Exhibitions serve as powerful platforms for businesses to showcase their products, connect with potential customers, and generate valuable leads. Understanding and analysing visitor behaviour is paramount to making the most of these opportunities. Using spatial analytics, with its passive and anonymous collection methodology, allows us to delve into the intricacies of cohort behaviour, segmenting exhibition visitors by their actions and preferences rather than traditional demographics. By measuring the common paths taken through an event and identifying the sequences of touch points during that journey, organisers can use the data to significantly enhance the success of their show and increase dwell time at their exhibitors’ stands.

By segmenting attendees into cohorts based on their behaviour, exhibition organisers can more effectively analyse their movements, preferences and interactions. This data can provide valuable insights to help tailor market strategies to deliver a more targeted and personalised experience for visitors. 

Imagine being able to show an exhibitor not just how many people passed their stand but also how many stopped and engaged. Spatial analytics can also provide insight into which part of that stand was most popular, and how much time the brand had with the visitor, making it a powerful tool for exhibitors.

By leveraging spatial analytics, exhibitors can strategically position their exhibition stands for maximum impact. Identifying high-traffic areas for specific cohorts, optimising floor layouts, and placing exhibition stands in proximity to content that targets a desired cohort can significantly enhance traffic at specific stands. Moreover, understanding cohort behaviour allows exhibitors to tailor their exhibition stand designs, interactive experiences, and promotional activities to engage specific customer segments effectively. Exhibitors can take advantage of increased dwell time at their stands to engage with visitors, build relationships, and generate leads. Ultimately, this strategic positioning and enhanced visitor engagement can result in a higher return on investment (ROI) for exhibitors. It is a win-win approach!

Measured over successive exhibitions, the data gathered helps identify bottlenecks,low traffic or low visitor engagement, allowing organisers to make necessary adjustments to maximise traffic flow through the show.

But this technique goes beyond simply measuring foot traffic and common paths; it also offers insights into the sequences of touch points visitors engage with. By examining the interactions between exhibition stands and analysing the order in which visitors visit different exhibits, organisers can gain a deeper understanding of visitor preferences and decision-making processes. This knowledge enables organisers to optimise floorplans layouts, feature areas, and content areas to align with the desired customer journey. Crafting a seamless and engaging visitor experience fosters longer dwell times, encourages deeper engagement, and increases the likelihood of conversions. These outcomes provide empirical data when the time comes to discuss exhibitors’ rebooking stands.

One advantage of this technology is that it is relatively easy to deploy, which means that it can be used on an entire show, a section of a show, a content area or even a specific exhibition stand. Wherever there is a need to have empirical, hard data from a large sample of visitors and without any surveyor bias – spatial analytics delivers reliable and dependable metrics.

The statistics speak for themselves; if you would like to see case studies on how spatial analytics has provided actionable results for event organisers and exhibition stand owners, we would be happy to share how this was done and the decisions enabled.

For more information about how spatial analytics can optimise your next exhibition, contact us at info@meshh.com.