Virtual Trade Shows vs. Traditional Trade Shows

Some people would say that trade shows are a necessary evil, and others would say they are golden opportunities; it is all about your perception. I think the same could be said for virtual trade shows, it is all about your perception but more importantly your goals.

Both types of trade shows have the benefits of exposure, potential leads and increased sales. But does one show have more advantage than the other? Here is some insight to help you decide.

Virtual Trade Shows are a great idea, especially in this day of technology. You do not need to travel to attend or to exhibit at a virtual trade show, therefore your overall costs are lower and you could have a possible higher ROI. People from all over the world could attend your show, potential customers that you may have never contacted had it not been for a virtual trade show. All this sounds great, but you have to consider a few more things.

Since you can exhibit and attend the trade show right from your desk, you need to eliminate all distractions. Your way of contact with potential clients will be through chat rooms and while you are waiting to engage with visitors, it could become very tempting to start working on some paperwork, or going through your emails and an opportunity can be easily lost. At the end of the show, you may also receive many potential leads from attendees of the show; people that clicked on your exhibit and moved on without stopping to chat. This could be great news, or it could be a poor representation of your show success. Unfortunately, the quality of these leads will be questionable; therefore follow up will be essential as well as a challenging task. It has been said that people prefer to buy from people and that is a huge disadvantage to the virtual trade show. Yes you may have great leads and in turn sales, however it could also be an abundance of unqualified leads and wasted time. Another aspect of virtual trade shows could be a benefit or a disadvantage; virtual trade shows could remain live for long periods of time. An actual event could last a few days as a traditional show, but the site and your exhibit could remain live for months or even a year. This could be a benefit because of greater exposure, but it could also be a disadvantage of overexposure.

Similar to selling a house, if it is on the market too long, there is less interest and harder to sell.

Traditional trade shows are more common; while these exhibits tend to have higher expenses, the exposure and potential is far greater. Trade shows offer the opportunity to not only promote your products and services but to also promote your company. Potential customers get the opportunity to meet you and you then have the opportunity to begin a dialog that will most likely begin a business relationship. This is a time to show off your current and upcoming products and discuss how your company can assist in increasing revenue for your potential clients.

Traditional trade shows are very sensory focused, that is where part of the expense comes in. To draw the attendees to you, you want to have an eye catching exhibit. This exhibit will be the first representative of your company that speaks to your potential client.· For this reason it is essential to have an exhibit house, like Nationwide Displays, that you can partner with and together create that display that will make a lasting first impression.

Trade shows are essential in promoting your company; where virtual trade shows are convenient traditional trade shows are personable. Where the costs may be lower for a virtual trade show, the possibility of a higher ROI is greater in traditional trade shows due to the person to person contact and your eye catching exhibit.