Unit 3 - The Demand Side Of The Business Event Industry

Question 1

Defining the Buyer

What is Business Travel?

Answer 1

Business travel is concerned with people who are traveling for purposes to do with work.

It includes those who travel as part of their job.

Question 2

Who is the buyer?

Answer 2

Buyer refers to the organization that initiates and pays for the event.

Business traveller is rarely the buyer of the event.

Question 3

ORGANISERS

Answer 3

Plan and set up the exhibition.

Question 4

EXHIBITORS

Answer 4

Initiate and pay for their own presence at the event.

Question 5

THE CUSTOMER

Answer 5

The customer is whoever makes the decisions, or gives permission; also, it is the customer who ultimately pays the bills for the event.

The buyer in the business events industry is referred to as the customer i.e, the organization which is hosting and paying for the event.

Question 6

THE CONSUMER

Answer 6

The consumer is the person who actually travels and consumes services. They may pay their own travel or delegate fee; however, they are not responsible for the bills at the event itself.

Question 7

CORPORATE

Answer 7

Corporate sector is for profit. Organization exists in order to make money.

Corporate events take the form of meetings, exhibitions, incentive trips, corporate hospitality, conferences, product launches etc.

Question 8

TRADITIONAL SECTORS

Answer 8

Traditional sectors to initially stage business events are: oil, gas, petrochemicals, medical and pharmaceutical, financial and professional.

Question 9

NEW SECTORS

Answer 9

New sectors in the business events market : creative industries, electronic currency and finance, biotechnology and specialist sciences.

Question 10

ASSOCIATION

Answer 10

➡️Association - act of being associated for certain common purposes. Often run by an elected committee.

➡️ Exists to provide a service to members.

➡️ Association buyers - ‘not for profit’

Question 11

GOVERNMENT

Answer 11

➡️ Type of buyer known as the ‘public sector’

➡️ Sometimes included as part of the association market.

Question 12

ACADEMIC

Answer 12

➡️ Events normally take the form of seminars, conferences, public lectures and other knowledge sharing activities.

➡️ Academic events might be devoted to a single subject area or may be inter-disciplinary.

➡️ Academic associations likely to hold regularly conferences to share research findings.

Question 13

S.M.E.R.F

Answer 13

➡️SMERF - Social, Military, Educational, Religious, Fraternal.

➡️ Associations which are not work-related.

Question 14

DELEGATE

Answer 14

➡️ Pays little attention to the planning stage.

➡️ Buyers make their decisions based on their experience and knowledge of what they believe delegates want.

➡️ Delegate does not make choices at the planning stage; however, he or she is central to the decisions made by others.

Question 15

CORPORATE DELEGATES

Answer 15

➡️ Average corporate delegate is 38.
➡️ 64% are male.
➡️ Jobs are likely to be senior or middle management.
➡️ Attend on average 3 events per year.
➡️ Partners or friends are rarely expected or welcomed to attend corporate events.

Question 16

ASSOCIATION DELEGATES

Answer 16

➡️Average age is 40.
➡️ 55% are male.
➡️ Attend on average 1.7 events per year.
➡️ Charged an attendance fee to cover costs.
➡️ Price sensitive.
➡️ Can choose whether or not to attend an event.
➡️ Destination’s perceived attractiveness may influence in deciding whether they will attend event.

Question 17

EXHIBITION VISITORS

Answer 17

➡️ Usually trade-to-trade.
➡️ Professional business people.
➡️ Invest time and money to attend event.
➡️ Expect a high quality experience.

Broken down into types:
➡️ Tyre kickers 
➡️ Wheeler dealers 
➡️ Technocrats
➡️ Foxes 
➡️ Day-trippers 

Only the wheeler-dealers, and therefore only 10% of exhibition visitors are likely to be planning a purchase at the event.

Question 18

INCENTIVES AND CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

Answer 18

➡️ End users in incentive travel are usually company employees being awarded for performance.

➡️ Organizations use corporate hospitality as opportunity to convert customers into loyal clients.

➡️ End users are existing or prospective customers of the buyer organization.