With growing advancements in digital technology, businesses are pivoting to the online market. Since conferences, webinars, and educational fairs are now held virtually, why not move our sales online? It is about time that we talk business over the internet, make sales, and gain global leads. A great deal of business such as networking, marketing, and appointments is already online. So, why not shift your live events to a virtual events platform? Now we present to you a guide to host a virtual trade show.
Indeed, virtual events are rising and getting worldwide recognition. These events have entirely transformed the face of lead generation. Nowadays, businesses are making a smart move by finding prospects virtually to sell their products and services. Therefore, using a virtual events platform with immersive features will create sales pipelines for you. Aren’t you convinced already? We’ll now share how to host a virtual trade show and tips to stand out.
What is a Virtual Trade Show?
Contrary to a physical event, there’s no show floor but a 3D virtual space for the trade show to take place. It goes live on the screen, with global audiences joining in from the comfort of their homes. Most importantly, a virtual trade show stands out by its immersive features of virtual trade show displays, lobbies, audio/video conferencing, recorded or live webinars, Q&A, and polling. In addition, you can easily schedule meetings, book appointments, and advance sponsorship at an online trade show.
At virtual exhibit booths, the visitors view your products and place orders through order forms. Later, using the 1:1 or group meeting feature, exhibitors can attend to their reservations and close deals. Therefore, a virtual trade show is the preferred choice of leading businesses. In order to understand how virtual trade shows are becoming popular, let’s check the immersive features of a virtual trade show.
What to Look for in a Virtual Trade Show?
3D Virtual Environment
Catch the attention of your attendees the moment they walk into the event. Are you wondering how that is possible? Most of your audiences are attending a virtual trade show for the first time. They are probably already impressed. However, you can make their event experience unforgettable by creating a stunning 3D environment.
You can personalize the event space, starting from the landing page and especially crafting custom exhibition booths. You can also modify the event experience for the attendees by offering advanced event features such as; branded halls and virtual lobbies.
Trade Show Booth Displays
How do exhibitors display the products at the virtual trade show? The answer is branded booths. Here, the exhibitors can design their trade show booth displays or choose from the already available company booths. Once the attendees are attracted to your booth, they can be briefed well with a live chat tool. These trade show booth displays also allow scheduling meetings with exhibitors or engaging in live audio or video chats.
Live Chat Tools
An event’s success depends on the interaction between visitors and exhibitors. A virtual events platform offers a set of immersive features to help educate and engage prospects at the event. For example, live 1:1 or group chats, audio/video meetings, and sessions diminish the hassle of inquiring at the booths. Instead, you can thoroughly answer individual queries or schedule meetings with prospective buyers. Similarly, by addressing FAQs in the group chats, you are attending to multiple queries all at once.
Live chats provide easy human interaction for attendees at the event. A well-informed buyer would surely order through the product order form. Therefore chats play a vital role at your online trade show securing big sales for you.
Live Webinars Option
When you welcome an international audience, you have to introduce them to your company’s products and services. You may invite keynote speakers to provide audiences with comprehensive information on the trade show event.
When hosting your event online, there’s no headache in inviting remote speakers to host webinars. The live webinars are used to engage the masses all at one place and formally educate them about the trade show. Similarly, organizing a Q&A session post, each webinar will maximize the engagement and streamline the leads with maximum conversions.
eCommerce Platform for On-Spot Sales
Are you still wondering what exactly happens at a virtual trade show? To illustrate, a virtual trade show acts as an eCommerce platform securing you on-spot sales. Here, the exhibitors display their products and services at the booths and convert global prospects into sales.
The process of making sales goes by integrating an online shop at the event through a product order form. Then, they can quickly secure items in the cart within the domains of a virtual platform. However, if you wish to speed up the sales process, you can allow transactions in real-time, guiding them through payment methods. So, if your prospects are interested in a product, they can get their hands on it.
Recently, the pandemic has encouraged businesses to go online. On the top, businesses have learned to market their products to global prospects. Which means maximum leads converting into sales.
Real-time Analytic Report
To keep up with the real world, you need access to real-time analytics of the event. For example, an online trade show provides detailed information on registrations, attendance, booth visitors, product order forms, and converted purchases compared to a physical trade show. Consequently, these detailed reports provide a measure of ROIs.
Hence, these detailed reports are beneficial for businesses that host a virtual trade show.
How to Organize a Successful Virtual Trade Show?
An online trade show with a virtual events platform will help you create a memorable experience. With the right platform and software, you can quickly educate your prospects about the products/services through digital content. Consequently, it helps you generate highly qualified leads cost-effectively. Moreover, the platform offers you an opportunity to fully customize your event. This shall mark the success of your event, bringing in maximized revenue and ROIs.
