19 Made-Up Trade Show Statistics

March 13, 2011 | Mike Thimmesch

Warning: these statistics are not real. They were not researched by a team of academics, presented in peer-reviewed articles, nor compiled from industry surveys. Instead, these trade show statistics were created in the deep recesses of my tainted imagination, which has long been held in thrall of the trade show world.

 

And yet, there is more than just a shadow of truth in these fictional face-to-face facts. Read on for the unexpected insights from these counterfeit exhibition statistics:

1. 82% of U.S. booth staffers only speak one language
2. 14% of booth staffers are wearing the wrong shoe size
3. 11% of all booth staffers are in the bathroom at any time during show hours
4. 7% of all trade show booth graphics are illegible
5. 12% of all exhibits have a typo in their graphics
6. 54% of exhibitors have not set a measurable goal
7. 42% of exhibitors did not invite anyone to meet them at their booth
8. 57% of exhibits are designed from the exhibitor’s perspective, rather than the attendee’s perspective
9. While 100% of exhibitors consider visuals, only 30% consider sounds, 25% consider touch, 12% consider smell, and 6% consider taste
10. 10% of exhibit graphics portray products no longer sold by the exhibitor
11. 24% of exhibitors rely on collecting attendees’ business cards, rather than using badge scanners or lead cards
12. 41% of exhibitors do not have a formalized lead follow up plan
13. 15% of booth staffers were hired by their company within only the past month
14. 78% of trade show attendees subconsciously decide whether they will buy from an exhibitor within the first 10 seconds of entering their displays
15. 55% of booth staffers truly listen before responding to attendees
16. 2% of trade show attendees actually read every exhibit graphic in the hall
17. 16% of exhibitors have the wrong size staples for their staplers
18. 23% of exhibitors lose all their pens to attendees before the show ends
19. 5% of trade show exhibitors and attendees meet their future spouse at a trade show

 

Do any of these statistics seem eerily true to you? Do they jibe with your own experience? Please let us know in the comments box below. Or, get creative and share some made-up trade show statistics of your own! And remember, “98% of all statistics are made up”!