Vendors love the Environments for Aging conference, but encourage organizers to keep it small.

To help our clients make good decisions about where to spend their marketing dollars to reach senior housing and long-term care companies, Quantum Age surveys vendors (exhibitors, sponsors, or attendees) at the major industry conferences. Environments for Aging (EFA), held last month in Salt Lake City, Utah, got overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Well Worth the Money

Everyone who responded to our survey either “Strongly Agreed” or “Mostly Agreed” that EFA was worth the time and money to attend

• Brand-Building: 90% felt strongly that the conference was a great place to build brand awareness with buyers;
• Current Customers: Almost ¾ of respondents agreed it was an excellent place to connect with clients;
• Lead Generation: Slightly fewer (70%) felt the exhibit hall was an excellent place to generate new interest among prospects.

Exhibitors were generally happy with exhibit hall traffic, both in terms of volume (65% Strongly or Mostly Agree) and quality (63% Strongly or Mostly Agree). Respondents felt that show floor visitors were eager to engage.

Official networking events were less popular, with comments about small venues and inadequate alcohol.

Insider Tips

We closed the survey by asking and open-ended question: what suggestions do you have for vendors hoping to get the most out of the show. There was a clear theme about planning ahead:

• Reach out ahead of time to invite people to your booth;
• Advertising in the show directory is a great way to get noticed;
• Pre-show brand awareness is a big help;
• And, for show organizers, there were a number of pleas to focus on smaller and more intimate sites, rather than large convention centers.

The Environments for Aging Conference focuses on the people developing, designing, and decorating senior housing buildings, so it’s not ideal for all vendors. But if your product is appropriate, attendees and exhibitors agree that it provides excellent value for money. Next year’s event is April 25-28 in Louisville, KY, for more information visit https://www.environmentsforaging.com.

Wondering if EFA is the right place for you? Let’s chat – kroper@quantum-age.com

And watch this space for our next vendor survey, focusing on the national Argentum conference.