Virtual trade fair stand: cost-benefit comparison

Virtual trade fair stands - probably the trend of recent times in the trade fair industry. Driven by the unprecedented fact that the global coronavirus pandemic has made it temporarily impossible to hold any stationary trade fairs, the importance of virtual trade fair solutions has suddenly increased.

Faced with such radical influences from the market environment, however, many companies are still very uncertain about new products and are longing for guidance. This text provides you with precisely this orientation on the advantages and disadvantages of virtual trade fair stands. It does not focus exclusively on the needs of large corporations with a lavish marketing budget, even in challenging times, but also considers the question of whether a virtual trade fair stand is also advantageous for medium-sized companies. If you are interested in the  costs of a virtual trade fair, you will find all the information you need on our information page.

Contents 

1 The virtual exhibition stand concept

2 Benefits of the virtual exhibition stand

3 Costs of the virtual exhibition stand

4 Conclusion on the benefit/cost comparison

1. The virtual exhibition stand concept

As an outside observer, you might think that a virtual exhibition stand is simply a copy of a physical exhibition stand in the digital world with the same purpose and area of application. Although this first impression already covers a lot of the subject matter, it is worth taking a second, more in-depth look. After all, a virtual exhibition stand can be much more than just an emergency solution for a limited period of time when no real trade fairs are possible. On the contrary, the virtual trade fair stand serves as a digital twin of a physical trade fair stand, not only as a replacement in special times, but also as a supplement to the real trade fair stand.

A virtual trade fair stand offers the opportunity to provide a preview of the trade fair stand before the trade fair and use cleverly designed cliffhangers to make the viewer curious about visiting the real trade fair stand. During a trade fair, a virtual trade fair stand makes it possible to provide additional information, further information to maintain contact, important information that did not make it onto the real trade fair stand due to lack of space or accompanying campaigns, such as competitions. After a trade fair, such a virtual trade fair stand as a digital twin creates a point of contact, e.g. for your own sales department when addressing customers or also as an association aid for visitors to the trade fair stand who, for example, have not memorized the name of a product but still remember where they experienced it at the trade fair. In many cases, such a spatial presentation appeals to the orientation and interest of many people for products in a completely different way than, for example, a pure listing in the menu of a homepage.

Creating a spatial environment for the presentation of products is probably the most important function of a virtual trade fair stand. The digital twin of the real trade fair stand serves primarily as a means of bringing your products closer to the viewer in a very attractive way. This is because various interaction areas arouse interest so that potential customers are cleverly directed to further information about the products. This underlying content, such as product videos, information pages, links or product brochures, is the core of every good virtual trade fair stand.

A surrounding story is also very important. A story in which you have integrated your trade fair stand, such as an accompanying campaign. This does not necessarily mean a classic advertising campaign on a large scale, but rather, for example, posts on social media or news on your own homepage. The story should generate interest and curiosity about your virtual trade fair stand, e.g. through a few preview images and the creation of a virtual event character. After all, your virtual trade fair stand depends on it being visited by as many visitors as possible during the limited time you put it online.

2. Benefits of the virtual trade fair stand

At this point, you might ask yourself: if the main focus is on the content, why do I need a virtual trade fair stand at all? Part of the answer has already been mentioned: the virtual trade fair stand serves as a teaser to direct your customers to your content, your products, in a very attractive way. A virtual trade fair stand not only utilizes the aforementioned spatial orientation, but also offers the opportunity to make a pre-selection compared to your own website, for example, and thus draw attention to certain new products or product lines in a more targeted manner. Integrated into your own CRM system or as a complete package with your own CRM tool in the background, the virtual trade fair stand also provides you with quantifiable information about the interest in the content presented. This gives you the opportunity to carry out differentiated analyses and the virtual trade fair stand also generates valuable leads. My colleague has explained in detail how you can make your trade fair success measurable in another blog article.

Furthermore, a virtual trade fair stand makes it easy to create an event character and thus a special reason to visit the homepage and the products presented. Used as a digital twin, a virtual trade fair stand also significantly increases the reach of your stationary trade fair presence. This is because, on the one hand, you draw attention to your trade fair presence before the trade fair and, on the other hand, you can continue to do so during and after the trade fair. Thanks to the additional transformation into the virtual world, you can now continue to use and benefit from your stationary trade fair stand, which was designed with a great deal of commitment and time, even beyond the very limited period of a stationary trade fair.

3. Costs of the virtual trade fair stand

The increase in reach through a virtual trade fair stand is naturally offset by costs. This is a very important issue, especially when it comes to a possible first contact with virtual products in the trade fair sector. The costs of a virtual trade fair stand basically depend on two key factors: On the one hand, the desired range of functions, e.g. number of interaction areas, integrated CRM system or only interface solution, form and chat functions and, on the other hand, whether a usable 3D design is already available.

At this point, it pays to work with a provider that offers both: Virtual exhibition stands and stationary exhibition stands. This allows you to have a design for an exhibition stand created once and then use it twice, for the stationary stand and the associated digital twin in the virtual version. However, the costs for developing this design are only incurred once, which also makes the virtual trade fair stand attractive in terms of price. In addition to one-off costs for the setup and functionality, for example, virtual trade fair stands also incur lower running costs for the period in which you want to put them online. At this point, it is advisable to pay attention to a flexible period of use, so that you can initially test such an offer for 3 months, for example, and then extend it easily and without major additional costs.

4. Conclusion on the cost-benefit comparison of the virtual trade fair stand

Overall, a virtual trade fair stand offers considerable added value, and not just in special times when stationary trade fairs are not possible. By acting as a digital twin, a virtual trade fair stand significantly increases the reach before, during and after a trade fair. For a company that organizes several events a year, a virtual trade fair is even a good option. At the same time, the costs are attractive due to the combination with the 3D design of an (existing) physical exhibition stand. Embedded in a good story, a virtual trade fair stand directs your customers to your products in an attractive way and is therefore an ideal accompanying element in the marketing strategy.