Industrial fair without presence? .... Of course it is!
The outbreak of COVID-19 initially led to the cancellation or delay of many sectoral trade fairs. Given the duration of the "pandemic" and the consequent difficulties in travelling, the trade fairs are maintaining a dual profile for 2020/21, both on-site and virtual.
The industrial fair continues to be a commercial milestone that allows us to close projects, maintain "close" contact, prospect the sector, initiate conversations about opportunities, etcetera.
COVID-19 forces us, once again, to adapt to the circumstances, but it does not eliminate the existing commercial opportunity and makes us ask ourselves some questions, such as: "What is the best way to make the most of this opportunity:
- Will the fair be maintained?
- Is it cancelled?
- Postponed?
- Can it be made virtual?
- What happens to the stand, the tickets, the meeting agenda?
- What if I test positive for COVID days before the fair?
- Do we have a special contingency plan for the fair?
- What about quarantine for Spaniards?
- and a long etcetera.... every day we add doubts.
At Onura, as in all companies, we deal with trade fairs in 3 phases from a commercial point of view:
- Pre Fair: Set of actions aimed at generating opportunities (leads, agendas, projects).
- Trade fair: Business meetings, presentations, field research, closing and next steps with existing and/or potential customers.
- Post Fair: Actions with the objective of transferring this contact/action to the next stage in the sales process.
A cancellation or modification mainly alters Phase 2, the fair itself, in which case, if possible, we will try to work with a much more personalised contact if possible;
- indexed and scheduled virtual meeting
- personalised calls
- invitation to reverse visit
- sending a sample or personalised proposal
- other
Virtual" Fairs: E-Fairs.
This is another change that affects our preparations (both for the fairs and our general commercial action).
Practically all fairs will have a "virtual edition" that may or may not coexist with the physical edition.
We have to prepare "multimedia" communication tools that allow us to "interact" 24 hours a day with national/international attendees, combining them with other ways that we will have to evaluate when contracting the "virtual pack": Participation in webinars, contracting online advertisements segmented by the buyer profile we are looking for, etc.
We have to lose our fear of online events and bring out our best communication skills behind the screens, which are essential in these times (participating as a listener and practising in controlled environments helps a lot).
This process of change is an opportunity, as we are seeing more and more online events with a large influx and participation of the public.
Importance of Follow Up:
«80% of closed sales require no less than 5 follow-up contacts..»
Contact, visits and closeness will continue to occur, although this will be after several previous interactions "remotely".
At Onura, we can work with your sales team on the 3 phases of a trade fair.
What are the relevant trade fairs in your sector? What stage are the trade fairs you had planned for 2020/21 at?
