Survey reveals 97 percent of companies want to continue participating in trade fairs

The second round of Messe Frankfurt’s customer survey has revealed that 97 percent of companies want to continue participating in trade fairs.

The Customer Care Campaign (CCC), as it is called, was first conducted in autumn 2020 and then repeated in spring 2021. The goal was for local sales partners to contact Messe Frankfurt’s customers during the coronavirus pandemic, inform them of trade fair cancellations and support their efforts to participate in current and future trade fairs - all while invigorating Messe Frankfurt’s sales network.

With CCC, Messe Frankfurt put its sales network to work with the explicit purpose of gathering information on the pandemic’s impact straight from the source and learning about key details in different countries and regions to assist Messe Frankfurt’s planning.

Companies expressed clear approval of the additional digital benefits offered by hybrid trade fair formats during the pandemic in particular. However: people want, and need, in-person trade fairs.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt, shared his interpretation of the findings: “This is a clear vote of confidence for in-person events. Only three percent of respondents wanted to see events move entirely online. In fact, 67 percent of our customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30 percent expressing a preference for hybrid formats. In total, 97 percent of our customers remain convinced that in-person events are an essential component of trade fairs.”

 “We first conducted this survey back in 2020, and not only were our customers eager to share their views, but there was also a sharp rise in confidence been the first and second surveys. Many of our customers saw their financial situations improve markedly during this time. There has also been an increasing readiness to take part in trade fairs nationally and internationally, both today and in future. Both of these factors have made us very optimistic here at Messe Frankfurt. Our customers are still here,” he added.

The response rate was also impressive. 59,000 companies took part in this survey. They were asked not only to answer the questions posed by our sales partners, but as part of the second survey this Spring they were also called on to participate in a more in-depth market research survey.

“The fact that more than 70 percent of customers surveyed provided us with qualified feedback is a sensational result that breaks all of our records,” said Mirko Schubert, Vice President International Sales Management at Messe Frankfurt.

Analysis of the results has given Messe Frankfurt valuable first-hand knowledge that will benefit its trade fair concepts and planning. Both Messe Frankfurt and its sales partners see further reasons for optimism in the findings, because very few of their customers have left the market during the pandemic. And their customers are ready for in-person trade fairs to return.