How to Sell High-Tech Products at Virtual Trade Shows? Interview with Jeffrey Kleinpeter, CEO at Virtuelle Cluster Initiative

Virtual trade shows are becoming the common tool for promoting high-tech products at business to business markets. Trade shows are second most effective lead generation tactic after company website according to "B2B Lead Generation Marketing Trends 2013" survey. However, participation in physical trade shows has many inconveniences - high expenditures, logistical puzzles, too much noise. Virtual trade shows are free of these disadvantages.

The virtual trade show market has more than doubled in a year from 2009 to 2011 and is expected to demonstrate an annual growth rate above 50% through 2018. While virtual trade show technology is in its infancy today, many companies are yet to discover it.

The recent interview with  Jeffrey Kleinpeter, Ceo at Virtuelle Cluster Initiative, who hosts exhibition online, helps to learn about the new opportunities it has for B2B lead generation and converting them into sales.

Question: What is Virtuelle Cluster Initiative in a nutshell?

Jeffrey Kleinpeter: I wish to launch an International Competitiveness Initiative based on the Exhibition approach.

Government, Chambers of Commerce, Industrial Organizations and Clusters all speak of increasing competiveness. However, an innovative, future-oriented and using of new trends to allow SMEs to easily build Business Networks and collaborate on worldwide projects fall short. The Virtual Cluster Initiative will not only increase the effective range of your marketing activities, it will also increase the level of exposure. The virtual exhibition integrates applications, such as, live chat, real-time polling and surveys, social media, v-card exchange and collaboration tools, creating a fully interactive virtual experience accompanied with a virtual 3-D booth tailored to your needs.

Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, regionally, nationally and globally.

Q: How do companies benefit from participating in VCI virtual exhibition?

JK: This approach develops this traditional definition of a Business Cluster by overcoming the geographic concentration and allows Businesses to broaden their customer base.

Another aspect is based on the five sector model of the circular flow of income. It is a more realistic representation of the economy. The Economic cycle of an open economy is allowing possible customers outside the normal range of business to participate in your economy.

Generating a cash flow from another City, another State or abroad. When the economy is in an economic downturn, spending takes a downturn, generating a cash flow outside the normal operating boundaries is imperative for further growth.

Perhaps the closest thing to a perfectly competitive market would be a large auction of identical goods with all potential buyers and sellers present. By design, a stock exchange resembles this, not as a complete description (for no markets may satisfy all requirements of the model) but as an approximation. The flaw in considering the stock exchange as an example of Perfect Competition is the fact that large institutional investors (e.g. investment banks) may solely influence the market price. This, of course, violates the condition that "no one seller can influence market price".

Q: What are the statistics of Virtuelle Cluster Initiative trade show? How many companies participate? What are the KPI of their participation?

JK: After one year of our activity traffic amounts to 30,000 visitors. As for the companies, over the past year a number of companies have participated. Presently we host approximately 15 booths. The Key Performance Indicators must be decided from each participant themselves. If they turn a contact into a sale or customer, if they managed to access other markets, and so on. The VCI cannot decide what is relevant for each company. We can only provide a centralized location and assist in opening the new markets.

Q: Do companies really get leads from participating in VCI? What are the rates? How many leads are typically closed? Maybe you can cite here some frontrunners.

JK: As an example, we have set up a video conference where Australia, St. Petersberg, Scotland, Netherland, Slovenia and Idaho were on one video conference. The feedback that I have received was positive on contacts. At the same time, each exhibitor can be contacted directly and we as organizers have no idea of further business procedures. Interest is big. And the participation is to grow. We are learning to deal with fears of those who are hesitating about actually participating and committing financially. Leads of participants are extremely big and interesting.

The entire Scotland Chamber of Commerce is reviewing the VCI for about six weeks now. The Madrid Network consisting of 800 companies was interested. The BW-i area Stuttgart approx. 21,000 companies are interested since last year. The Northern Alabama International Trade Association was expressing interest. We are working with them.

Q: Is it sophisticated for the company to manage its booth at the virtual trade show? How would you suggest marketers to go about it?

JK: Very easy. No IT knowledge is required.

Marketing Managers of participating companies have the possibility to use this Platform to do a Virtual Corporate Event, Product Launch, Virtual Customer Day, Online Career and Job Fairs. As well as being centrally located along side other companies that are driving traffic to the exhibition. The visitors are exponential. Everyone on the exhibition benefits from everyone else. Visitors don't only visit one exhibition booth when they are there.

Q: What tips do you have for marketing managers to make their companies participation in virtual trade show most efficient in terms of retaining higher sales?

