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Messe Frankfurt’s Research Shows That Customers Want Trade Fairs

97 percent of companies want to continue participating in trade fairs

Jul 27, 2021

“67 per cent of our customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30 per cent expressing a preference for hybrid formats.”

That was the finding of the second round of Messe Frankfurt’s customer survey. Known as the Customer Care Campaign (CCC), the survey 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 its Customer Care Campaign (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.

messe_frankfurt_argentina — Photo Credit: Messe Frankfurt

Wolfgang Marzin

President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt

Wolfgang Marzin shared his interpretation of the findings: “This is a clear vote of confidence for in-person events. Only 3 per cent of respondents wanted to see events move entirely online. In fact, 67 per cent of our customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30 per cent expressing a preference for hybrid formats. In total, 97 per cent of our customers remain convinced that in-person events are an essential component of trade fairs.”

Marzin added that: “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.”

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

With their latest campaign, our sales partner network demonstrated yet again their extraordinarily close ties with our customers. Analysis of the results has given Messe Frankfurt valuable first-hand knowledge that will benefit our trade fair concepts and planning. Both Messe Frankfurt and its sales partners see further reasons for optimism in the findings because very few of our customers have left the market during the pandemic. And our customers are ready for in-person trade fairs to return.

The Messe Frankfurt Group is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds