Exhibitions are exquisite platforms for organisations to showcase & market their products/services through interaction and other marketing activities. When this gathering of vendors, sponsors and buyers happens in an online virtual environment such as 2-D, 3-D Virtual Platform or Metaverse it is termed as ’Virtual Exhibition’.
Hosting virtual exhibitions is already a popular practice in the industry. Largely, due to the cost saving and flexibility in organisation & participation they offer. However, a considerable group of people still associate ‘Exhibitions’ as splendid physical gatherings of huge crowds, garnished with glitz & glamour. This surrounds organisers with apprehensions & reluctance and forces them to doubt the success of Virtual Exhibition, which is quite justified!
The best way to clear your doubts and uncertainties is to know the concept from a macro to micro level. And who can help you with that better than us! Ibentos is a leading Event Technology Company, operational in Indian & Canadian markets and has experience & expertise of over a decade. We would like to share our insight with our valuable customers & users.
- Types of Virtual Exhibitions
Exhibitions act as perfect launchpads to start marketing campaigns. The larger crowd & media attention they generate, the bigger will be the marketing benefits. Virtual platforms are open international forums, attracting global limelight that the organisations desire for their products/services. Hence, they are an ideal stage to host exhibitions & trade shows.
People often mistake ’Virtual Exhibitions’ & ‘Virtual Trade Shows’ to be the same. Virtual Exhibitions are organised mainly for marketing & networking purposes. However, Virtual Trade Shows are a platform for Direct Sales along with marketing & networking.
Virtual exhibitions are classified according to the industry they cater:
- Manufactured Goods Exhibition
- Art & Craft Exhibition
- Food & Beverage Industry
- Medicine & Health Care
- Automobile Exhibition
- Fashion, Cosmetics & Accessories Exhibition
- Education Industry Exhibition
- Benefits of organising a ‘Virtual Exhibition’
Accessibility to a global audience
Virtual exhibitions display your product/services directly to a global audience and help you save the middleman agencies’ expense. Connect one-on-one with interested buyers directly and crack good deals.
Scope of incorporating international vendors
With virtual exhibitions you can encourage the participation of international vendors. Entire business chain of vendors, sponsors & buyers participate virtually, there are no constraints of travelling or goods transfer.
Increased market size
You can expand your local business to national & international level without any physical relocation just by migrating your exhibition from physical to virtual platform.
Flexibility in attendance
Virtual exhibitions take the exhibits directly to attendees instead of calling them to the venue. Flexibility of participating remotely automatically attracts more attendees to your virtual exhibition venue.
Reduced overall cost
Venue rentals, travel & relocation expenses contribute up to 70% of the total expenditure of organising exhibitions. By choosing virtual platforms you just have to worry about marketing & virtual venue expenditure, which is only 30%.
Ease to organise & run
Virtual exhibitions do require a considerable effort, time & expertise to design and manage. But it is much less as compared to their physical counterpart.
Higher ROI
Less expenditure, bigger markets, more profit automatically increase the ‘Return on Investment’ or ROI. With saved time & energy and bigger returns, organisers can aim for more growth.
Increased frequency with reduced cost
Virtual Exhibition format is equally inexpensive for all the parties involved. With no financial, time or travel constraints in picture, organisers can easily increase their annual frequency of exhibition.
Build bigger Vendor & Buyer Databases
Technology integration in virtual exhibition platforms enables organisers to record, track and monitor vendors, sponsors & attendees all across the globe. Through unlimited data records/register facility, organisers can build large Vendor/Attendee databases.
Establish universal contacts
Virtual platforms not just let international vendors to showcase their products/services/capabilities to a global audience, but also offer unique networking tools.
Participants can easily network with relevant buyers & sellers.
Better marketing insights
Virtual exhibition platforms can be easily integrated with AI marketing tools. They give organisers an extra leverage to control, gauge and manoeuvre the marketing campaign.
