Updated- 14th March 2024

Exhibitions offer the perfect opportunity for brands and companies to directly engage and communicate with their target audience. No other marketing platform can prove as beneficial as exhibitions for live interaction with the target group and retrieving valuable feedback and input from them. The data you extract from this process can prove to be highly beneficial and help your business tremendously. It can also help you modify your marketing plan and even improve the product or how it is projected at your trade show booth rental.

A good way to collect quantifiable data from your visitors at the trade show is through an exhibition survey. It is a good way to derive relevant data from visitors. Most exhibitors often find the task of formulating exhibition survey questions overwhelming and may consider using third-party questionnaire samples. It’s important to note, though, that relying on generic samples may not yield the specific insights needed for optimal outcomes.

To start with, it’s important to know exactly what information you’re looking to gather from your audience. Do you want to understand them better or see how they feel about a specific product or service your company provides? Specific survey questions enable you to get to know your customers better. However, developing a good exhibition questionnaire sample is harder than it seems. So, how can you make sure your visitors fill out your exhibition survey? Here are ten do’s and don’ts for the good survey questions.

1. Do Draw Up Survey Questions:

Answering questions or filling out exhibition survey questions should only take a few minutes. Given that time is limited and visitors might rather be elsewhere, it’s crucial to streamline your exhibition questionnaire. Stick to asking only the essentials.

To encourage a higher response rate, it is advisable to design the exhibition questionnaire to fit succinctly on a single page. This approach makes it convenient for visitors to quickly complete the survey, enhancing their willingness to share their valuable insights and feedback.

2. Do Ask Short, Specific Questions:

If a visitor is faced with long questions about your exhibition booth, they won’t probably read them. It is recommended that you ask short, specific, clear questions and a maximum of 20 words each. Multiple-choice questions simplify the process for visitors. But be careful not to overwhelm them with too many choices, as that often leads to visitors abandoning the questionnaire. Also, steer clear of similar-sounding answers to prevent confusion; when in doubt, people tend to skip the question.

3. Do Add Brief Instructions To The Survey:

You can either ask questions personally at the trade show booth rental or have visitors fill out the exhibition survey. If the last option is your choice, include a brief instruction to prevent any ambiguity.

Inform participants about the method for answering questions and how many options they can select. Clarify whether they have the option to respond anonymously. Highlighting this may reassure hesitant visitors.

4. Do Offer Extra Space For Remarks And Suggestions:

Visitors often prefer the simplicity of closed, multiple-choice questions because they’re quick and easy to complete. Yet, offering a space for attendees to leave extra comments, suggestions, or insights about the exhibition booth is a good practice. When people take the time to express their thoughts, the feedback they provide can be incredibly valuable, offering a wealth of information for making future enhancements.

5. Do Start Your Exhibition Questionnaire With Opinions:

Are you interested in finding out a visitor’s origin and their industry of work? It’s better not to make this your opening question, as it often leads to early drop-offs. It is suggested to begin with questions about their opinions. People always appreciate having their voices heard.

You need to make your visitors feel important. Ask and value their opinion, and it will automatically help you to form a strong bond with them.

Ask important, essential exhibition survey questions at the end of the survey, or scan their badge if you use a digital exhibition questionnaire.

6. Don’t Forget To Test Your Exhibition Survey Questions:

What seems obvious to you might not be so to those answering your exhibition questionnaire. Therefore, it’s wise to pre-test your survey questions on a sample group before presenting them to visitors, ensuring clarity and avoiding any confusion.

Have multiple exhibition questionnaire samples and spread out your questions based on what you want to know. Be mindful of biased, suggestive, and double-barreled questions. Over-simplified questions evoke new questions. In that case, you’d better formulate it differently.

The order of your questions also matters significantly. While it’s tempting to guide visitors towards certain responses, this can skew the results and provide fewer objective data. It’s better to encourage genuine, unbiased feedback to gain truly insightful information.

7. Don’t Overlook Rewarding Visitors Who Complete The Questionnaire:

Everyone performs better when there is an incentive involved. Your visitors at the trade show booth rental aren’t any different. They will be more willing to fill out an exhibition questionnaire if there are rewards. Therefore, think about offering a reward to those who fill out your exhibition survey. Rewards often encourage participants to spend more time on their responses, leading to richer and more valuable information.

8. Don’t Waste Your Customer’s Time :

Standing in the wrong line and realising you’ve wasted time can upset customers, especially when it was for something that didn’t even matter to you. That’s how customers feel when they’re asked to fill out a survey at an exhibition booth that isn’t relevant to them or doesn’t fit their lifestyle. To avoid this issue, consider asking a qualifying question to potential customers before handing them the survey form.

For example, if you are a fast-food company, the qualifying question would be “Do you eat outside once a week?” If the customer answers in affirmation then you would continue by saying “We are offering this free meal hamper at our trade show exhibit rental for customers who can fill out this survey, would you be interested?” The added benefit of having a screening question is that you will get answers that are useful and accurate.

9. Don’t Underestimate The Importance Of Your Customer’s Privacy:

Inform your customers upfront about the usage of their responses. Clarify what information will be disclosed and what will remain confidential. If possible, maintain the anonymity of the responses provided by your customers. This approach will make customers feel valued and more inclined to respond honestly to your exhibition survey questions. Similarly, if your survey asks for contact details, specify what you will mail, SMS, or notify them about and present them with the option to opt out before you have the survey.

10. Don’t Hesitate To Let Customers Get Familiar:

It can be tempting to hand out your prepared questionnaire to visitors when they show up at your exhibition stand rental. But hold that thought! Instead, take the time to introduce your brand and its purpose to potential customers, allowing them to explore your trade show booth at their leisure. Doing so will give them a clearer understanding of your brand’s essence, offering them a more informed backdrop when you hand over your exhibition questionnaire.

Successful selling is all about getting to know your customers. If you know what inspires them and what’s important for them, you can better anticipate it. At an exhibition, you meet a lot of customers in a relatively short time. This makes it the perfect occasion for real-time market research. Visitors don’t like filling out questionnaires, especially if it takes a lot of time or if they are complicated. Make use of the tips in this article, develop an effective questionnaire, and get to know your customers better. It will be a positive contribution to your product and marketing.

About Expo Display Service:- 

Established in 1979, Expo Display Service has over 4 decades of experience in booth design and construction, making it the most reliable trade show booth design company in Europe. With 12 offices in 7 countries, we have catered to some of the biggest names in the industry all across Europe.

We have the largest online catalogue of exhibition booth designs in Europe! Our specialised in-house design team and cutting-edge production capabilities ensure you get your trade show exhibit rentals that are not only of superior quality but also uniquely tailored, all across Europe. And with just three clicks on our Expo Stand Configurator, you can find your ideal match!

Collaborate with us to access exclusive booth designs in a comprehensive all-in-one package. Contact us at +49 (0) 6227 877-290 or email us at international@expodisplayservice.com to avail of our services at transparent prices.