The New Face of Exhibitions<\/a><\/p>\n Only 10% of Visitors Stop at Each Booth<\/a><\/p>\n The New Queen: the App<\/a><\/p>\n The Essence of the App<\/a><\/p>\n Smart Apps<\/a><\/p>\n Revolution in Exhibition Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n New Era<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div> From now on exhibition organisers, exhibitors and visitors must accept the new face of exhibitions,\u00a0and learn the new rules of the game, while integrating and making the most of new technologies.<\/p>\n An exhibition used to be an interactive shop window where visitors could see, touch and smell the\u00a0products on display. \u00a0They could collect printed marketing material, and speak with exhibitors face to face. If exhibitions had remained this way in terms of size, number of exhibitors and visitors, then maybe that\u00a0format would have continued to this day.\u00a0However, today\u2019s exhibition floor space can reach 250,000 square metres. The number of exhibitors can be around 5,000 and the number of visitors over 100,000. With the exhibition typically\u00a0lasting 3 days, face-to-face interaction is no longer feasible. Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n Due to the way exhibitions have developed, visitors must plan in advance which sections of the\u00a0exhibition to visit. They must decide \u00a0which exhibitors to meet, and when. The new technologies help them to do this.<\/p>\n For their part, to justify investment, exhibitors must now take action to attract the 90% of visitors who do\u00a0not stop at each booth. They can only achieve this by using the new technologies.<\/p>\n The crucial issue today for exhibitors and visitors alike is ROI (Return On Investment) from an exhibition.\u00a0ROI needs to be converted into measurable results. However its value is often unknown, or even\u00a0negative. Inevitably, this in turn reduces the organiser\u2019s ROI from an event. Therefore, the challenge for\u00a0organisers is to provide exhibitors and visitors with a tool to measure and improve ROI. Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n For organisers the key to solving this challenge is to facilitate meetings between exhibition stakeholders.<\/p>\n How do you enable visitors to meet as many relevant exhibitors as they would like to during the\u00a0exhibition? How can they use their time most efficiently before, during and after the event?<\/p>\n Here the app and smartphone come into the picture. They provide a way for all stakeholders to interact\u00a0more effectively. Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n The app connects the exhibition organiser, exhibitor and visitor. It collects data from each, enabling\u00a0everyone to interact more efficiently. The possibilities are virtually limitless. And the results depend only\u00a0on the ability of each user to make the most of the information available. Everyone benefits.<\/p>\n This all-in-one exhibition app provides a digital catalogue of the exhibition, a GPS location finder, a \u00a0meetings diary and a detailed visit log. And it can do more . . . Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n Apps providing some of the features described above are being developed. Some are already in\u00a0use, with varying adoption rates. There is one app which incorporates all these elements, and more.<\/p>\n This app – www.smartexpomatch.com – combines the ability to provide all the features mentioned. It does this before the\u00a0exhibition opens, and in realtime during the exhibition. It can also remain active after the show, right up\u00a0until the next event.<\/p>\n The app is based on the insight that the most important interaction between parties at an exhibition is\u00a0driven by a common interest in the products.<\/p>\n The app creates profiles of visitors, based on their actual behaviour at the exhibition. It connects\u00a0between visitors showing an interest in particular products, and exhibitors featuring those products.<\/p>\n Internet technology enables exhibitors to send messages to visitors in realtime during the exhibition,\u00a0informing them: \u2018We are aware that you are interested in product \u2018X\u2019. We are exhibiting that product, but\u00a0you haven\u2019t yet visited our stand. Our stand is \u2018A123..\u2019, and we look forward to seeing you\u2019.<\/p>\n Meanwhile the visitor receives messages from the organiser in realtime on the exhibition floor,\u00a0saying: \u2018There are \u2018Y\u2019 exhibitors displaying the product you are interested in, but you haven\u2019t yet visited\u00a0them. Here is a list of those exhibitors and their location at the show\u2019.<\/p>\n In both cases the source of the information is the exhibition organiser\u2019s server, which stores data\u00a0collected and processed by the app for the benefit of visitors and exhibitors. Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n Generated by the behaviour of visitors and exhibitors, the data stored on the organiser\u2019s server provides\u00a0a powerful marketing tool.<\/p>\n For example, when marketing the next show to potential exhibitors, the organiser can say with\u00a0precision: \u2018X visitors at the last show expressed an interest in the products you supply. We know who\u00a0they are, and will inform them that you\u2019ll be exhibiting at the next show. We will recommend that they\u00a0come to visit you\u2019.<\/p>\n At the same time, the potential visitor receives a message saying: \u2018At the last show you expressed an\u00a0interest in products A, B and C. We are pleased to inform you that at the coming event \u2018X\u2019 exhibitors will\u00a0be featuring those products. They will be looking forward to your visit.\u2019<\/p>\n Furthermore this app can match between stakeholders who have not previously been connected, but\u00a0whose profile shows they have a potential business link based on product interest.<\/p>\n Using this app, both exhibitor and visitor receive accurate advance knowledge about the forthcoming\u00a0exhibition. This enables each to estimate its ROI value.<\/p>\n This new marketing interaction is now possible because the organiser\u2019s server stores data concerning\u00a0specific products of interest to each visitor.<\/p>\n The app analyses and processes the information automatically. It links between people and relevant products. Using\u00a0their contact details, it sends tailored messages to enable effective advance planning. It continues\u00a0to generate leads during and after the event. A double opt-in system ensures that the app operates\u00a0ethically: messages may be accepted or declined.<\/p>\n This app promotes the efficient use of time before, during and after the exhibition, further improving ROI. The exhibition and congress industry will advance to the next step of the new era by adopting the new\u00a0technologies wholeheartedly. They need to ensure adequate internet connection on the exhibition floor, and signal\u00a0for\u00a0using personal smartphones.<\/p>\n Exhibition organisers must ensure that their employees keep pace with technological innovations, and\u00a0communicate effectively with service suppliers.<\/p>\n The revolution, which has already begun, will succeed because it is a quiet revolution, taking place\u00a0gradually, without destroying what already exists (as can happen in revolutions).<\/p>\n The innovations integrate with existing systems, enhancing, upgrading and bringing them smoothly into\u00a0the new era, able to measure and improve event ROI. Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n * The writer is an exhibition organiser with 40 years\u2019 experience in international exhibitions. Together\u00a0with a German partner he has developed the new ROI app ExpoMatch<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Back to list<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"exhibition\"](\"https:\/\/expomatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cannes_Pavilions-224x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\nThe New Face of Exhibitions<\/h4>\n
Only 10% of Visitors Stop at Each Booth<\/h4>\n
The New Queen: the App<\/h4>\n
The Essence of the App<\/h4>\n
![\"quiet](\"http:\/\/www1.expomatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Visit-history-web.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSmart Apps<\/h4>\n
Realtime Messaging<\/h4>\n
Revolution in Exhibition Marketing<\/h4>\n
Advance Knowledge<\/h4>\n
\nBack to list<\/a><\/p>\nNew Era<\/h4>\n