What is the most common reason exhibitors join a show?

The CEM guides do not rank them, but stress that exhibitors treat sales results as a primary objective and judge a show on more than attendance. The list of ten reasons starts with generating sales leads from new prospects or existing clients.

Why does the organizer need to know each exhibitor's reasons?

Because with the same show, two exhibitors may come to do two different things. One coming to support dealers needs meeting space and groups of dealers, while one coming for new leads needs the right kind of visitors in numbers. Knowing the reason helps sell the right benefit and measure the right result.

How do you ask for the reasons without annoying exhibitors?

Put the list of ten reasons in the registration form or the booth sales call and ask them to pick the top two. It takes a minute and gives the organizer input for designing services.

Why Exhibitors Join an Aquaculture Trade Show: Ten Real Motives

Two exhibitors rent two identical 18 m² booths on opposite sides of an aisle. A feed company wants to meet as many new dealers as possible. An equipment company wants farmers to see the machine run for real and stop to ask technical questions. At the end of the show both receive the same report on total attendance. One is happy and one says "I didn't see anyone". Both are right, because they came to do two different things.

This article is about why exhibitors join an aquaculture trade show. It starts from the list of ten reasons in the CEM sales guide, then ties each reason to real people in the industry and to what the organizer can do.

Why the organizer needs to know

The CEM guide says exhibitors choose to take part in exhibitions and events for a variety of reasons. Not all motivations are shared across companies, but most exhibitors agree that exhibitions remain a valuable business tool. The guide adds that exhibitors weigh more than attendance numbers when choosing a show, and treat sales results as a primary objective. The organizer must therefore communicate the show's buying power clearly, with a position statement that sets out the tangible benefits for both exhibitors and attendees.

A good position statement comes from understanding each group's real reasons. The article on features and benefits when selling booth space covers how to say it, and this article covers how to understand it.

A technician taking notes at a pond area

The ten reasons in the guide

Each item below gives the reason as the guide states it, a typical group in the aquaculture industry and what the organizer can do. The typical group is only a suggestion and does not mean that group has only that reason.

Generating sales leads from new prospects or existing clients. Seed and probiotic firms. The organizer classifies visitors from the registration form and helps exhibitors filter real farmers, as the article on lead retrieval describes.
Entering new markets by geography, product category or industry. Feed companies expanding into another province or country. The organizer supplies visitor data by region and opens an international pavilion, as in the article on the international pavilion.
Supporting dealers and distributors in selling more effectively. Feed and medicine brands. The organizer runs a program that brings groups of dealers, like the bus-in program, and leaves room for meetings at booths.
Educating customers about existing or new products and services. Probiotic and monitoring-equipment firms. The organizer reserves technical seminar slots and demo areas.
Building brand awareness and enhancing brand perception. Every group, newer companies most of all. The organizer sells brand-building sponsorship packages.
Conducting business with other exhibitors. Equipment makers with feed makers, processors with packaging suppliers. The organizer runs small-group matchmaking among exhibitors.
Gathering market or competitive intelligence. Almost every exhibitor walks competitors' booths. The organizer treats that as normal, keeps rivals in the same zone on the plan and does not get in the way.
Increasing visibility or gaining media and public attention. Technology companies, new brands. The organizer prepares a media kit and sets aside room for press conferences.
Meeting with key customers or prospects for relationship-building. Processors, exporters, buyers. The organizer provides meeting areas and pre-booked appointments, like hosted buyer programs.
Creating opportunities to engage with the broader community. Local businesses, brands with social programs. The organizer considers an open day, per the article on B2B or B2C.

Two partners shaking hands after a meeting prepared weeks in advance

Two reasons per exhibitor

A common reality is that each exhibitor has two standout reasons, not ten. Feed companies lean toward supporting dealers and finding new customers. Equipment companies lean toward educating customers and generating leads. Processors lean toward meeting key customers and new markets. That is a general observation about behavior, not a statistic, so it needs checking by asking.

The simple way to ask: put the list of ten reasons in the registration form or booth sales call and invite them to choose two. It takes a minute and gives the organizer three useful things:

What to say when selling booths, as the article on handling objections when selling booth space needs.
Which services to build and which to drop.
How to measure results.

Measure against the reason

An exhibitor who joined for one reason should be measured by that yardstick. The CEM marketing guide also stresses evaluation, and the article on event ROI says to measure results beyond attendance numbers.

Generating leads: qualified visitors and follow-up appointments.
Supporting dealers: dealers who came to the booth and dealer meetings held.
Educating customers: people who attended sessions, questions asked, people who tried the product.
Meeting key customers: meetings that took place with decision makers.
Market intelligence: not measured in numbers, but it can be asked in a post-show survey.

The report sent to each exhibitor after the show should follow the reason they chose. Tracking from an appointment to the first order is in the article on measuring business matching. For re-booking rates, see the article on booth re-booking rates.

When the reason does not fit the show

Sometimes an exhibitor's reason does not match what the show has, for example they want to enter overseas markets while the show has only domestic visitors. Saying so plainly is the best way to keep the relationship. An exhibitor who is told "this show doesn't suit your goal this year" often returns when the show changes, while one who was over-promised usually does not.

Picture a registration. The organizer asks for two reasons at registration. The feed company chooses supporting dealers and entering new provinces. The equipment company chooses educating customers and generating leads. The organizer places the feed company near the dealer meeting area and gives the equipment company an afternoon demo slot. Each one's report at the end of the show is about exactly what they came to do.

Need a reasons-to-exhibit question built into registration?

If you need a ten-reason registration form, a post-show report template for each reason or a booth sales script for each group, you can send a request through the quote page or book a call with Nguyen Anh Trung. Send the registration form you use now.

A report that speaks to what the exhibitor came to do carries more weight than one thick with numbers.