Many people have likely experienced this: returning to the office after a trade show, spreading out a stack of business cards, brochures, and hastily scribbled notes, and starting to write a report from scratch. Writing while exhausted and trying to recall details takes time, and it's not uncommon to find yourself wondering the next morning, "What was that important thing I heard at that booth again?"
This article outlines the essential items and key points for writing an exhibition report, and also explains how to significantly reduce the time and effort required for its creation. Whether you're writing a report for the first time or struggle with it every time, please use this as a reference.
What is an exhibition report? Why is it necessary?
A trade show report is a document created by the person in charge who visited or participated in a trade show, to share the information gathered on-site within the company. It is not merely a record, but functions as a resource for superiors and relevant departments to make subsequent decisions.
Trade shows serve various purposes, including market trend research, competitor information gathering, discovery of new technologies and services, and development of business partners. However, if the information gathered by a single person at the event remains untouched, its value will be confined to that person's mind. By sharing information across the entire organization through reports, the return on investment (ROI) of trade show participation can be maximized.
Furthermore, accumulating these reports provides valuable information for deciding whether to participate in the exhibition again next year and which booths were most beneficial to our company.
Three things to prepare before writing an exhibition report
A high-quality exhibition report isn't something you write after you arrive at the venue. Prior preparation is crucial to both the quality and speed of your report.
① Clearly define your purpose for participating.
Be prepared to state your objective in a single sentence, such as "researching competitor trends," "comparing products under consideration," or "understanding industry trends." Having a clear objective will help you narrow down what to focus on at the venue, and naturally determine what to include in your report.
② Decide which booths to visit and in what order.
Check the exhibition's official website and exhibitor list in advance and make a list of high-priority booths. Since it's easy to get overwhelmed and run out of time on the day of the event, it's efficient to categorize your booths into two levels: "must go" and "go if time permits."
③ Create a checklist of the items to record.
Making a list of things you want to check at each booth will help ensure you don't miss anything when gathering information on-site. For example, if you list aspects such as "product features," "price range," "differentiation from competitors," and "potential applications for your company" in advance, it will make writing reports after returning to the office much smoother.
Five items that should be included in an exhibition report
The following five items are essential for any exhibition report. If your company doesn't have a standard format, you can use these as a basis for creating your own.
① Overview of the inspection
The report begins with a summary of the exhibition name, date and time, venue, participant names, and purpose of the visit. Clearly stating "when, where, who, and why" ensures that the report's premise is shared.
② Exhibitors, products, and services that caught our attention
From the booths we visited, we will highlight those that are particularly relevant to our company. We will describe them based on facts, including product features, price range, and points of differentiation from competitors. Including photos will make the information more persuasive.
③ Industry trends and competitive trends
Here's a summary of the trends that emerged from an overview of the entire venue. Qualitative observations such as "There was a surge in products claiming to utilize AI this year" and "The number of companies entering the XX field increased" are unique insights that can only be obtained on-site and not online.
④ Insights and knowledge that can be applied to our own company
This section should describe what the collected information means for your company. Adding observations and suggestions, such as "Company A's products may be able to address our company's challenge X" or "Company B's booth strategy can be used as a reference for our next exhibition," will increase the value of the report.
⑤ Future Actions
Clearly state "who will do what and by when." For example, "contact Company A by next week" or "add Company B's product to the next list of products to consider." Concluding with the next action will help the report lead to decision-making.
■ Featured Exhibitors
Company A (AI-powered VOC analysis tool): AI analyzes tens of thousands of customer comments in one hour. Pricing is based on data volume. There are many similarities with competitors, so a comparison of features is necessary.
■ Trends
Products that utilize AI have increased significantly compared to last year. Automatic generation systems for VOC (Voice of the Customer), meeting minutes, and reports were particularly prominent.
■ Action
Request materials from Company A via their inquiry form (Deadline: This week, Contact Person: Yamada).
Three key points for writing an exhibition report that people will want to read.
① Separate facts from personal opinions.
Clearly separate "Company A's product has the function of XX (fact)" from "It is worth considering introducing it to our company (opinion)." Mixing facts and subjective opinions risks leading readers to make incorrect judgments. The basic structure is to build up the facts first, and then add the writer's thoughts and suggestions at the end.
② Insert numbers and proper nouns
Instead of writing "Many companies were using AI," writing "11 out of the 15 companies visited were exhibiting AI-related products and services" will significantly increase the persuasiveness of your report. Be sure to include specific information such as exhibitor names, product names, prices, and figures.
