Form questions

Exhibitor survey questions for trade show organisers

Ask 10 to 12 within three days of the show closing. Never skip the trading name, how foot traffic compared with expectations, and whether the business will rebook. Those three let the organiser read every rating against a real stand and a real decision about next year.

An exhibitor survey has to find out whether each stand paid for itself, and which part of the show decided that: the position, the visitors or the organiser's service. These questions ask about each one after the pavilion closes, so next year's floor plan and pricing rest on evidence rather than on the loudest complaint at bump out.

The questions

Your stand

  1. Trading nameShort textRequired

    The same name as on the booking, so answers match the floor plan.

  2. Stand sizeSingle choice

    The booking form's options, so results split by stand size.

  3. How well did your stand location work for you?Single choice

    1 to 5, very poorly to very well.

  4. Where would you rather be next time?Single choice

    Near the entrance, tasting precinct, demonstration kitchen, a corner, same spot, no preference.

Build and bump out

  1. How smooth was move in on the build day?Single choice

    1 to 5, very difficult to very smooth.

  2. Was everything you ordered in place when you arrived?Single choice

    All of it, some of it, none of it, I did not order any.

  3. How clear was the exhibitor manual?Single choice

  4. How did bump out go when the show closed?Single choice

Visitors and leads

  1. How did foot traffic past your stand compare with what you expected?Single choice

    Much busier, busier, as expected, quieter, much quieter.

  2. Which day was busiest for you?Single choice

  3. Roughly how many qualified leads did you collect?Number

    Define a lead in the label, for example a contact who asked for a quote or samples.

  4. Roughly how much did you sell at the show?Dropdown

    Bands rather than a figure, with prefer not to say.

  5. Who were most of the visitors to your stand?Single choice

    Mostly trade buyers, a mix, mostly the public, not sure.

  6. Did the show bring in the kind of visitors you wanted?Single choice

Organiser services

  1. Rate the organiser's servicesRating grid

    Communication before the show, help desk, cleaning, overnight security, exhibitor catering, with did not use.

  2. Did your show guide advertisement bring visitors to the stand?Single choice

    Yes, noticeably, a little, no, I did not advertise.

  3. Were there enough exhibitor passes for your team?Single choice

  4. How would you rate the stand fee against what the show delivered?Single choice

Next year

  1. Will you rebook for next year?Single choiceRequired

    Yes, probably, unsure, probably not, no.

  2. If you would not rebook, what is the main reason?Single choice

  3. What would make the show more worthwhile for exhibitors?Long text

  4. How likely are you to recommend exhibiting here to another business?Single choice

    0 to 10 as eleven options.

  5. May the exhibitor team call you about next year?Single choice

  6. Best contact name, if you said yesShort text

Which questions to make required

Two questions are required. The trading name ties every answer to a stand, a size and a position on the floor plan, and a location rating from an unknown stand means nothing. The rebooking question is the one the sales team works from. Sales figures, lead counts and service ratings stay optional, since many exhibitors will not share revenue and should not have to.

The form built from these questions

A static copy of the finished form, from its own example page.

Regional Food and Drink Expo 2027

Three trade days, 4 to 6 August at the Regional Showgrounds, Pavilion 2. Stands are allocated in the order deposits clear, so an early booking is a better position.

Who you are

Your stand

A shell scheme stand arrives with walls, carpet, a fascia with your trading name, two spotlights and one power point. Space only is bare floor, and if you take it we need your stand design for approval at least seven days before build, which is 28 July.
Position is a request. Pavilion 2 is allocated in the order deposits clear, and the floor plan has to balance categories so that four olive oil producers are not side by side. If we cannot give you what you asked for, somebody rings you before the plan is published, not after.

Guide and signage

Images and PDF only, up to three files, 10 MB each. Print ready artwork is needed by 3 July or the space is released.

Insurance and terms

Every exhibitor must hold public liability cover of at least $20 million, current across all three show days and the build and pull down days either side. We do not need the certificate now, but we will ask for it, and a stand without one does not open.

Three ways to change this bank

For a visitor survey at the same show, drop the stand, build and services sections and ask why the visitor came, whether they buy for a business, how many exhibitors they spoke to, and which one was worth the trip. Keep the foot traffic idea by asking which halls felt too crowded. For a weekend craft or farmers market, replace stand size with the stall fee paid per day, add a question about how the weather affected trade, and ask about the stallholders either side, since neighbours shape a small market more than the floor plan does. For sponsors of a conference, swap leads and sales for brand visibility, hospitality used and meetings booked, and end with whether they will sponsor again at the same level.

Questions people ask

When should an exhibitor survey go out?

Within three days of the show closing, and before the rebooking offer. Exhibitors remember the build day and the quiet aisles clearly for about a week, then the memory blurs into an overall impression. Sending the survey first also means a complaint raised in it can be answered in the rebooking conversation rather than after it.

Should exhibitors be asked how much they sold?

Only in bands, only as an optional question, and only when the show is a selling show. Revenue is commercially sensitive, and an exact figure will be skipped or guessed. Bands with a prefer not to say option still let the organiser compare halls and stand sizes, which is what the question is for.

How should a lead be defined in the survey?

In the question label, in plain words. A lead might be a visitor who asked for a quote, left a business card or booked a follow up meeting. Without a definition, one exhibitor counts every sample handed out and another counts only signed orders, and the averages across stands become meaningless.

How can location ratings improve the floor plan?

Match each response to its stand through the trading name, then plot the location and foot traffic answers on the floor plan. Clusters of poor ratings usually sit in one aisle or behind one obstruction. The response export is a CSV with one column per question, so the join is a simple lookup against the stand list.

Should an exhibitor survey be anonymous?

No. An anonymous exhibitor survey cannot be matched to stand positions, and the rebooking answer is only useful with a name attached. If exhibitors need a safe place to criticise staff or contractors, offer a separate short anonymous form for that one purpose, and say on both forms who reads the answers.

What do exhibitors tend to raise after a show?

Move in delays, power or furniture that was not ready, and quiet aisles far from the entrance come up again and again, which is why each has its own question here. Giving them separate questions stops one bad build day from dragging down the rating of an otherwise busy show, and it tells the organiser which contractor to call.

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Other question banks

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On writing the questions themselves, read How to write survey questions. For everything the builder can do, see the form maker. Step by step: Create a form with AI, then View, export and manage your responses.

Sources

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