JK: In terms of retaining higher sales the target market needs to increase. The general idea is to create a world Exhibition allowing / setting the Framework for SMEs to participate in the Global economy. A general scenario which could evolve from the framework of the VCI is an entrepreneur being located in South America requiring developing research from a university in Europe, finances coming from a company in Australia, Board members could be composed of experts from around the world, all mentioned entities having access to relevant information centrally located on the Virtual Cluster Initiative. All entities could meet on the platform for online conferences and when needed workshops / training. Each company would have to review its Supply Chain and optimize it accordingly.

Instead of sending documents back and forth the booth could be used as an art Drop box.

If a SME wishes to target a specific branch in another country we will contact Chambers and contacts that we have in that country attempting to assist. Perhaps there will be other participants from those countries where an online Network could be built. Purchasing agents can build contacts and suppliers.

Sales can use it with the online chat to have immediate contact to customers. A one-on-one video conferencing is integrated.

The upload of videos allows others to view without the entire public having access.

As an owner of a company, the possibility to open new markets would be rather appealing to me and I would attempt it. Here the use of the modern technology to chat, video conference, exchange data, integrate social media, upload and allow access to specific target groups without allowing anyone access to my computer are advantages.

It is a new tool that would have to be learned to implement. The application of the marketing possibilities as well as Network building, optimizing the supply chain are characteristics that the employee needs to have.

Q: Would you suggest SMEs to assign this job to some particular position? How would you call this job?

JK: There are no limits here. Sales could use it. Purchasing could use it. PR could use the Social Media.

Reclamations could use the Video Conferencing to do a one-on-one attempting to resolve the problem without traveling.

A number of people within the company could have access to this tool.

I think the view should not be exactly on a virtual trade show. Let's look at it as a tool, application in many areas. Sales, Purchasing, Public Relations.

Q: What qualifications should the person who is responsible for the exhibition booth have? Taken into consideration that the VCI exhibition booth offers diverse information and communication technologies, it is advantageous for the booth assignee to be proficient in the application of these technologies or, otherwise, the desired expectations will not be reached. Don’t you think that maybe companies lack understanding how this job should be performed and assessed?

JK: Taras, the assignee responsible for the exhibition booth does not have to have any special qualifications. The integrated information and communication technologies are not difficult to implement. The task can be easily learned within minutes. This is one positive characteristic of the initiative. What may be somewhat overseen is the areas in which this “tool” can be applied. One being Customer service (video conferencing), another being Supply Chain Management (Business Network), Purchasing (having / acquiring access to new resources and sources of supply)

Q: Participating in physical trade show has some bright moments for those in charge of it within the exhibiting company. The managers assigned to the booth might be inspired by a glass of beer after the show, having fun with other participants, sightseeing of new places. What are the incentives for booth personnel at the virtual show?

JK: For the visitors - they don't miss work! They don't have to travel. It’s "Green" - environmental friendly.

It is cheaper as compared to a live and real exhibition.

Incentives could be a special price for purchasing through the exhibition.

Incentives could be that customer contact through chat and video conferencing builds a tie to the customer.

I think that creativity is required here.

Q: What are the key advantages of participation in VCI virtual exhibition as compared to other similar initiatives?

JK: A real trade show costs at least 10,000. 2-3 days. We offer year round for a small price.

As for other virtual trade shows that are abundant online nowadays the price that we are charging cannot be beat. So one of the advantages is cost efficiency. As well as some trade shows are only online a few days. Not to forget the Target of the entire initiative. It is not only a Trade Fair. It is about optimizing the Supply Chain. It is about opening new Markets. It is about increasing the customer base. The influence and more affordable ICT has allowed us to integrate and bring new tools forward which can be applied to cluster development be it training, cross-sectoral / cross-border collaboration or setting a centralized framework and eliminating the geographical barrier “distance”.

Q: Who are the typical visitors of Virtuelle Cluster Initiative exhibition? How does exhibition generate its incoming visitors?

JK: Typical Visitors could be people that could not make it to a real exhibition. Incoming visitors traffic is generated exponentially. Each participant invites visitors. The Exhibition itself "Me" drives traffic there.

But until it gets up and running it is a lot of work driving traffic there. Once this has enough participants traffic will not be the problem.

Q: How to sell high-tech products at virtual trade shows? Name several critical points.

JK: With the possibility of uploading videos of a new product the potential customer could review that information at his own convenience. This would require less time spent per customer. Data Sheets could be down loaded and reviewed at his convenience

It can be used as a centralized platform which serves so many sections in a company.

I think that SELL = creating a desire. By creating a desire I have to touch one’s senses such as seeing, feeling, hearing and so forth.

I have touched on quite a few aspects which cover a lot of areas: Supply Chain Management, increase of competitiveness, Business Network, integrating Web 2.0 Social Media, Opening New Markets. These are all pluses summing up into sales.

When your local market is in a down turn - spending is in a down turn. Revenue needs to come from another market other than the normal operating market. And the Market does have a cycle. The use of the Platform is to overcome this.