97% of companies want in-person trade fairs. That was the key finding in Messe Frankfurt Group's second customer survey collecting viewpoints about in-person trade fairs over virtual events. The group's Customer Care Campaign (CCC) was first conducted in autumn 2020 and repeated in spring 2021.
The survey's 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.
Messe Frankfurt said 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, the company underscored.
Messe Frankfurt president and chief executive Wolfgang Marzin explained: “This is a clear vote of confidence for in-person events. Only 3% of respondents wanted to see events move entirely online. In fact, 67%t of our customers would like events to take place solely in person, with another 30% expressing a preference for hybrid formats.
"In total, 97% of our customers remain convinced that in-person events are an essential component of trade fairs," Marzin concluded. And a whopping 59,000 companies took part in the second CCC survey.
In the first survey, Marzin observed, customers were eager to share their views, but there was a sharp rise in confidence between the first and second surveys. He pointed out that Messe Frankfurt's 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.
Messe Frankfurt Group is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiszwith its own exhibition grounds. The group employs about 2,450 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 29 subsidiaries around the world. It generated annual sales of approximately €257 million in 2020, compared with recorded sales of €736 million the previous year. The company is owned by the City of Frankfurt and State of Hesse, which hold 60% and 40% interest, respectively.
