Virtually Yours

The handshake is still king in the business world.

So how does that square with the idea of the virtual trade show, where the interaction between a business and potential customer can be as impersonal as a fast-food drive-through?

In some cases, technology has improved to the point that the Internet version of the handshake can become as meaningful as a hug.

Still, most of those taking part in virtual trade shows are using them to augment, rather than replace, their existing events.

Doug Bodenstab, who in a moment of 1995 dot-com lucidity bought the rights to the vts.com URL, says he sees the concept not as a replacement for manning booths and walking the aisles, but as a tool to enhance the “real” shows he conducts annually.

“It’s just an extra benefit we offer our customers,” says Bodenstab, owner of Del Mar Trade Shows in Southern California. “It’s really a glamorized directory that’s more interactive than a printed directory.”

Buyers of exhibits at his electronics trade shows are offered a free upgraded listing on a virtual trade show that mirrors the actual show. Other customers, who choose to opt only for an “e-booth” as he calls it, aren’t charged.

“A virtual trade show can be anything from a static link on a Web site to something like they did at Comdex, where you could cruise the entire show online,” he says. “I don’t see the point in [the Comdex model]. You might as well just go to the show.”

The directory model he prefers is where the value of the virtual trade show comes in.

“Everyone can use Google to find something online,” Bodenstab says. “But the virtual trade show validates and adds a level of legitimacy to a listing. I think there’s value there.”

Chuck Maltese, executive director of the California Rental Association, says his first virtual trade show – held in October 2005 – was an unrequited success.

“The feedback we got was that even among those who were a little disappointed, about 80-something percent said they would do it again,” says Maltese. “I think only about three companies said they weren’t interested in participating in the next one.”

The second Rental Rally Online is scheduled for May 1-7.

“Let’s be clear. This is not intended as a substitute for our Rental Rally,” he says. “This was always meant as an additional marketing tool for our members.”

Attendees at the online show enter through a virtual lobby and mouse through the various booths, and can visit and interact with vendors, depending on how sophisticated the vendor’s booth is.

One mouse click enables an inquiry between exhibitor and potential customer, while another click allows an online purchase, the latter a rarity among virtual trade shows, Maltese says.

CRA requires that virtual exhibitors offer a legitimate show special.

“We had to make sure that the word would get out among attendees that they got a good deal at the show,” Maltese says. “That’s the only way it would work.”

Exhibitors can buy a basic “virtual” booth for about $400, though three higher levels of participation are available, the highest of which can provide PowerPoint presentations, streaming video and other technology that comes closer to the “virtual handshake.”

One such technology has been developed by introNetworks Inc., a California-based relationship marketing software company.

Mark Sylvester, the co-founder and chief executive officer, says he recognizes that face-to-face meetings can’t be replaced, so he developed technology to break the ice before a show begins.

Attendees, exhibitors, speakers and others are able to enter in-depth data about themselves into the software, including business goals, personal likes and dislikes, pictures and video clips. That information, along with that of everyone else in attendance at the event, creates an online community that is available to everyone who registers. The software compares the data of community members for similarities, allowing users to identify community members with whom they have the most in common.

Armed with such information, trade show exhibitors, attendees and speakers can make contact, appointments and such prior to actually arriving at an event, as well as during and after an event, Sylvester says.

“When we finally do meet, there isn’t that awkward 45-minute period where we’re wondering if this person is someone I need to know or am I missing out on something around the next corner,” he says. “In the event setting, time is compressed. This technology eliminates a lot of that wasted time.”