(CEIR has released three new 2025 Performance Benchmark Playbooks for Small, Midsize, and Healthcare B2B exhibitions. Pictured: the cover of the Midsize B2B Exhibitions report.)
New CEIR data underscores the value of performance tracking as B2B exhibition organizers adapt to post-pandemic challenges
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has rolled out its 2025 Performance Benchmark Playbooks, offering updated metrics and planning tools for organizers of Small, Midsize, and Healthcare business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions. The reports are available now free to IAEE members, or $249 each for non-members.
Each report includes benchmarks on revenue, booth pricing, participation levels, digital tools, and retention metrics, along with a worksheet to help organizers apply the data to their own events.
“The key to success in today’s evolving event landscape is data-driven decision-making. These reports highlight the importance of tracking Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and retention metrics for both exhibitors and attendees—proven drivers of stronger financial and operational performance,” according to CEIR’s online overview of the new series.
Across all three show types, one message stands out: performance tracking is key to growth. Organizers who monitor exhibitor satisfaction, attendee sentiment, and retention tend to report stronger financial outcomes and greater year-over-year stability.
The Playbooks are divided by show size and sector:
- Small Shows: Provide benchmarks on revenue, booth pricing, staffing levels, and exhibitor participation for events under 50,000 net square feet. The report also explores digital tool usage, sponsorship practices, and key retention indicators—offering insight into how smaller events can remain profitable with lean teams and focused strategies.
- Midsize Shows: Focus on financial performance, including average profit margins and revenue mix, along with benchmarks for exhibitor retention, new acquisition, and attendee tracking. The report also explores how digital tools—like lead retrieval systems and mobile apps—contribute to ROI, and how organizers are navigating rising costs while maintaining growth.
- Healthcare Shows: Tailored to events operating in regulated environments, this report examines participation trends, educational programming, and the balance between sponsor ROI and compliance obligations. It includes insights on international attendance, revenue from continuing education, and how associations are managing growth amid shifting industry expectations.
With costs rising and audience behavior shifting, CEIR’s new data is positioned as a tool for setting clearer benchmarks, even if it stops short of naming specific market challenges or underperforming locations. One finding likely to catch planners’ attention: the average net profit margin for midsize shows is 38 percent, yet only 25 percent of organizers are tracking exhibitor satisfaction. That gap between performance and measurement is a core theme throughout the series.
The Small, Midsize, and Healthcare Benchmark Playbooks are available here. For more information or to explore CEIR’s full library of research on exhibitions and face-to-face marketing, visit their website.
