German trade fair industry

Economic significance | Structure | Functions | German trade fair competence | Outlook | German Trade Fair Quality Abroad (GTQ) |

Functions of trade fairs

Business functions

Of all the marketing instruments, trade fairs have by far and away the broadest range of functions: they serve the development and the cultivation of customer relations, the search for partners and personnel as well as the positioning of the entire company. Trade fairs are test markets for new products and thus also market research instruments. Trade fairs also serve to increase the level of awareness of the own company, to analyze the competitive situation and to prepare the sale of products and services. For young companies, in particular, it is important to have the opportunity to gain an overview of the competition, their presentation and their products. For this purpose, at an early stage of opening up a market, a visit to a trade fair can be sufficient. [continue]

Economic functions

The conduct of trade fairs is of benefit not only to exhibitors and visitors, but also to a considerable degree to the regional economy in the catchment area of the trade fair city. In particular, the hotel and restaurant trades, transport companies as well as companies which render trade fair services for organizers and exhibitors, such as stand construction and logistics, interpreter and hostess services are the benificiaries. The regional economic effects at very international trade fair centres, amount to five or six times the turnover generated by the organizers. Trade fairs thus secure jobs on a considerable scale in the region, especially in small and medium-sized companies. [continue]

Social functions

Trade fairs and congresses have always been platforms for the exchange of knowledge. Knowledge means information that is processed, refined and placed in the right context. In today's knowledge-based society information has become a decisive resource. The production, selection, filtration and channelling of information is thus becoming one of the most important tasks in a national economy. For this reason trade fair-accompanying congresses and congress-accompanying trade fairs are increasingly frequently regarded and made use of as an attractive form of knowledge transfer with a rapid response. [continue]

update 1/2010

German trade fair industry: Significance, functions and outlook [continue]

Software for planning, calculating and evaluating trade fair participation