Excellent Product/services display
In a physical platform the attendees manage to get a few glimpses of the exhibits. Virtual exhibition platforms offer a whole range of features for explicit product representation & display. Here attendees can watch/rewatch specific videos, presentations, drawings, images, demos, or testimonial & feedback.
Variety of customised venue designs
Virtual exhibition platforms can be designed and remodelled at the will of the organiser. There is no limit to the number of exhibits or attendee occupancy limit.
AI enabled tools
Virtual exhibition platforms have the leverage of AI technology. This lets the organiser maintain the highest level of speed, accuracy, security, data dispersal & money transaction in their exhibition.
Performance Measurement & Analysis
Organisers can measure the event performance at any point and can generate professional reports for their clients. They can even track attendee’s behaviour, seminar logins, chat records and feedback.
2. Limitations of Virtual Exhibition Platforms
Virtual exhibitions run on online virtual platforms. Their success largely depends on attendee engagement, the level of connectivity and quality of the virtual platform. Unlike physical events they are not naturally engaging and have to be designed intelligently. There are some things about which the organisers need to be careful about.
- Virtual audiences have a short attention span due to local disturbances, hence keep the virtual exhibition platform highly engaging & glitch free.
- Check Virtual Platfrom’s functionality for poor network/peak load/ different smart devices.
- Provide enough break time to prevent monotony & screen fatigue.
- Indulge your audiences in engagement boosting activities like group games, technical discussions, sponsored games.
- Brief your attendees well in advance about the exhibition content and virtual platform usage as well.
- Use exhibition apps for attendee engagement activities.
However, by hiring an experienced technology partner such as ibentos or equivalent, organisers can stay assured of a continuous connection and uninterrupted functionality.
3. Features offered in ibentos Virtual Exhibition Platforms
Our virtual exhibition platforms are designed to keep your vendors & attendees constantly connected, irrespective of their devices & network availability. Organised venue layouts and super realistic designs keep all exhibits on equal spotlight and maintain a high engrossment level as well. Here’s exactly what you can offer your clients & attendees through our ‘Virtual Exhibition Platforms’.
Excellent Branding Opportunity
- Variety of Exhibitor Booth designs with touchpoint access.
- Share unlimited Brochures, Specifications & other downloadables.
- Add multiple product videos, demos & development journey stories.
- Direct visitor instantly to company websites & Social Media Handles.
- Payment portals compatible with multiple financial agencies.
Maximised Interaction
- Exhibitor Booth enabled with touch points for instant contact.
- Separate discussion & interaction rooms for attendee Interaction.
- Convert your leads & queries instantly into Audio/Visual Meetings
- Extract social media contacts of attendees and initiate interaction.
‘Virtual Environment’ that perfectly simulate ‘Real Exhibition Venues’
- Immersive virtual venue designs customised to your themes.
- Multiple booth designs with maximum display option.
- Digital banners & Motion Boards to facilitate branding for Vendors/Sponsors.
- Simplest & fastest user interfaces for a hasslefree user experience.
- Grand Spacious Exhibition Halls/Auditoriums to mimic real exhibition venues.
Extended Networking Opportunities
- Separate ‘Networking lounges’ for attendees to interact with vendors & peers.
- Optimally designed Landing pages that attract attendee attention.
- Emails/chat options for communication & Brand consolidation.
- Social media LIVE streaming facility for enhanced marketing benefits.
- Facility to spotlight your VIP/VVIP participants.
Performance Statics at your fingertips
- Record logins, webinar attendance, booth visits, and other micro details.
- Analysis Chat logs & transcripts to extract useful information.
- Monitor attendee behaviour.
- Generate on demand performance reports for vendors/sponsors.
- Facility of statistical explicit detailing in reports.
Hope you found this article helpful. To know more details & guidance please visit https://ibentos.com/best-virtual-exhibitions-platform/
Or
Book a demo with us on www.ibentos.com to speak to our experts!
