Trade fair events are cancelled, the most important contact opportunity to (potential) customers and the vivid presentation of various new products is omitted - due to the current Corona pandemic, companies are not only missing an important lead guarantor, but also the opportunity to present new products in detail.
Companies and event organizers are under pressure and must create alternative solutions in order to continue to profit from this important sales channel.
In focus: virtual trade fairs.
Virtual trade fair: Top or Flop?
Quite clearly: Top! Virtual trade fairs are location-independent events that take place online. With the help of specific software, the otherwise physical trade fair appearances are transferred into the digital space - if possible with all the facets that the analogue trade fair visit usually brings with it.
Despite the fact that not all factors of the normal trade fair can (yet) be transferred to the digital world, such as the haptics, the virtual trade fair brings many advantages for the marketing of products and services.
- Unlimited reach The most obvious advantage of a virtual trade fair is that these online events benefit from the unlimited reach of the Internet. In addition, the trade fair is basically accessible to anyone from anywhere, which means that above all a larger potential target group can be reached than is the case with an analogue trade fair.
- Visitors from all over the world can access the stand during the event,regardless of time or place. All they need is a computer or mobile device with Internet access. In some cases, individual live events can even be recorded and made available afterwards via a media library.
- Cost-efficient chats, live streams, video calls, interactive surveys and web TV are some potentially very effective options to get into personal contact with prospects and customers. The physical distance of a virtual trade fair can even lower the inhibition threshold for making contact.
- Sustainable Be it product information, guides, whitepapers or other advertising and information material. What is displayed at the stand at analogue trade fairs and can be taken away usually ends up in the dustbin - a pity for the paper, a pity for the information. In contrast to this, all important product and company information is stored directly with the prospective customer on the working device.
- Environmentally friendly Last but not least, a virtual trade fair is environmentally friendly. Because otherwise necessary transports, building materials, digital printing and also the often long journey of the many visitors are omitted and contribute thereby to the preservation of our environment.
- Less effort Planning and preparing a trade fair in the digital world involves considerably less effort than at a physical location. This is because the design and production of billboards, booths and other means of display is eliminated - as is the logistical effort.
- Flexible Updating graphics, changing the size or shape of the stand can be implemented more quickly with virtual exhibition stands. The exchange and integration of interactive content, documents and modules is also possible at any time.
- Measurable As with a website, user behaviour can be measured and analysed for a virtual trade fair stand. The data gained offers a new possibility for optimizing further projects.
Procedure of a virtual trade fair
There are various possibilities for the operation of a virtual trade fair.
Either as an exhibitor at an externally organized event or as an independent organizer. If the latter applies, the organizing company has all the freedom to design the appearance and the entire process.
When visitors enter the trade fair, they are usually first taken to a higher-level landing page. There they are welcomed and can get a rough overview of the advertised products via the diagram of the trade fair stand.
In addition, they can find out about the trade fair programme and register for any live events.
Via the trade fair stand or strategically placed teasers, visitors can access sub-pages on which the respective products and innovations are presented in detail.
It is possible to get in touch with the contact persons at any time. A digital lounge also facilitates a lively exchange among the trade fair visitors.
Afterwards, the operator also has the unique opportunity of efficient lead management for the contacts made.
Efficient product marketing with virtualbooth
The digital platform virtualboothis especially designed for the marketing of products and the generation of qualified leads.
The focus here is on digital selling and this is exactly where the difference lies compared to many other solutions.
- Through individually integrable modules, different possibilities are available for the promotion of products or the direct establishment of contact.
- Due to different applicable modules, products can be presented holistically in a professional ambience. For example, they can be conveniently inspected from all sides using a 360° view - depending on the size of the product, probably more accurately than on site.
- Through further sub-pages, the product can also be dealt with in detail, including its features and selling points.
- Short-term innovations before or even during the trade fair? No problem, the adjustments can be inserted directly into the system.
- Thanks to the possible integration of (live) videos, a product presentation is possible just like at an analogue trade fair stand - if not even more detailed.
- The connected live chat also allows questions to be answered and new features to be discussed together.
- Furthermore, virtualbooth offers comprehensive features for visitor tracking as well as for efficient and automated processing of relevant data in lead nurturing.
- By connecting a marketing automation system, it is also possible to track which visitors are interested in which products and accordingly send behavior-based, personalized messages with topic-relevant information about the product or follow-up articles. This ensures effective follow-up even after the trade fair has ended and the interested party continues to be fed with sales-promoting information. The marketing of products can therefore be carried out individually for each visitor from the moment they enter the virtual trade fair.
Another benefit: The virtualbooth platform is made and hosted in Germany. This means that users can rely on a German-language interface and German-language support. In addition, all processes comply with German and European legal requirements.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that physical trade fairs cannot be completely replaced at present; face-to-face encounters and haptic experiences remain indispensable.
But: The virtual trade fair is - if strategically aligned and implemented - a good complement to the presence trade fair.
The digital trade fair provides companies with almost all the advantages of a corresponding conventional event and also offers attractive functions that would not be possible with an analogue trade fair. Without a doubt, there are enormous opportunities to generate new customers in this way, to optimally present (new) products and services and to create effective action options for sales with the help of special analysis and evaluation methods.
Our support around the topic of virtual trade fairs to increase the efficiency of your digital sales:
- We support you in the conception of your individual and success-oriented trade fair strategy - according to your intended goals and target groups.
- In addition to the professional implementation of your digital trade fair stand with our virtualbooth tool, we show you how you can benefit from optimal data utilisation.
- Make sustainable use of your digital trade fair stand by not only generating leads, but also developing them into customers in a targeted nurture process at the appropriate points of the customer journey - our experts are happy to help!
- Of course, we will work with you to ensure DSGVO-compliant implementation and will be happy to advise you in this regard as well.
For your holistically successful digital sales, we are also happy to support you around these topics:
Oliver Parrizas will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject. 
+49-800-911-91-91
