An article in the latest BtoB's Interactive Marketing Guide 2009 prompts this blog post. The print version of the article seems to have been targeted at a readership deeply invested in the business of tactile trade shows or face-to-face trade shows.
The article has a 'Need to Know' box which lists 5 simple rules to prepare for a virtual exhibition. I have to respectfully disagree with the sweeping generalizations being made through those rules. They may not apply in all cases - at least they have not applied in the case of our virtual participants. Quite the contrary! Listed below are 5 alternative-rules based on iTradeFair.com's first-hand experience with a variety of virtual trade show booths. These alternative rules serve exhibitors and event organizers better in the long run. Some of these rules reflect new findings on how online audiences react to virtual trade shows.
- Tear down these walls. Placement should be irrelevant on the Internet. Search engines and matchmaking algorithms render the tactile concept of space irrelevant in a virtual trade show. Virtual trade shows should not try to compress a tactile experience within a 2-dimensional computer screen (some refer to it as 2½-D virtual trade show). In doing so, they severely limit the navigational ease for attendees, severely limit the revenue potential for event producers, and severely undermine the exhibitor's right to be found easily. Virtual trade shows must help trade show organizers break free of the shackles of the face-to-face convention center, and learn to embrace and leverage the dynamism made possible by the web (unless of course it is in a virtual world like Second Life, in which case placement makes sense and your attendees can 'fly' through the virtual world to find the exhibitors of their liking).
- Brand your booth. Do not merely customize the virtual booth with virtual plants unless you are in the horticulture business. Ask your virtual trade show provider for enhanced services to reflect your company's or product's brand most accurately. Even if an online attendee merely gets a fleeting glance of your virtual booth or presence online, it should scream your brand and imprint itself favorably in their minds.
- Have a compelling presence, not just compelling content. What you think is compelling content may not be compelling to the attendees. The most compelling content you can have in your virtual booth is the name and contact information of decision-makers and influencers. Since the audiences are getting very savvy with filtering out cloaked pitches - especially the generation raised on the use of the Internet - they will see through any fake marketing tactics or gimmicks. Make real and relevant people accessible through your virtual booth, no matter where they are located in the world, so that no attendee who requests attention is left unattended by a clueless booth staffer. Plain and simple - the online attendees are your guests - treat them nicely and even if they do not seem like a strong lead, and they will speak well of your company and help you grow your brand.
- Go beyond gathering a list of leads. Start a relationship. Offering a prize is old world. The presumption is that the attendees' names will get on a telemarketing list that they have to then be dodging forever. In a virtual trade show the attendees will not only see through such gimmicks, they will also learn to beat the system and still take home the goodies. Find more entertaining ways to keep audiences engaged with your virtual booth and brand. Personalize a complimentary offering for every attendee who passes by your virtual booth. You know a lot more about an online attendee than you would in a tactile trade show. Use that capability creatively to amuse your attendees and win their affection. Do not chase them.
- Resist that urge to tap a stranger on the shoulder. Do not start a conversation if the attendee wants to be left alone (permission required - so there are special ways to do it - and no I do not mean sneaking in a fine print in registration terms). Do not chase the attendee. Not only will it startle them or possibly annoy them but also drive them away from your virtual booth. The approach is as intrusive and old-world as the cold-call from the telephone company at dinner time asking you who your long-distance provider is. Do not try this capability in the virtual trade show even if your virtual trade show software provider offers it for free. To quote Ardath Albee after her recent virtual trade show experience, "Oh, and for those of you who spent time pitching your stuff in the lounge—you still don't get it."
Attendees in a virtual trade show are just a click away from abandoning your virtual booth or your virtual trade show. They do not have 30 seconds to watch your CEO's corporate spiel. Treat them with respect and appreciation for having given your virtual booth their precious time and attention. Respect their desire for privacy. Sell without trying to sell. Make a positive impression, and encourage them to come back. They will. The best way to make your virtual booth and your virtual trade show successful is to free yourself of the mindset of the tactile trade show.
