Are you worried because all trade fairs are canceled or online? How can you adapt your communication and marketing strategy to online trade fairs? Keep on reading this blog and discover how to sell successfully in this new normality.

The new normality of trade fairs

Visiting trade fairs is one of the key strategies to generate selling opportunities in the B2B packaging sector for several reasons:

1. 46% of executive decision-makers make the purchase decisions while attending a trade fair.
2. 77% of the decision-makers find at least one new supplier.
3. 51% of tradeshow attendees request a meeting with a sales representative after the fair.
   

Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, many of the packaging trade fairs and events such as PCD, Empack or All4pack have been postponed, cancelled or changed to online. This has indeed affected the packaging industry:  from face-to-face meetings and visiting trade fairs, to zoom meetings and closing sales in our living rooms.

The challenge that the industry is now facing is to find new ways to connect with new clients and create online experiences. 

Creating a 3D experience with your package

Presenting a package to potential customers or existing clients is a challenge when we can’t do it through physical samples at a face-to-face meeting. Luckily, we can use existing technologies such as 3D or AR that can help clients visualize and almost feel a packaging design. 

The best way to generate an online experience with your package is to transform your catalogue from long PDFs to a vivid and interactive 3D catalogue ready to be customized. This will enable your clients to live an experience with your package by being able to co-create online with your team, share the designs in real-time and validate a project much faster than before. 

How to create the experience in your sales process

1. Set up an online meeting with your client and surprise him with your 3D catalogue online. 
2. Discover his needs: Ask him for his necessities and the type of packaging he is looking for while you select the perfect 3D packaging for him.
3. Create the perfect product and validate it: adapt the package to his project by changing colors, combining the different parts, and applying the artwork that he wants while he sees it in 3D and real-time. You can even send him the link so he can share it with his team and visualize the customized package. This part of the process can be gamified so your client can have fun while customising in 3D. 
4. Close the sale! Finish the project and send him the quote ready to be signed.  

Which are the benefits of a 3D experience? 

Improve your clients’ experience with a better service

Creating an enjoyable experience for your potential customer is important in order to build a stronger relationship and to differentiate your company from your competitors.

Empower your sales and marketing team

Provide them the latest tools to sell better and faster thanks to a easy-to-use tool that helps clients visualize your solutions. You can also use this tool to create your marketing and communication campaigns online and offline. 

Position your company as innovator and lead the 4.0 industry  

Not only trade fairs are the reason why the packaging industry needs to digitalize its processes: E-commerce has increased 55% due to COVID19 and also online working (+30%). According to La Vanguardia, 66% of directors across all Europe, have confirmed that they have digitized their processes during the pandemic. 

With your 3D catalogue you will be able to build a strong business strategy that responds to the challenges of the 4.0 industry:  allow your team to work collaboratively online and offer an excellent and customized service to your clients. 

Accelerate your sales cycle

3D prototyping enables fast online validation and, therefore, accelerates the first steps before closing a sale. Imagine you could show your client the end result of their customised package in your first meeting, validate it and then send it to production, you would be able to accelerate your sales cycle up to x3.

Embed the experience to your website

Why does the trade fair experience have to end? It can continue on your website if you embed your 3D catalogue so that your sales team and/or clients can continue using it in their sales processes.

Reduce costs

Using a 3D catalogue can help you reduce costs of your sales processes:

1. Save costs of traveling to the trade fair
2. Save costs in sending unnecessary physical prototypes
3. Save costs of commercial visits
4. Save the costs of the design team who has to do extra hours to create proposals
5. Save costs of physical stands

Would you like to create your own 3D experience?

Contact us at [email protected] and we will program an online meeting to evaluate your necessities and offer you the solution that adapts best to your companys' strategy.