③ End with an action
Always conclude your report with "Next Actions." A report that clearly outlines "what to do next based on this information" is more likely to drive organizational action than one that simply shares information. A single line summarizing the person in charge, deadline, and action is sufficient.
Three common challenges in creating exhibition reports
Many people in charge of writing reports say, "I think I know how to write them, but it never works out." This article outlines some common challenges in report writing.
① After returning to the office, my memory fades and I am unable to recall the information.
When you visit dozens of booths in a singleday, by the time you return to the office, the details of what you first heard have already become vague. Trying to write a report based on scribbled notes and fragmented memories is time-consuming and the accuracy of the information suffers. The situation of "I can't remember the important things I heard at that booth" is a very common problem for trade show organizers.
② The notes are fragmented and take a long time to organize.
Notes jotted down in notebooks or on smartphones can become difficult to understand in context when reviewed later. Fragmentary on-site records can lead to extra time spent organizing and transcribing them after returning to the office, potentially delaying report submission to the next day or even the day after.
③ The level of detail and quality of reports varies depending on the person in charge.
Experienced staff may be able to gather information on competitors' pricing and case studies, while inexperienced staff may only be able to glance at the booths. If the quality of reports depends on the individual skills and experience of the staff, the organization's information gathering capabilities will not be stable. Establishing checklists and record-keeping systems is a fundamental solution to this problem.
How to streamline exhibition reports: Utilizing voice recording and AI
The approach that fundamentally solves the aforementioned problems is to "record audio during the inspection and have AI automatically summarize and organize it."
Simply record the explanation on your smartphone while listening at the booth, and the AI will automatically transcribe, summarize, and extract key points. This eliminates the need to recall "what you heard" after returning to the office, and the framework of your report will be almost complete while you're on the go or immediately after leaving the venue.
"Omatome Ninja," an AI-powered report tool that can also be used for exhibition visits.
A data-free AI reporting tool called "Omatome Ninja" is ideal for these purposes. Simply open your browser and press the start button to begin recording and transcribing, and the AI will automatically generate a report once finished. No web conferencing tools are required, and it can be used in face-to-face environments such as trade show venues.
Here's an example of how it can be used during a trade show visit:
After listening to a 10-minute booth explanation, the information can be summarized in just one minute. What's more, all the staff member has to do is speak into their smartphone (or press the record button). Even if you visit dozens of booths in a single day, all the records will be available within the same day.
Furthermore, its "data-non-retention" design ensures safe use even in technical negotiations involving competitive or confidential information. It boasts high accuracy in recognizing product names and technical terms, and industry-specific expressions are almost entirely converted into text.
Output sample of "Omatome Ninja"
The following is a sample of the record I actually made using "Omatome Ninja" after listening to a 10-minute explanation at one booth at the exhibition (partial excerpt).
【point】
- I reviewed the VOC analysis tool to deepen my understanding of the project.
- By analyzing tens of thousands of customer testimonials using AI, we identify the underlying needs.
- A competitor's tagline is similar to our own project's.
- Pricing is based on the amount of data used.
- The input data format needs to be checked.
- I was able to check the UI and felt the visit was worthwhile.
- A consideration of how to use data within the company.
[Proofread text]
I'd like to try it out for free to see what kind of policy proposals it can come up with.
In Japan, there's a catchy slogan that says tens of thousands of customer voices can be analyzed by AI in just one hour, revealing reverse needs. This is very similar to the approach of the project we are developing, so we would like to conduct a benchmark.
Simply speak into your smartphone, and you can create this level of recording in just one minute. No typing is required; sharing with your team is as easy as copying and pasting the text.
It's also possible to record and summarize your conversation with the booth staff (automatic speaker identification is supported). Since you don't need to recount the conversation yourself, you can complete the recording immediately after leaving a booth and while heading to the next one.
There's a 14-day free trial, so you can try it out before your next trade show visit.
Summary
This article explained how to write an exhibition report, the items that should be included, common challenges, and ways to improve efficiency.
Simply changing the assumption that "reports are written after returning to the office" can significantly improve the quality and speed of report submission. By recording audio during site visits and having AI organize the data, staff can focus on interviews and observations at the venue, minimizing the amount of work that needs to be done after returning to the office.
If you're having trouble creating exhibition reports, try the 14-day free trial of "Omatome Ninja".
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