Keyword or Search: <% Dim MyValue2 Randomize MyValue2 = Int((6 * Rnd) + 1) Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection") Conn.Open Session("trsa_ConnectionString2") MySQL = "Select * From HouseAds Where HouseAdID Like '%" & MyValue2 & "%' " Set Conn = Conn.Execute(MySQL) %> "> " alt="" width=130 height=85 border=1 align=top> <% conn.close %>	Gallup survey Restaurant trade shows can influence the buying decisions of restaurant managers By Bruce Johnson A Gallup poll of restaurants sponsored by TRSA compiled information about the attendance of restaurant managers at national and regional trade shows and the impact of trade shows on the purchasing decisions of these managers. The information was gathered for two purposes — to assist the TRSA Marketing Committee in determining if the TRSA national exhibit in the National Restaurant Association Annual Convention and Exhibition should be continued and to provide regional data to help textile rental members decide whether to exhibit in regional restaurant exhibitions. Two questions were asked of this nationally representative sample of restaurant managers: Do you or any other member of your staff attend national trade shows? Regional trade shows? Rate industry trade shows, industry publications, personal sales calls, and recommendations by colleagues on a scale of one to five — where five means an item is very important in influencing your purchasing decisions and one means it is not at all important in influencing your purchasing decisions. Telephone interviews were conducted with 513 restaurants. To qualify for this study a restaurant had to have more than 100 transactions on an average day. The basis for the selection of the sample of restaurants is the Gallup organization's national probability sample which is developed and maintained for the Gallup poll and omnibus. The sample consists of 300 plus interviewing areas (primarily sampling units). The total number of interviews required is divided by the total number of sampling units and the result is the number of restaurants to be interviewed in each interviewing area. Next, the total number of restaurants listed in the Yellow Pages for that area is determined. This total number is divided by the total number of interviews required in that area to produce the sampling interval. Starting with the first restaurant listed, the restaurants whose positions in the phone book list coincide with the sampling interval are selected. Up to four phone calls are made, if necessary, to complete an interview with the designated restaurant. If an interview is not completed the interviewer selects the restaurant immediately below the originally designated restaurant. The interviewing was conducted last year from a Gallup central location telephone facility in Princeton, N.J., on March 16-18. More than half (54 per cent) of the restaurant managers or their staff attend regional trade shows while nearly two in five (37 per cent) attend national trade shows (See Table I). In general, employees of the higher volume restaurants (200 or more customers), the medium to higher priced establishments ($4 or more average check size per evening meal) and the less specialized restaurants are more likely to attend national or regional trade shows. Staff members of those restaurants described as fine dining (evening meal check average $8 or more) are considerably more likely than others to attend the national trade shows. The practice of attending national trade shows appears to be more common in the Midwest and less common in the West although the differences are slight. Employees of Western restaurants are also somewhat less likely than those in other regions to attend regional trade shows. Fine dining or non-fast food restaurants with a check average of $8 or more per person per evening meal and purchasing over $100,000 yearly in food are the most likely potential textile rental customer. The significance of trade shows becomes even more apparent when considering the owner/operators of restaurants who attend trade shows and who are in the highest prospect category as users of linen i.e., when the check average is $8 or more. Of the total 90.4 per cent attend national/regional trade shows versus 37.4 per cent who do not attend trade shows. However, where the check average is $8 or more, 113.3 per cent attend national/regional trade shows versus 26 per cent who do not. (Percentages total greater than 100 due to multiple responses.) Table III shows the trade show attendance based upon a variety of factors. Also of significance is the trade show attendance according to type of restaurant. Table IV shows that the fine dining restaurant, which should be the highest potential market for linen, also has the highest attendance at national/regional trade shows. The second question asked of restaurant owners/ operators concerns the importance of items that may influence purchasing decisions. Nearly one-third of the restaurant managers (32 per cent) feel that personal sales calls are very important in influencing their purchasing decisions. More than half the respondents (54 per cent) feel that factors other than personal sales calls (trade shows, colleague recommendations, and publications) are very important in influencing their purchasing decisions. One copy of this survey is furnished to heads of parent companies. Additional copies are available from TRSA.