NAFA CEO Phil Russo, CAE: We Are Listening To You About The Future Of I&E

Last fall NAFA conducted a survey to get your thoughts and insight on NAFA’s annual conference, branded as NAFA’s Institute & Expo, or I&E. We wanted to know from those of you who had attended I&E in the last five years, how much time you spent at the event, your preferred length of the conference, and where you’d like us to have the conference. When we coupled this information with data gathered from those of you who attended the 2015 I&E in Orlando, we see some really compelling data.

The fall survey returned nearly 300 responses, which, statistically, gave us a confidence level of about 95 percent. This means that 95 percent of the entire population, not just those who responded to the survey would be in line with the results we got. This made us pretty happy to know that we could make decisions with confidence.

Of the nearly 300 responses, nearly 60 percent had attended every I&E for the past five years. This gave us confidence that the responses were from folks who really knew the event and were vested in it.

The majority of respondents (55 percent) replied that the optimal length of I&E would be 3 days. I&E is currently 4 days, which is the optimal choice for 28 percent of respondents.

Almost three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) like and wanted the pattern of I&E to stay during the week, avoiding any weekend travel or time away from home.

Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego were the top cities noted by those who offered ideas on where NAFA should hold I&E. However, only 75 people answered this portion of the survey, so there is less confidence in these responses as being representative.

We learned from the 2015 post-I&E survey that 87 percent of attendees felt the event met or exceeded their expectations. Similarly, attendees rated I&E 2015 at an overall average of 8.3 on a scale of ten. Nearly three-quarters of attendees would "recommend" or "highly recommend" a friend or colleague attend I&E 2016.

Nearly every educational session at I&E 2015 was rated at a 4 out 5 by attendees. Somewhat surprisingly, more than half of attendees (56 percent) said they would prefer motivational or human interest speakers as keynoters, while only 25 percent preferred auto- or fleet-related speakers.

The surveys also revealed great news for our supplier partners who support I&E by having a booth in the Expo. I&E attendees – the buyers of supplier products and services – are going to the Expo with the expectation of doing business. For example, 81 percent of attendees went to the Expo to make connections and build relationships with suppliers, while 71 percent went to research a specific product or service for purchase in the next 12 months. Of those, 55 percent actually entered into business agreements, or agreed to have further discussions with exhibitors, as a result of their time on the Expo floor.

That would explain why 70 percent of attendees said they were on the Expo floor the entire time it was open on both days, and less than one percent said they did not attend the expo. Overall, 78 percent of attendees said their experience on Expo floor was valuable or extremely valuable.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and concerns with NAFA. Know that we hear you and are acting on the information you’ve provided. For instance, NAFA’s Affiliates Committee discussed all of this information during their meeting last fall and will meet again in February to recommend a course of action to the Board of Trustees. We certainly want to capitalize on our successes and strong points, and address issues that will ensure I&E’s continued success.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Phil

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