July/August 2005
The ROI of Research

Strategic research is critical to the success of your event, but it can also be expensive. Here are 5 common research objectives and 4 cost-effective techniques.

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

Growing shows use research four times as often as shows that aren’t growing, according to the third annual AttendTrend survey of trade show organizers conducted by the Frost Miller Group and Jacobs Jenner & Kent. It apparently pays to understand your target market.

“Shows realize that, to be more successful in a competitive field, they need research that helps them make better decisions,” says Skip Cox, President and COO of Exhibit Surveys Inc. (www.exhibitsurveys.com), Red Bank, NJ. “Shows have to be more conscious of what is going on in their market so they can stay relevant.”

But here’s a tip: Don’t do research unless you’re prepared to act on the information.

“Don’t ask any questions you can’t do anything about,” says Mark Michelson of Michelson & Associates (www.michelson.com), a strategic marketing research consultancy based in Marietta, GA. “If it doesn’t add value to the intelligence you’re gathering, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and money.”

In-depth research does take time and money. Some Exhibit Surveys clients spend more than $100,000 to do an analysis of their marketplace and show, then follow up the next year with $15,000–$20,000 in research to see if the changes they made added value.

“Research is research, and it costs what it costs,” Cox says. “In today’s world, $50,000–$60,000 is a hefty research budget for a show.”

When you build research into your budget, you can make informed decisions about how to continuously improve your event. If you do just one project, make it strategic. Here are five common objectives and four cost-effective techniques.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Objective #1: Understand a market
Market research allows you to position your show so that it’s relevant to customer needs. It typically begins with secondary research into industry trends and how external factors — economic, social, cultural — influence the industry.

“It’s the influences on events that are outside the sphere of the speakers, attendees and exhibitors,” says Phyllis Danieli MacIsaac, Senior Consultant for Face-to-Face Marketing Consulting Services, Nth Degree (www.nthdegree.com), Stone Mountain, GA. “Then you get down to what’s your market position, what are your market influences, and how you can position yourself in the marketplace.”

For example, when Exhibit Surveys studied market trends impacting a vertical trade show, their research indicated the show should be horizontal. “We studied the top thinkers in the industry and put together a report that said, ‘This is where the industry is going. To be relevant, these are the changes you have to make,’” Cox says. “Based on that, they made significant changes in the show.”

Objective #2: Analyze the competition
A competitive analysis lets you benchmark your event against the competition, then make changes that differentiate it enough to maintain or gain market share. Like market research, it may begin with secondary sources but culminate in primary research with your target audience.

If other shows are doing something you’re not doing, and you’re not sure you want to do it or what the benefit would be, ask your past and present attendees what they think.

“You want to find out the direction of the market, then think of all the things you might like to do to make continuous improvements in your show,” MacIsaac says. “Formulate those into questions, then ask attendees — do you want longer tracks, more sessions, etc.”

A competitive analysis can cost from $30,000–$60,000, depending on the number of shows, what you compare, and how much primary research you do.

Objective #3: Assess value
If your value proposition is not aligned with market expectations, it won’t resonate and you’ll lose customers. Cox recommends doing a “value assessment” to ensure that your show delivers what customers want. This methodology targets both attendees and non-attendees, and exhibitors and non-exhibitors.

“We need to understand the fit or alignment of the expectations of exhibitors and attendees,” Cox says. “If you don’t have good alignment, you don’t have a healthy show.”

Exhibit Surveys’ value assessment research examines the show’s relevance to the marketplace, the compatibility of what exhibitors want and what attendees expect, differences among audience segments, competitive strengths and weaknesses, traffic density relative to space sold, conference content relevance, and the quality of the show experience.

Objective #4: Evaluate content
From conference sessions to exhibit hall demonstrations to birds-of-a-feather networking, the content of your show can drive attendance. Tried-and-true speaker evaluation forms are no longer adequate to evaluate and improve content.

“You have to have a content direction to drive people to your event,” says MacIsaac. “You have to have speakers who talk at a higher level or deeper layer than what people can find on the Web to make it valuable enough. That drives the need for content to be more professionally delivered.”

Research that not only measures presentation quality but also defines what rating is acceptable can become the basis for making speaker selection decisions. MacIsaac works with clients who hire coaches to train speakers in presentation skills. “If they don’t achieve a rating of a certain level, they’re not invited back,” she says.

Objective #5: Cultivate relationships
The time line for attendee marketing has shrunk from 12 months to 3–6 months. In the interim, you can use market research as a way to continue the conversation with past, present and prospective attendees. Taking the time to ask questions, listen to the answers and respond with new initiatives can demonstrate your commitment to customer service and help you retain customers.

