. The same applies to people who repeat visits on different dates, "he explained. I have never seen a count that includes repeated visits in our statistical company, but I believe that if we publish it, it would be a very unreliable number - estimated to exceed 100000
People receive scans at exhibitions for various reasons, "said Georgina Rawlings from Informa. One is to track people's interest in what kind of displays, and the other is to count how many people visited during the entire exhibition process. When we count the number of special visitors, their barcodes are not used
Additionally, a frequently discussed issue is whether to include the number of exhibitors in the total number of visitors. Establishing new business partnerships is the core function of all exhibitions, and these relationships can exist in various forms: manufacturers and agents, agents and customers, and so on, "Mr. Gold Stein continued. The relationship between manufacturers is very important in our industry, so it is unreasonable to exclude the number of exhibitors. However, we will still separate the number of exhibitors and visitors
According to the organizers, the total number of visitors to the exhibition is a crucial data. The number of exhibitors is very important, it is the simplest way to measure the success of exhibitors, "Mr. Tan said. Of course, the ultimate criterion for measuring success or failure is whether exhibitors encounter and discover partners during the exhibition, which pushes the significance of the exhibition to another level
There is always a debate between quality and quantity, "Mr. Pearce added. For new exhibitors, the number of visitors can provide them with expectations and references. However, for older exhibitors, it is not as important because they understand the situation at the exhibition site. But if they can know who will come to the exhibition - whether it is the visitor's geographical location or industry - then the situation will be very different
The number and quality of visitors are important reasons for attracting exhibitors, "said JuriTan, Director of IIR Exhibitions. Exhibitors see it as a tool to measure their investment return, and as the exhibition provides a platform for exhibitors and visitors, this platform may potentially translate into business opportunities
The quality of visitors and product brand are more important than the total number of visitors, "said Betty Heywood from Namm. Exhibitors are eager to see various buyers, whether they are large customers with international purchasing power or ordinary retail customers. Internationalization is also a very important factor, and in fact, the arrival of numerous international buyers is the decisive factor leading to more and more exhibitors returning
Meanwhile, although not the most important factor in attracting exhibitors, the cost of exhibiting also plays a certain role. The booth rental may be affected by the visitor rate, especially the quality of visitors, "Mr. Pearce said. Exhibitors seek returns on investment, which is the driving force behind booth rental
Price adjustments caused by inflation and creating a dynamic and effective platform for business activities are where the costs lie, "Ms. Heywood added. Of course, all the benefits obtained from the Namm exhibition will directly support the professionalization and market-oriented development of the industry, and Namm has a cyclical profit structure
Although these explanations may help people understand what effects these data will have and where they come from, the biggest question is whether people are willing to believe it. So how will organizers ensure that people believe in these published data? Ensuring absolute honesty and transparency in the communication process with visitors is the key to winning the trust of exhibitors, "said Ms. Rawlings. Even if the number of your visitors decreases
The policy we adopt is to maintain absolute honesty with exhibitors, and our data can always reflect changes in the density of the exhibition site, "Mr. Tan said. Most exhibitors come here frequently, and they have a very accurate sense of the changes in visitors to each exhibition. We have also announced a decrease in the number of visitors, which is also a commitment to our honesty with exhibitors
It is impossible to quantify the "perceived success" brought by exhibitions, but in many cases, you can support some viewpoints through statistical data. But these data are almost impossible to be completely consistent with the feelings of all visitors. Although the authenticity of exhibition data has been questioned, doubts should not be replaced by ridicule.