Why companies should virtualise their communication
When the world changes at lightning speed, businesses need to adapt quickly. Swapping physical for 3D virtual events is no bad thing—and here’s why.
Pivot. Never was a word in the English language so overused, with businesses across the world pushed to do exactly that in 2020 or risk falling over completely.
As the pandemic raged on and travel became nigh on impossible – globally and locally – our work meetings pivoted and began to take place online, forging a fundamental change in the way we connect.
At meetings everywhere, new sayings were fast becoming commonplace; “You’re on mute!” and “Wow, what a fantastic background you have!” among them. While Microsoft Teams and Google Meet had long since provided digital hangouts, new providers joined the party, with US-based Zoom reporting growth of 370% by year-end 2020.
Of course, some of us were already working our meetings digitally in an entirely different way... Yet ours are more than a place to log in and chat with others from our business; they’re a space created bespoke for companies wanting to host their conferences virtually. A fully immersive 3D ‘reality’ designed to look and feel like a physical event, allowing delegates to explore rooms as they were physically present and experience the energy of a face-to-face conference from the comfort of home.
The latest and greatest way to get up close and personal with your customers and prospects.
As anyone running events can attest, it’s a costly carry-on with venue hire, audio-visuals, marketing collateral and catering to fund. And all of this, before you even consider the cost of staff travel and time. Run an event virtually, and you’ll pay a fraction of what you do for a physical one.
Everyone wants as many people as possible to attend their events. As soon as you go big on a physical venue, you’re under pressure to sell more tickets to justify the cost. In a digital world, conferences hold no bounds, and you can host as many delegates as you like without the hefty price tag attached.
When you remove the geographical constraints from an event, it becomes more accessible to a broader pool of people. That's great news for anyone based remotely and, of course, those living in a city where travel is restricted. It can also provide access to otherwise unknown demographical territories, which benefits the organisers.
It’s not only you who needs to fork out money on a conference—so do your delegates! First, consider the time and cost of travel—which, depending on where your event is based, can be a make or break moment for many. Throw accommodation, meals and time away from work into the mix and physical events price some potential delegates out of the market. Make your event a digital one, and most of those costs are gone in an instant!
There is nothing worse to delegates than a clash. Having to miss a keynote because it ran simultaneously with a must-see new product live demo. And while wandering around a physical conference is great for their fitness regime, it can be a nightmare on time. Virtual events make it easier for delegates to experience each aspect they want to at a pace that suits their time frame.
When you turn your conference virtual, this has a fantastic impact on your carbon footprint. Let’s remove the emissions caused by travel – for both organisers and delegates - as well as the food waste, single-use plastic cups, printed marketing collateral and exhibition stands, name badges and countless other bits used at just one event.
So, you have saved on time and costs for you and your delegates, increased your customer and prospect pool, and reduced your carbon footprint. Compelling, yes. But there’s more.
Marketers: Here’s the powerful bit.
With this comes an ability to engage with your delegates at the precise point they are engaged—be it your product demo, a keynote or industry overview for which they’re showing a liking. While feedback forms at physical events provide insights, it can take weeks to follow up on each one. Direct intervention with delegates in real-time, based on precisely where they are in the event journey, can have incredible immediate and long-term results.
It’s time to join other global businesses and appreciate the benefits of marketing from within a virtual world. Arrange a chat with the experts on 3D events and marketing automation. Contact our team today.