“Keep the show in the minds of people by asking them how it’s going, and what’s new in the industry. It creates a relationship with them,” says Wayne Jacobs, President of Jacobs, Jenner and Kent (www.jjkresearch.com), a Baltimore, MD-based marketing research and consulting firm. “Then if you hit them with an invitation two to three months ahead, they can make a decision.”

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Your research objectives will determine the methods you’ll use to collect data. The toolbox of techniques is split into two compartments. Qualitative research identifies issues and elicits ideas about how to solve problems and deliver more value. Quantitative research tests those ideas in a measurable way.

Focus groups, interviews and direct observation yield qualitative data. Surveys — whether conducted by mail, phone, online, in person or on-site with comment cards and evaluation forms — gather quantitative data. Most research projects require a combination of techniques.

“If you’re trying to get new information, qualitative research is best, because there’s no fixed questionnaire,” says Michelson. “You’re not trying to validate anything. You’re trying to discover what can be done to improve something.”

To quantify feedback on an idea or experience, you need a predictive sample that will have statistical validity. A randomly drawn sample size of 100 yields a 90 percent confidence level, plus or minus 5 percent. A sample of 1,024 yields 98 percent confidence, plus or minus 3 percent. The more confidence, the more predictive the results.

Technique #1: Focus groups
Doing focus groups before conducting surveys can ensure that you have identified the right issues and are asking the right questions. Doing them afterward can give you fresh insight into what your data means and add dimension to your analysis.

A cost-effective way to run focus groups is on site at your event with a professional moderator. Michelson suggests these steps:
• Schedule meeting rooms to convene two or three one-hour groups.
• Set up a table to recruit, qualify and segment participants.
• Offer food and beverages and a free gift or $100 cash.
• Invite 12 participants per session, expecting 7–10 to come.
• Pose 5–10 questions for open-ended discussion.
• Capture ideas on flip charts.
• Record the results for later action.

Compared with the $6,500–$7,500 cost of holding a focus group at an off-site facility, on-site research costs roughly $4,000 per group, according to Michelson.

Technique #2: In-depth interviews
In-depth interviews with high-level opinion leaders can reveal the bleeding edge of trends. When you single out the “rock stars and luminaries” of your industry and ask their opinions, you can begin to get ahead of the competition, instead of following their lead.

The trick is to synthesize the information and identify the ideas that will have the greatest value for the largest number of people, MacIsaac says.

Technique #3: Direct observation
Observational research, usually using video cameras or closed circuit televisions, reveals how attendees get where they’re going, where they look along the way, and what exhibits cause them to stop and linger. Watching exhibitors reveals how they interact with the attendees.

“You can observe the behavior without interacting with the subject,” Michelson says.

Ethnographic research allows you to see an event through the eyes of your customer. By accompanying them to your show — or your competitor’s — you can watch how they experience the show and question why they behave as they do.

“You hang out with them for a day or two, ask questions and observe their behavior in the environment,” says Michelson. “If something attracts their attention, you can ask why.”

If, for example, an attendee encounters difficulties registering or navigating the exhibit hall, you can ask what might help improve the experience. If an exhibitor isn’t getting enough traffic, you can ask passersby why they didn’t stop. These observations can suggest how to improve the buying environment.

Technique #4: Surveys
Survey research confirms what you’ve heard from a small group of people, or not. It can be qualitative, with open-ended questions, or quantitative, with check-the-box questions. Shoot for a 30 percent response rate, and offer a chance to win a prize as an incentive.

More art than science, survey design may best be left to professionals. If you have an agenda in mind, the way you frame the questions can skew your results. Beyond bias, avoid vague questions or scales that don’t measure what you’re asking about. For example, don’t ask, “How does our show compare with their show on a scale of 1–5?”

“That’s not the right scale,” Cox cautions. “You want a point of comparison — better, much better, worse or much worse.”

How the survey is administered may influence the types of questions you ask. A pre-show paper survey may ask respondents to compare items with several variables, such as conference pricing packages. An on-site exit survey, done face to face with the interviewer, may ask about the quality of the experience while it’s fresh in their minds. And a post-show phone survey may include follow-up questions to elicit more suggestions.

“Online surveys are most cost-effective, but expect to spend about $20,000 for a robust Web survey with both open- and close-ended questions,” says MacIsaac.

“Survey results can be 400 pages,” she says. “When you ask questions that are open-ended, that’s the value. That’s why it costs a little bit more. It provides direction for show management as to what is important.”