Virtual Trade Shows: 5 Benefits Of Virtual Trade Shows

Trade shows are an effective event for any industry that helps in boosting the market share of the industry. It has been in existence for a long time that helps industries to make the right connections, reach new audience segments, showcase new offerings, and sell more products or services. Trade shows serve as a catalyst for the industry to tap more attendees. The sudden outbreak of coronavirus global pandemic left everyone in flux. With the impact of the global pandemic, restrictions have been imposed on travelling and people are pushed to maintain distance. With the change in dynamics in 2020, virtual events have skyrocketed suddenly.

Today, the internet is stocked up with ample virtual event platforms that offer engaging and interactive solutions. Businesses & organisations around the world are leveraging virtual events to upscale their businesses and to connect with global delegates. Right from organising virtual meetings, virtual conferences, virtual trade shows, virtual event exhibitions, and so on, a comprehensive virtual event platform serves all.

At first, hosting a virtual trade fair on a virtual trade show platform seems a daunting task to exhibitors. The merits offered by virtual trade shows are endless and far beyond the reach of in-person trade fair events. The perks offered by the event format motivated exhibitors to transform their in-person events into a visually rich virtual environment. To ensure a successful virtual trade show and benefit from it, selecting the right technology is a must. With the help of advanced technology, one can seamlessly customise a virtual trade show booth basis the requirements to suit the brand image. It helps in delivering real-life event experiences to attendees at scale. If you are planning to host virtual trade shows in 2021, look out for a comprehensive platform or virtual trade show companies available.

What are Virtual Trade Shows & Virtual Event Exhibitions?

Virtual trade shows & virtual event exhibitions are online events hosted on a web-based virtual trade show platform. It involves a gathering of people over the internet instead of gathering in-person at a physical venue. Virtual expo platforms enable exhibitors to organise customisable 3d virtual trade show booths and reach a large audience segment seamlessly. Virtual trade shows facilitate exhibitors to showcase their unique product offerings to a large audience segment. It helps in expanding the reach and getting better brand visibility. The live chat functionality offered by the platform enables attendees to have live audio/video/text chats at virtual trade show booths. It helps attendees to interact with virtual booth representatives in real-time and resolve their queries.

Select a platform that offers engaging features and robust data tracking measures. Engaging tools such as live polls, surveys, Q&A, contests, etc. helps in keeping attendees hooked throughout the event. Whereas robust data tracking or digital footprinting helps in keeping a record of every digital attendee move.

A comprehensive virtual trade show platform tracks every footprint right from the start till the event ends. A number of attendees at the virtual event exhibition? How they navigated throughout the event? Virtual booths they interacted with? What they interacted with? What they liked, shared, and downloaded? How many attendees fall amid the event? A comprehensive virtual trade show platform keeps a record of each and every detail. It helps in creating a detailed analytics report that helps in measuring the performance metrics. In short, valuable data tracking helps in knowing the hotspots with maximum engagements and find out impediments to work upon for the next event.

Benefits of Virtual Trade Shows

Virtual event exhibitions and trade shows offer enormous perks that make your event a huge success in your budget. Let’s have a look at the top 5 benefits of virtual trade shows.

1. Better brand visibility and increased exposure

When compared to traditional trade shows, virtual event exhibitions last for a number of days and have a longer lifespan. Live physical trade shows last for a day or two whereas virtual trade shows can stay Live as long as the organiser wants. What does it indicate? It simply means that the brand is exposed to attendees for a longer duration. With live physical trade shows, once the event is over it’s over. But with virtual trade fairs, attendees can access the same on-demand thus resulting in better brand visibility and increased exposure.

2. Global reach, increased attendance, and more qualified leads

With virtual trade shows one can tap the global attendees seamlessly. Virtual trade shows hosted on a virtual trade show platform enables exhibitors to showcase their unique product offerings globally. Virtual trade shows enable attendees to access the event from the comfort of their own home via any devices. With virtual event exhibitions, attendees do not have to book travel tickets to attend a trade fair. However, it results in an increase in attendance and generates more qualified leads.

3. Save a lot on assets for both the parties involved

A virtual event exhibition enables organisers and attendees to save a lot of resources. The costs involved in renting a venue, hiring staff, arranging food & drinks, organising booth setups, lodging, etc. all get resolved with virtual trade shows. Whereas attendees who live at a distance do not have to book expensive travel tickets and accommodation to attend an event. However, it results in saving a lot of assets for both the parties involved. With virtual trade shows, one needs to invest only in the right technology to deliver immersive experiences to attendees. Whereas attendees can tune in from the comfort of their own home via laptops or smartphones from wherever they are. 

4. Virtual event exhibition enables real-time interactions

Live physical trade shows enable attendees to have 1:1 or group interactions. But the introverts are left behind in the crowd. They do not get a chance to communicate at the exhibitor booth. They can be one of the qualified leads, have you ever thought about it? Virtual trade shows enable all the attendees to have free-flowing interactions with virtual booth representatives in real-time. The live chat functionality offered by the platform enables them to interact with hosts, organisers, virtual booth representatives, and as well as with other attendees. Virtual trade shows enable attendees to attend breakout sessions, keynote speeches, and webinars from their remote locations at their convenience. However, virtual trade shows deliver interactive and immersive experiences to virtual attendees. 

5. Valuable data tracking that you can’t get with live physical trade shows

With live physical trade shows, a standard attendance report is gathered at the time of registration. It is the only way to track no. of attendees at the event. But with virtual trade shows, each and every digital attendee footprint is tracked right from the start till the event ends. A comprehensive virtual trade show platform keeps a track of every attendee move right from the registration till the event ends. How they navigated? Whom they interacted with? What information did they exchange? And so on. Unlike physical events, gathering valuable data helps in measuring the success of the virtual event.

Virtual Trade Show Ideas to Make it Stand Out 

Here are some virtual trade show booth ideas that one must integrate to drive maximum engagement at virtual trade fairs.

• Dynamic Branding: DIY  virtual trade show booth ideas always work the best. Enable exhibitors to build a virtual trade show booth as per their liking and the image of the company or brand. Your booth must replicate the essence of your company. Right from logos, branding, color settings, fonts, background, banners, and more customise your virtual trade show booth to attract potential prospects.
• Live video and audio chats: Enable your virtual attendees to have real-time conversations with a virtual booth representative via live chat functionality.

Final Word

Physical trade shows and exhibitions will never be dead completely. Face-to-Face interactions hold their own significance and will always be part of a robust event program. In conclusion, leveraging virtual trade shows offers enormous benefits and helps industries to expand their reach globally and generate more qualified leads.