Ask One's '2026 Survey on Exhibition Strategy' Reveals 92.6% of Companies Find Exhibitions 'Important,' Yet 87.3% Say 'Room for Improvement in Results'

NineOut Inc. (hereafter, NineOut) conducted the '2026 Survey on Exhibition Strategy' targeting 441 BtoB professionals from companies with 50 or more employees who have been involved in exhibition-related tasks within the last two years.

The survey found that while 92.6% of respondents consider exhibition strategies 'important,' 87.3% stated there is 'room for improvement in results.' Furthermore, over 30% of companies admitted to 'not tracking' the ROI (Return on Investment) of their exhibitions. The primary bases for deciding to exhibit were 'top-down qualitative judgment' and 'following tradition/precedent,' highlighting that improving and visualizing the outcomes of exhibition strategies are key challenges.

Regarding the meeting conversion rate from exhibitions, over 70% of the group that initiated sales approaches on the day of or the day after lead acquisition experienced a 'higher conversion rate' compared to those who started later. Additionally, a trend was observed where the deeper the information obtained on the day of the exhibition, the higher the proportion of respondents who felt an improvement in conversion rates. These results suggest that hearing design on the day of the exhibition and the initial speed of action post-exhibition are linked to an increase in meeting conversion rates.

**Survey Summary**

- While 92.6% answered that exhibition strategies are 'important,' 87.3% feel there is room for improvement in results. - Exhibition managers spend an average of 17.4 hours per exhibition to complete post-event tasks (business card organization/data entry, handover to sales, follow-up preparation, performance aggregation, etc.). - Regarding meeting conversion rates from exhibitions, over 70% of the group that initiated sales approaches on the day of or the day after lead acquisition felt a 'higher conversion rate' compared to those who approached later. - The group that conducts hearings to understand 'visitor's business challenges and consideration status' during the event experiences a higher rate of improvement in meeting conversion rates. - Over 30% of companies are 'unable to track' the ROI of their exhibitions. - The top reasons for deciding to exhibit are 'top-down qualitative judgment,' 'following tradition/precedent,' and 'manager's personal feeling.'

**Background of the Survey**

In NineOut's '2025 Survey on BtoB Sales & Marketing,' 'exhibiting at trade shows' (37.2%) ranked high among major marketing strategies for BtoB businesses, confirming a continued trend of returning to offline strategies and the importance of exhibitions since the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, the exhibition field, compared to other marketing strategies, has many areas where technology and data utilization are not fully implemented, and on-site operations tend to depend on the experience and intuition of the person in charge. This survey was planned and conducted to clarify the operational realities of exhibition strategies.

**Detailed Survey Results**

- **92.6% see exhibitions as 'important,' while 87.3% see 'room for improvement.'** Combined, 92.6% of companies responded that exhibition strategies are 'very important' (47.2%) or 'somewhat important' (45.4%), reaffirming that exhibitions are recognized as a major customer touchpoint in BtoB marketing.

However, a total of 87.3% of companies felt there was 'strong room for improvement' (29.9%) or 'some room for improvement' (57.4%) in their current exhibition strategies. This highlights a gap between the perceived importance of the strategy and the current results.

When those who felt room for improvement were asked about specific areas, 'improving the quality of acquired leads' (49.9%) and 'increasing the number of acquired leads' (48.8%) were followed by 'improving meeting and order conversion rates' (40.5%), 'automating post-exhibition data organization/entry' (33.8%), and 'speed until the start of the sales approach' (29.9%) (n=385, multiple answers).

- **An average of 17.4 hours to complete post-exhibition tasks. On-site operations directly impact workload.** It was revealed that exhibition managers take an average of 17.4 hours per exhibition to complete post-event tasks (business card organization/data entry, handover to sales, follow-up preparation, performance aggregation, etc.) (*1).

The most time-consuming task was 'manual input/scanning of business cards' (25.0%), followed by 'transcribing/organizing hearing memos' (17.5%) and 'sorting visitors by temperature/priority' (16.0%), suggesting a structure where the means of information acquisition and operational design on the day directly impact post-event workload (n=412, single answer).

In relation to the burden of these tasks, over 70% of respondents take two or more days to start their sales approach after the exhibition, suggesting that this affects the initial speed of the sales approach.

*1: n=406, numerical answers (excluding 3 extreme answers over 200 hours).