Now let us check how to set up a virtual trade show:
Look for a Right Virtual Events Platform
The first step is looking for an online events platform offering virtual solutions for your event. Next, determine the size of your event to choose a platform that manages 1000s of attendees at once. The right virtual event platform would allow you to host a virtual trade show or hybrid event. Then, following your audience’s primary goal and purpose, you can host an unforgettable virtual event.
Further, look for a platform that offers an endless list of features and virtual solutions. For example, interactive exhibit booths allow sharing of product information, chatting with attendees, and generating potential leads.
Define the Focus and Goals of your Event
Realize that your event would reach remote prospects. Like, there’s a great opportunity for you to follow the interests of your target audience to score sales. Further, identify how their interests relate to your business goals. Plan your virtual trade show with more care and focus. For example, if your audience is concerned about your products’ background, production, manufacturing, and distribution, then use the platform to inform them. We are suggesting you schedule presentations and speaker sessions to fully educate prospects on your product and services. For instance:
- Get the exhibitors to equip audiences with all the information they demand.
- Attend the queries through 1:1 chat or group chat tools.
- Do not lose focus as it is the base of your online trade show.
- Map out the content of your expo connecting with exhibitors and internal teams.
- Also, state the benefits and specifications of your products and services.
Create a Dynamic User Experience
Previously, physical trade shows were intended to inform and entice the attendees into making purchases. However, with the shift to an online platform, the need arises to guide and take prospects through the event. In addition, the virtual environment is new to everyone onboard. Therefore, create a user-friendly event helping attendees navigate on their own.
A virtual trade show works best with a dynamic user experience. As with a physical trade show, a team guides the attendees towards the halls or rooms. Similarly, help desks are installed at the halls to attend to audiences’ queries or guide them through the event. Meanwhile, the exhibitors usher attendees towards product demonstrations or breakout sessions. But, most importantly, you can create a personalized experience for your audience using 3D-designed halls, lobbies, and rooms. Thus, branding the virtual trade show with the core values of your business will be a win-win for you.
Create Advanced Engagement Opportunities
Creating engagement opportunities for audiences is another important factor to mark the success of your event. Attendees expect to communicate with organizers or exhibitors directly. Therefore, using advanced technology, a virtual event platform offers extensive engagement opportunities for attendees. For example, you can host live or pre-recorded seminars for product demonstrations followed by a Q&A session. This means the attendees can inquire about the product in detail and make up their minds. Likewise, online trade show virtual booth designs act more like a digital guide center for the attendees. The chat option available at each booth encourages attendees to engage in live chats or meetings via zoom.
That is not it! Attendees can network through live 1:1 or group chat features with setting up a meeting through a meeting scheduler. It allows direct interaction with prospects to ensure they are satisfied with the services and would willingly onboard. Moreover, interactions encourage partners to set up more booths at the event and indulge in meaningful deals with the prospects.
Market your Event Online
You may be doing everything right with your virtual trade show. However, if you did not spread the word out, it reduces your chances of hosting a large pool of prospects. On the other hand, you do not wish to reap lesser benefits from your investments. Thus, to receive maximum ROIs, plan and schedule a global marketing campaign. Investing more time, money, and energy in marketing your event will yield better results.
To start:
- Set up an email marketing campaign.
- It is the cheapest way to invite interested prospects to register for the virtual trade show.
- Send out an initial email about the event with all the relevant information on its aims.
- Schedule reminder emails with a link to register for the event.
- Once you have achieved the registrations, attract expected attendees by sharing sneak peeks awaiting them at the virtual trade show.
Also, make maximum use of social media platforms for your business. Through this approach, you can easily get more exhibitors and sponsors on board. In addition, you can share the details of keynote speakers joining the event. Finally, using innovative marketing tactics, contact industry trade publications to guide about recent advertising opportunities. Nowadays, businesses lean towards creating Facebook and Instagram ads. It will automatically reach potential customers who are naturally interested in your business.
How Beneficial Are Virtual Trade Shows?
Target a Global Audience
If you gauge the benefits of hosting a virtual trade show, you will not go back to physical events. Surprisingly, a virtual event brings ten times more reach for your business. Wondering how? The online accessibility of your event brings in global audiences from far ends of the world to make quick purchases. Online trade shows can easily be attended from the comfort of home, saving time and money. Moreover, people from different backgrounds and cultures gather at a single event minimizing all the distances.
Use Environment-Friendly Platform
A physical event brings a lot of hassle and tons of waste of paper or material goods. Moreover, the carbon footprint causes a lot of climate change. Also, considering the current pandemic, physical gatherings are discouraged. Therefore, virtual trade shows sound like a suitable approach as it eliminates the paper waste. Moreover, these events are also safe in the Covid stricken world. So, move your company’s trade shows online and take advantage of a virtual event platform.
