Virtual Trade Show Platform

We are living in an era of virtual events. A global pandemic completely changed the popularity of online meetings, accelerating already high adoption rates to near ubiquitous levels. Today, virtual meetings around the globe happen regularly and more organizations than ever before are transitioning their meetings and events online. To do this, organizations need a virtual trade show platform that can provide attendees with the same kind of experience they enjoyed at on-site events.

Traditional trade shows typically revolve around showcasing products or services, demos, networking, and a variety of meetings and events. All of this used to happen in a large meeting facility that had the space to accommodate all of these kinds of business building activities. But today, virtual trade show software can create the same kind of attendee and vendor experience in the cloud.

A virtual trade show platform is software designed to capitalize on the best of the on-site events environment while creating new elements that you can only enjoy in the digital space. It’s an online event that attendees can experience from a browser window, typically on any digital device. Some of the features of these platforms include:

  Gamification in a 3-D virtual environment.

  Customization and branding.

  Live chat and chat rooms.

  Video conferencing.

  Q&A.

  Educational sessions with whiteboarding and screen share.

Just like a live event, a virtual trade show allows attendees to interact with others in a variety of ways. A visitor to one of these events registers and receives an attendee profile or avatar that they fill out. This avatar visits trade booths, networks, and goes to sessions just like they would at a live event. But these activities are completed by clicking on various icons and then having conversations via chat programs, email, video conferencing, or a voice call. These platforms can deliver information in a variety of ways; video, slideshows, podcasts, and more.

Exhibitors can build a virtual trade show booth and attendees can stop by and hear about products and services they offer. These booths can be fully branded and designed to be visually appealing, just like at they would at an on-site event. Vendors can have prizes and activities to engage their customers, and just like at a live event, they can keep the virtual business cards they collect.

Educational sessions allow attendees and vendors to learn; many organizations offer educational credits for these events just like at an on-site meeting.

The big difference beyond that these activities are virtual is that they are also trackable. Today’s virtual trade show platforms have sophisticated analytics that shows you exactly where each attendee went, who they interacted with, and the general flow of the conference. This allows for extensive personalization and follow up after the event is over.

Perhaps the biggest and most obvious ROI from a virtual trade show is that you can use these events to generate leads without the high costs of travel, meals, and lodging. If you are a vendor, investing in a virtual trade show booth is a low-cost way to yield high value to your organization. If you’re the organizer, a virtual trade show has a much lower point of entry, which means that you should be able to quickly meet your participation goals. Plus, since the event is online, you can work with your virtual trade show software vendor to scale up without the added costs of exhibit hall space and food or other amenities such as promotional items.

A virtual event is also much easier for attendees. Companies under budgetary constraints can still participate, bringing you the opportunity for more qualified leads at the end of the show. The best virtual trade show platforms allow you to track these leads with powerful analytics that show their interests. An on-site event usually doesn’t track the booths the attendees visited, the conversations they had, or even the break-out sessions they attended. Virtual trade show software can show all of this. Imagine what your sales team could do with all this information.

This valuable information for your sales team to help warm up any follow-ups they do after the conference. For example, the sales rep could see that the attendee viewed a particular video and use that information to start a conversation after the event is over. You can also sell these analytics to the vendors that bought a virtual trade show booth, creating more value for them and more revenue for you. Considering the best virtual trade show platforms integrate with your existing customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, you can create a lead record and then track all of your contact with that target as it occurs.

Another benefit is the mileage you can get from a virtual trade show over time. Most live events last a day or a few days. A virtual conference is recorded and you can leverage snippets from the event to keep interest in your brand going. There is huge value for SEO or social media. Vendors can also use their recorded videos to do the same. You can also make the recorded conference a paid on-demand event. That can generate still more revenue from the conference while also generating leads that you can nurture toward buying your core products and services.

Virtual tradeshows provide excellent ROI for almost any type of large meeting format. From web conferences, educational events, new product launches, sales events, job fairs, and much more.

If you’re ready to see a demo of how the EncompassPro virtual trade show platform can help your business, Click here to schedule.