Nottingham Show Review: This will be a short review and not as in-depth a usual. I will begin the investigation with an email received on Monday from Carol Woodhouse:
“My friend and I attended the Nottingham show today and found it very disappointing. There were very few stalls and not enough space for practitioners to d massage and other therapies.”
“The reply:
“I’m sorry you’re disappointed: There is a clear list published of the 50+ Community Members who attended. All stands were allocated appropriate space to conduct their business. Having attended and exhibited at shows for nearly 20 years, our perception is that we provide more space than other organisers.
We were on hand throughout the whole weekend, and I would have welcomed your input and a conversation with you. Perhaps we could have walked the floor together and discussed your concerns with Community Members.
We do extensive visitor surveys; we have somebody on the floor during the whole of the shows. The shows are focussed on wellbeing information, it is a holistic event, and 80% of our visitors take advantage of our extensive talk schedules over the weekend. We provided 48 different one hour presentations free of charge, and this is very much part of the holistic Well Being Show experience.
I hope that you’ll be happy for us to publish your observations and our reply on our daily news page. In the interest of the ethos and ethics of openness of our organisation, we think it fair for Community Members and Visitors to have feedback.
Kind regards
Liz
LizianEvents Ltd”
I publish the complaint to demonstrate transparency. And the need to consider how visitors see the shows. Indeed, we received a similar observation after the 2019 Lincolnshire Well Being Show when over one-hundred Community Members stood, combined with a talk schedule of 60 presentations.
If Visitors perceive of this reasonably sized Well Being Show as small, goodness knows how they would see our Market Rasen event of seven years ago with twenty-eight standing and Iza Moon giving her amazing performances. I publish the complaint for readers to realise the high expectations some people have of an event! And although there will be the vast percentage who see: fifty plus Community and forty-eight well-attended talks as good value. There will be many who demand far more.
One certainty is this: Every Community Member who stood at the Well Being Show attained the highest degree of Well Being Attainment. And many thrived under challenging circumstances. Difficult circumstances? Well, we cannot dispute the footfall figures:
Saturday 201
Sunday 244
TOTAL of 445
It is important to remind readers of the attendance for the previous Nottingham Well Being Show:
Saturday:- 256
Sunday:261
TOTAL of 517
We expected an increase and a loss of seventy-two Visitors are very high indeed. Readers must wonder why the footfall is lower, and I offer suggestions of the virus and the number of other shows in previous weeks and during the weekend. There can be no reflection on The Community and their fantastic contribution to the show. Some circumstances are beyond our control.
We have to make some tough choices in show organisation. And we have to ensure the foundational precepts are followed to the letter. For examples: we are asked to enforce the closed-door policy for other organisers by FOUR community attending last weekend’s Well Being Show. And there is a need to look carefully at ‘no-shows’ as some Visitors complained they had travelled long distances specifically to work with Community Members. No-shows affect the balance of the events. We limit the number of stands in each genre. Therefore if one is lost, it is lost to the Visitors. Maybe, it would be prudent to offer loyalty incentives for those to attend Well Being Shows? There are many possibilities for change and evolution.
The show was blessed with the presence of new Community Members, and we are overwhelmed by the positive feedback from them. It is fair and accurate to comment. The Community enjoyed the Well Being Show. We accept the show failed to meet footfall expectations. However, be without doubt, the event was a great success for the majority of Visitors and Community. The talks schedules were immensely popular: The feedback was 101%.
Readers can rest assured we will review the event with great care. There will be no let-up in promotional activity, and we have already acted on the requests of Community Members. You can expect transparency of criticism and comments. And you can be sure we will make the changes and adapt to strengthen the perception of the Well Being Shows.
Thank You to the attending Community Members: You must be in no doubt of the quality and excellence of you stands, therapies and abilities. We will review The Nottingham Well Being Show with great care and make the necessary changes to increase the potential of the show.
See You Soon