EXHIBITOR Magazine’s RFI/RFP Survey Finds Disturbing Disparities between Vendors and Clients

ROCHESTER, MN – May 30, 2013 – EXHIBITOR Media Group, the leader in trade show and corporate event marketing education, today announced the results of EXHIBITOR magazine’s 2013 RFI/RFP Survey, which explores exhibition industry professionals’ opinions of and experiences related to requests for information, requests for proposal, vendor selection, and the new-build process.
 
To help compare and contrast the perceptions and realities of exhibit managers and custom exhibit-house reps, EXHIBITOR magazine surveyed both groups. While the results reaffirmed that, in many ways, clients and vendors are on the same page, the data also identified disturbing disparities. For instance, exhibit managers estimated that custom houses spend an average of $4,622 responding to a typical RFP for a new exhibit with a budget of at least $100,000. However, custom houses reported average per-RFP costs of $6,318, a difference of 37 percent. 
 
Similarly, there appears to be confusion between vendors and clients regarding the number of companies invited to participate in the RFP process. Custom houses believe clients invite an average of 5.5 firms to bid on each new build, but exhibitors report an average of 3.6.
 
“RFIs and RFPs are often as perplexing to exhibitors as they are to custom exhibit houses,” commented Travis Stanton, editor, EXHIBITOR magazine.  “Little standardization exists, forcing exhibit managers to reinvent the wheel every time they issue an RFI or RFP — and requiring exhibit houses to adapt their procedures to accommodate the array of differing wheels being thrown at them. Our survey takes some of the mystery out that process.”
 
The 2013 RFI/RFP Survey was sponsored by Brumark Total Flooring Solutions, Cort Event Furnishings, Octanorm USA Inc., and Optima Graphics Inc.  The comprehensive results will be published in the June issue of EXHIBITOR magazine. 
 
About Exhibitor Media Group
The leader in trade show and corporate event marketing education, Exhibitor Media Group publishes the award-winning EXHIBITOR magazine - best practices in trade show marketing, and produces EXHIBITOR, the trade show and corporate event industry’s top-rated educational conference; EXHIBITORFastTrak regional accelerated learning conferences; EXHIBITOR eTrak live online educational sessions; and GRAVITY FREE, the world’s only multidisciplinary design conference. EXHIBITOR is the founder and sponsor of CTSM (Certified Trade Show Marketer), the industry’s only university-affiliated professional certification program. www.ExhibitorOnline.com is the trade show and event community’s most comprehensive online resource.  Follow EXHIBITOR on Facebook and join EXHIBITOR’s LinkedIn discussion group.

 
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