Despite being delighted that the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibit (OFC), held May 17–22, 2002, in Anaheim, CA, grew more than 300 percent in 2001, organizers had to ask:
Who are these people, and why did they come to our show?
“The event was changing,” says Grace Klonoski, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing and Member Services for the Optical Society of America (OSA), one of OFC’s three co-sponsors and the group that manages the show. “We needed to understand the reasons for attending and the level of satisfaction.”
Klonoski settled on an annual survey conducted by Exhibit Surveys Inc. in Red Bank, NJ. As OFC’s primary market research tool, thesurvey helps assess the fit between attendees and exhibitors.
For this tech-savvy audience, an online survey was the logical solution. In addition to costing less than mail and phone options, Web-based surveys have the advantage of reaching a large sample of the population.
Klonoski periodically asks exhibitors quick questions using Xpedite (www.xpedite.com), an electronic message delivery service. But she relies on Exhibit Surveys for the annual survey because the survey specialist lends credibility and expertise. “If people are confused about what you’re asking and you get bad data back, it’s worse than not asking at all, because it may drive business decisions in the wrong direction,” she says.
Working with the OFC exhibit sales team, Klonoski’s staff drafted the questionnaire, then collaborated with Exhibit Surveys Vice President Ian Sequeira on question phrasing, which included rated scales, multiple choice and open-ended formats. Twenty questions covered every aspect of the event, from how many hours attendees spent on the show floor to how far in advance they’d like to learn about next year’s event.
Two weeks after the event, Exhibit Surveys e-mailed invitations to complete the survey to 3,257 attendees and 953 exhibitors. The message directed respondents to a Web address hosting the survey. Each URL contained a Unique Identifier, which allowed one-time access. The form took 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
With no set deadline, the company sent reminders as needed, then closed the survey when they had a statistically valid response rate — 20 percent from attendees and 37 percent from exhibitors. The average response rate for online surveys is 10 percent to 15 percent.
Results are reported with an executive summary that benchmarks OFC against industry averages, gleaned from Exhibit Surveys’ research on hundreds of events. The resulting report becomes OFC’s bible. Klonoski cuts thedata in sundry ways to guide decisions about calls for papers, promotions, registration, exhibit salesand programming.
“This document is our touchstone for our marketing plan and our strategic plan,” says Klonoski. “It is the voice of our customers.”