Easy Accessibility
A virtual trade show is an excellent opportunity for the masses to attend the event. It welcomes people residing in remote areas to join the event from the comfort of their homes. Moreover, the platform encourages differently-abled individuals to benefit from the event.
Capture Maximum Leads
By installing maximum booths at the virtual trade show, you can multiply the number of leads turning to conversions. Moreover, by marketing the event to a global audience, you can attract more exhibitors and enhance the value of your event. You can get interested prospects to share their details at the booth. Later, customer details can be used to convert leads into sales.
How to Engage Attendees at a Virtual Trade Show?
Using the immersive features of a virtual events platform, you can create an exquisite virtual experience to engage and entice attendees towards the products. Attendee participation can be enhanced with engaging, collaborative meetings and customized content. Not just that, the virtual trade show will enable you to use attendee data to power smarter, quicker follow-up and offer insights through attendee experience. Moreover, it allows you to attract sponsors with effective advertising, scheduling appointments, and lead generation.
Wish to organize an amazing trade show for your attendees? Here’s how you can do it!
Facilitate Networking and Engage Attendees
- Enable attendees to browse and pick sessions easily
- Integrate a video player embedded with your website to display high-quality live, simulated, or recorded content
- Encourage audience interaction with live Q&As
- Host collaborative group sessions.
Enhance Attendee-Sponsors’ Experience
- Offer event sponsorship packages that include unique benefits
- Provide premium packages to exhibitors to showcase their online trade show booth designs
- Incorporate customized elements into sponsored sessions.
- Let attendees engage with exhibitors in face-to-face interactions.
- Provide exhibitors and sponsors with virtual booths showcasing your brand and content
- Increase booth traffic by offering custom search tools and filters to help attendees find the right exhibitors
- Manage exhibitors by giving them access to an exhibitor portal before and after the event
- Sponsors can add their logos in emails while sending invites, confirmations, and reminders.
Now let us discover virtual trade show ideas.
Virtual Trade Show Ideas
A virtual trade show comes with its own set of unmatched benefits compared to a live event. History displays how big companies around the world are shifting their sales to online platforms. Here are some ideas for you to host a virtual trade show.
Virtual Food Shows
Without a doubt, virtual trade shows have been popular not just for foodies but also for companies worldwide. The global food manufacturing industries, consumers, producers, and enthusiasts create a virtual trade show. To name a few, leading food chains such as Nestle and Centennial have hosted their food shows online and hit the multiplication of profit, benefiting the entire industry.
In particular, Jake’s Finer Foods(JFF) has recently marked itself as progressive by successfully targeting a global audience securing higher registration volume, exceptional branding, and strategic communications. The event was an absolute success being most productive for exhibitors and the customers.
Virtual Car Show
Car shows are considered a great event of all time. However, it is only recently that companies are moving their car shows before a global audience. It not only secures worldwide brand recognition but also becomes the talk of the town. For example, Yalla Motors and many Middle Eastern Automotive Portals hosted their virtual car shows. These shows hosted Arabs, creating shows in Arabic and many other languages for international attendees. Surprisingly, that is how they targeted a larger audience, engaged them in chats at exhibitor booths, and easily converted prospects to sales.
Virtual Property Show
Property shows have been a great success worldwide. When hosting property shows online, more significant efforts are required. However, real estate is a saturated market, and highly tricky to get an edge over competitors. Previous practices come in handy to run a successful event; you can take up what worked best for you.
By hosting a virtual property show, you convince the global target audience to invest in your business. Virtual events platforms can also offer a long list of features to benefit your business. For example, you can keep the attendees informed through live webinars, presentations, documents, video, and chat tools. This helps audiences in making an informed decision. Also, it allows attendees to indulge in chats at each exhibitor booth in order to grab maximum qualified leads.
So why not elevate your business by hosting your trade show online? You can easily outplay your competitors. Move your sales online as the pandemic suggests likewise.
Hence, virtual trade shows are now redefining the business approach with environment-friendly and profitable events. As a result, it not only creates more opportunities for your business but also proves more profitable.
In Conclusion
Virtual trade shows are an excellent approach for businesses from different parts of the world to showcase their products and familiarize others with your brand. It’s a cost-effective, time-saving, and convenient approach and also helps you score qualified leads. These leads, in turn, get you worldwide recognition with skyrocketed profits. So, why not host a virtual trade show? There is no denying the benefits, so businesses have decided to go virtual rather than organize physical events.
Thus, the platform of Virtual Days welcomes businesses from all over the world to maximize their leads and profits. So, reach out to us today to host your one-in-a-million successful virtual event targeting your global market.
