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Porter Research

Conducting Research at Trade Shows Circumvents the Research “Project Management Triangle”

Dave Himes, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
June 6, 2010

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A fundamental concept of project management theory, the "Project Management Triangle," states that projects must be executed balancing three competing constraints: scope; time; and cost. Market research project management is no different, especially when it comes to conducting qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) or focus groups. Recruiting without compromising sample size or respondent selection requires a great deal of time and money. Executing a low-cost, quick turnaround project often delivers inferior results. However, executing IDIs or focus groups at industry events, conferences and tradeshows routinely delivers cost-effective, high-quality results quickly.

Sponsorship or renting booth space at industry events often entitles companies to perks that can drive successful research. In addition to access to facilities for conducting focus groups or one-on-one interviews, many events provide sponsors with attendee lists useful for pre-show recruiting. Show management may even manage the recruitment process. At the very least, a booth or tradeshow floor provides an excellent forum for recruiting and qualifying participants or conducting short opinion surveys.

At a recent show, Porter Research provided moderator services to a leading provider of printers and supplies to the hospital marketplace. The audience of highly qualified senior IT leaders from across the country were pre-screened and recruited by conference management, saving man-hours and money. Since participants were already in town for the event, travel and lodging costs were a non-issue. Ultimately, having Porter Research conduct the focus group on site at the conference cost the client a third of what a traditional focus group would cost, and the entire project from concept to execution was completed in a matter of weeks.

A global provider of decision support and predictive analytic tools for health plans and healthcare-providing organizations contracted Porter Research to manage a variety of qualitative primary research initiatives at the Healthcare IT Summit (formerly the Gartner Healthcare IT Summit). Two separate focus groups of senior management-level respondents were executed with facilities, recruiting and recording services all managed by the conference. In addition, Porter Research was provided with an attendee list and scheduled face-to-face IDIs with a targeted screening process. The interviews, each 30 minutes to one hour, provided the moderator with the opportunity to provide stimuli to the respondent and deeply probe on key points of the conversation. The project - from design to analysis and delivery - was completed in less than six weeks and cost approximately 10 percent of a comparable project utilizing in-depth telephone interviews supplemented with two focus groups.

Conducting research at conferences, trade shows, and other industry events can certainly provide an opportunity to conduct highly qualitative market research quickly and cost effectively.  Whether conducting short opinion surveys at the booth, face-to-face in-depth interviews or focus groups, industry events provide an easy way to capture feedback from a captivated audience and circumvent the "Project Management Triangle."

Tips for Success:
  • Work with the association putting on the event to understand what options there are for conducting research and how they can support the work (facilities, moderating, recruiting,  recording, transcription services).
  • Engage a consultant to discuss goals for the project and formulate ideas on how to deliver.
  • If an attendee list or recruiting service is unavailable, utilize an industry database like those offered by Billian's HealthDATA, or CRM tools to pinpoint likely attendees, and begin recruiting through email or phone calls.
  • Over-recruit - inevitably there will be some no-shows.
  • Use booth workers or contract professional interviewers to execute short surveys with attendees in exchange for special tchotchkes or trinkets.
  • Travel with small, inexpensive recording devices to capture details in one-on-one interviews and provide a backup for failed focus group recordings (always ask for permission before recording!).
  • Invest savings in honorariums to help capture highly qualified respondents.   








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