Using exhibition data

Detailed, qualified, structured

The FKM database with key figures for your successful trade fair marketing

The FKM trade fair database contains the trade fair figures for every certified event in Germany and in the countries of the guest members. The database provides the detailed information you need for successful trade fair marketing. We have been making this data available to the business community free of charge since 1966. It is used successfully by many exhibiting companies and visitors for their trade fair planning.

When you query the FKM trade fair database, you receive a structured data record for each trade fair with all relevant trade fair key figures.

Here you will find all the important information about the exhibition grounds, the organiser and its project team, including addresses and telephone numbers. You will also find information about the industry and product focus, details of parallel events and admission requirements (trade visitors/private visitors).

Here you will find the key figures for an event: exhibitors, visitors and stand space.

Hints & Tips

The exhibitor stand area is the verifiable total area used for exhibition stands and is the first of three key figures for evaluating a trade fair. You can use the square metre figure to compare the size of different events.

The stand area gives an initial impression of the organiser’s acquisition results.

Special exhibition areas are additional areas for information or attractions for visitors: for example, for events, design shows, research results or craft demonstrations.

The gross exhibition area comprises the entire area used for the trade fair or exhibition. It includes the exhibitor stand area and areas for special shows, corridors and foyers, but not restaurants and offices. The net exhibition area comprises the exhibitor stand area and special exhibition areas and accounts for 50–60% of the gross exhibition area.

The number of exhibitors, the second key indicator, includes companies that offer products and services with staff at a stand (including shared stands).

The number and proportion of foreign exhibitors are important indicators of a trade fair’s international character. German trade fairs have the highest proportion of foreign exhibitors worldwide with their own stands and staff or with staff from their own sales offices.

Visitor numbers are the third key indicator. In accordance with the FKM standard, they document the number of admissions to the exhibition grounds, with a maximum of one admission counted per visitor per day.

The number of admissions is determined by electronic admission systems, visitor registration or manual access control. If a joint admission ticket was sold for trade fairs running in parallel, visitor numbers can also be determined for each trade fair by means of a visitor survey.

This part of the data set contains the origin of exhibitors, broken down by country and the corresponding number of exhibitors, particularly for international trade fairs.

The fourth section is the most comprehensive. Here you will find data on the structural characteristics of visitors, with a distinction made between trade visitors and private visitors.

For both visitor groups, you will receive specific information about their share of the total number of visitors and their origin. The latter is broken down by distance to the trade fair location, by continent, country and federal state. You will also find information about the professional position of trade visitors and the frequency of their trade fair visits.

The FKM trade visitor structure provides information on how visitors are distributed across the various sectors of the economy. Other characteristics include company size, area of responsibility, professional position, assessment of purchasing/procurement competence and length of stay.

The FKM private visitor structure contains information on age structure, gender and household size.

 

Hints & Tips

The distribution of visitors across the federal states provides information about the national or regional significance of a trade fair. A relatively small proportion from the local federal state and a large proportion of visitors from further afield indicates the supra-regional character of an event.

At trade fairs with a clearly supra-regional focus, over 50% of visitors come from at least 100 kilometres away and over 20% from at least 300 kilometres away.

At trade fairs with a clearly regional focus, over 50% of visitors come from less than 100 kilometres away.

Regional public exhibitions with a clear regional focus have a maximum of 15%+ visitors from more than 100 kilometres away.

The proportion of foreign trade visitors is a key criterion for the international significance of a trade fair. International trade fairs in Germany achieve an average of 30%, while some of the world’s leading trade fairs achieve 50% or more.

At events near the border, the high number of foreign exhibitors can be concentrated in just a few countries of origin.

Although the proportion of non-European visitors often appears relatively low, visitors from overseas are often particularly qualified and represent an attractive potential source of new customers.

Here, exhibitors can see at what level they can talk and negotiate with visitors and how many visitors are decision-makers rather than users. This is also important for selecting stand personnel and exhibits and for the type of presentation.

The number of students and trainees is becoming increasingly interesting, as addressing them with a view to their future employment in the company is becoming another important function of trade fairs.

Even established trade fairs have 20 to 30% first-time visitors. This means that exhibitors have a great opportunity to make new contacts: with new employees of regularly represented companies, with companies represented for the first time, or with private first-time visitors.

Do not rely on visits from regular customers, whose share is often lower than expected.

Actively approach potential visitors in the run-up to the event.

Trade fair organisers can define individual terms for each trade fair. This makes the target groups that can be reached particularly transparent, even if the comparability of the trade fairs among themselves is then limited. This is the quickest way for exhibitors to find out whether they can expect the right visitors for them at the respective trade fair.

This clearly shows how high the proportion of decision-makers at the trade fair is. However, the industry structure plays a decisive role.
If the visitors are mainly small retailers, the figures in the top decision-maker category skyrocket – even if the actual order volumes are rather modest. At capital goods trade fairs with many visitors from larger companies, the focus is often on the co-decision-maker level, which often represents a considerable procurement volume. Therefore, the two upper categories – decision-makers and co-decision-makers – should be considered equally important.

Exhibitors can see here that capital goods fairs are not only visited by engineers and purchasing managers, and that consumer goods fairs are not only visited by traditional buyers. In larger companies or in the case of special purchases, representatives from specialist departments are also involved in the decision-making process. Consumer goods fairs are also visited by salespeople and marketing experts.

In short, exhibitors should not only focus on the ‘traditional’ decision-makers, but also cater to those visitor groups that contribute significantly to market penetration. Because it is often precisely these contacts that make the difference.

This figure roughly reflects the actual company size structure of the respective industry.
Small businesses attend trade fairs almost as frequently as large companies.
Larger companies are often represented by several people.
Exhibitors who have previously only supplied large companies in their industry can see here the potential for expanding their customer base.

At international trade fairs, the average length of stay is around 1.6 days. This is because foreign visitors in particular often travel for several days, which offers particularly high opportunities for making contacts.

Events targeted at private visitors – with the exception of particular specialist exhibitions – attract visitors from all age groups. Exhibitors with products for which demand is somewhat age-dependent can find guidance here about the volumes of such target groups.

All marketing instruments pursue the goal of selling products and services or initiating business; the same applies for attendances at exhibitions.

Many private visitors tend to buy something during the event.

And the proportion of people saying “no” is generally well below 50%, often below 20%. Also – apart from a few exceptions – after the event more than half of the visitors are interested in principle in purchasing products or services that they saw there.