Strengthening existing relationships is the leading priority for incentive travel buyers at trade shows, while suppliers place greater emphasis on generating new business, according to research released by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).
The latest SITE PULSE survey, Trade Shows and Business Development, received 747 responses, the largest return in the history of the series. Its initial analysis focuses on 657 respondents across four core groups: buyers, hotels and suppliers, destination management companies (DMCs), and destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux.
Asked to identify the single most important function trade shows serve for their business, 43.3 per cent of buyers selected building and deepening existing relationships. This rose to 52.4 per cent among agencies and incentive houses.
Lead generation and building the sales pipeline was the leading priority for hotels and suppliers (38.7 per cent), DMCs (43.4 per cent), and destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux (44.4 per cent).
Corporate buyers also differed from their agency counterparts. Their priorities were more evenly divided between contracting and closing business (25.7 per cent) and deepening relationships (24.8 per cent), with a further 17.8 per cent selecting education and development.
Pádraic Gilligan, head of consultancy and research at SITE, said: "A full appointment diary can represent very different ambitions for the people sitting on either side of the table. For an agency, the most valuable meeting may be with a trusted partner who understands its clients. For an exhibitor, the priority may be meeting a buyer for the first time. Understanding those expectations can help everyone make better use of their time at a show."
Education and development ranked fourth overall, selected by only 9.3 per cent of respondents as the most important function of trade shows. The figure was 15.0 per cent among buyers, 4.0 per cent among hotels and suppliers, 5.7 per cent among DMCs and 2.2 per cent among destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux.
Gilligan continued: "Education represents a substantial investment of time, budget and expertise for trade show organisers, so its relatively low ranking deserves attention. These findings raise a question about how that investment contributes to the outcomes buyers and suppliers value. Organisers need evidence of whether education influences attendance decisions, improves professional practice or contributes to business results, alongside measures of session attendance and satisfaction."
The research also found strong confidence in the future of major trade shows. Almost six in ten respondents (59.5 per cent) expect them to grow in importance over the next three years, while 24.0 per cent expect their role to remain broadly the same. Just 3.5 per cent anticipate a decline.
Cost and budget constraints were the biggest challenge in getting value from trade shows, selected by 46.1 per cent of respondents. Time away from work and clients followed at 18.0 per cent, with difficulty demonstrating return on investment cited by 16.4 per cent.
These pressures varied across the industry. A third of agencies (33.0 per cent) identified time away from work and clients as their biggest challenge, while hotels and suppliers were the group most likely to cite difficulty demonstrating return on investment (24.1 per cent). Cost remained the leading challenge for each of the four core audience groups.
Gilligan added: "There is a strong vote of confidence here in the future of face-to-face business development. The challenge is to make that investment work harder. Clear objectives, relevant appointments and meaningful follow-up all matter, as does recognising the longer-term value of relationships when assessing what a show has delivered."
Download the report via - https://siteglobal.com/research/pulse-insites/
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
