The first decision made before the fair is, of course, the decision to take part. The main questions is where, when and which fair to take part in, and here, the entrepreneur must have a very clear idea of the goals established (see the previous chapter) and which fairs enable the best reaching of these goals. After all, several similar fairs take place at different times and you need to prepare well in advance to make the right choice – check attendance and visitor profiles, exhibitors and, of course, nuances regarding expenses. Taking part in an international fair outside of your home country is definitely several times more expensive and requires more thorough preparations than taking part in a local fair that covers the domestic market.

Successful participation in a fair are ensured by a thorough work plan and a schedule prepared together with this, which is followed properly from the beginning. A schedule is more important for fairs with a long preparation period or which take place for a longer period of time.

However, when planning a schedule, first figure out the goals of taking part in the fair, i.e. which result do you want to bring home? Based on the goals, settle the tactical questions, starting from designing the virtual stand and the modules used, and ending with qualifications, work distribution and preparation of the fair staff during the fair.

Keep in mind that online fairs attract a larger number of visitors than usual, but their stay in a stand or virtual stall is short. You have to put several times more effort into interaction and attracting the client’s attention quickly at an online fair. Visitors at an online fair want fast information about what interests them and they can carry out negotiations in several stalls at once – therefore, be prepared for serious discussions in the OnlineExpo environment as well as in other channels (FB, Skype, telephone) and naturally, do not rule out meetings in real life either.

Assess whether you have enough resources to later quickly and effectively manage contacts made at the fair, and predict which part of those contacts you definitely want to turn into actual sales or client relations. Plan your team and activities accordingly.

Technical tools can be used in the OnlineExpo environment for several activities, such as sending mass e-mails, organizing webinars and auctions, drawing lots, handing out special prizes, filling in customer forms etc.

To review all technical opportunities, it pays to read the separate OnlineExpo fair environment manual or watch the instructional videos.

When the goals are set and target groups established then you should select the products, services and messages which might interest visitors the most or which you find most important to introduce. You should also be prepared to update the display during the fair – unlike offline fairs, people visit online fairs repeatedly while it’s underway. A varied and renewing display will invite the visitor back again and again. On the very opening day of the fair, it pays to put the action plan of the fair to the top of the fair stall for visitors to see.

Organizing a team is generally part of the work of the person responsible for marketing of the company, but a separate team should still be put together for taking part in the fair and a leader should be established who is responsible for carrying out and supervising the action plan, and organizing the work of the team.

Successful participation at a fair are ensured by a thorough work plan and schedule, which is followed from the start. The important thing is to select a fair suitable to meet the right target group and decide whether the company is prepared to take part on an international level. Participating in foreign countries is a good way to feel real competition, learn from competitors and get to know the foreign market and clients, and expand target groups.

Keep in mind the deadlines set by the organizer:

• forwarding registration or booking information;
• placing orders for virtual stands or display stall service modules and packages;
• paying for services;
• forwarding the fair catalogue and press information to the fair organizer, etc.

Keep in mind the deadlines related to the exhibitor’s work:

• creating and ordering the design of a virtual stand;
• “building” and filling a virtual stand with content;
• preparing and producing downloadable content;
• planning advertisements;
• sending invitations.

• distributing duties and responsibilities between team members;
• making a detailed budget;
• selecting fair staff and training them to work in an online environment;
• planning fair offers;
• resolving design issues of the fair stand;
• planning the ad campaign of the company in the scope of the fair, sending invitations (e-mail, FB, website, Google), cooperation with the fair organizer;
• active participation according to plan and the set goals;
• making the final report of the fair, assessing results;
• follow-up work with the contacts made;
• planning the next fair.

Before the fair, figure out how you want to display yourself at the fair, whether you want to dominate and be noticed or rather introduce yourself in a “business card” way and simply be there. Based on that, choose between packages which mainly differ by design opportunities and options which expand noticeability. Figure out how to look interesting alongside other similar virtual expo stalls and how to attract clients to stop at yours

• creating a concept of a virtual stand design (economy, standard or premium package or a customized stand). The selected package also provides the selection of preparing content (video, photo, computer graphics);
• preparing and ordering the design plan of the stand, taking the characteristics and opportunities of the online environment into account;
• planning interactive opportunities of the fair stand – auctions, raffles, special prizes, questionnaires, registering visitors, cooperation with Facebook and Twitter, etc., and the prizes and keepsakes necessary for those activities;
• deciding on using webinars and preparing materials;
• the selection of exhibited products and preparing materials (video and photos, special offers and terms of sale at the fair);
• preparing the complete programme of events taking place in the virtual stand during the fair and design for the stand: preparing news, distributing the order of presenting special products over various fair days, connecting offline activities to meet possible VIP guests, video and photo presentations etc.;
• forwarding information on fair offers to the fair organizer who presents information and offers in the general ad campaign of the fair;
• ensuring preparation for promotional work or product demonstrations in offices or sales sites outside of virtual environments;
• deciding on organizing online and offline workshops together with using the opportunities of online channels;
• designing ad materials, flyers and discount coupons in PDF format in regards to taking part in the fair;
• ordering ad materials, samples, gifts etc. intended to be sent by mail

• completing the fair stand in the fair environment at least 2 weeks before the start of the fair;
• conducting the programme and events planned for the virtual stand during the fair;
• placing virtual exhibits and products in sections, changing and replacing them every day (it is recommended to change special offers and displays in a stand 1-2 times a day). Activity ensures constant promotion on the newsfeed of the fair environment and good presentation of products in the “Bazaar” section;

• constantly inviting visitors to the fair through online channels in cooperation with the fair organizer and the exhibitor;
•  constantly using various additional opportunities of the fair environment, such as lotteries, auctions, questionnaires, special prizes, integration with FB and other social environments. Activities enable the passive collection of contacts of visitors who are interested in continued interaction;

• designing stands in different halls (different packages come with different opportunities to set up virtual stands);
• constant monitoring of activities at your stand, e.g. which products and messages are visitors interested in and which ones not. Making fast changes and decisions based on information received, e.g. coming up with daily offers and short-time actions and presenting them through the opportunities of the fair environment;
• also monitoring the design, attendance and offers at the virtual stalls of the competitors and analysing their activities (if possible, do that with your entire team). Apply and adapt the more interesting ideas for your stalls;
• analyse the fair based on general data, which per cent of the activity is taking place in your stall, and find methods to increase attendance and activities;
• receiving visitors in the virtual stall, interaction, making contacts, information exchange;
• constant preparedness to interact with various potential clients. Preparedness to interact with those who are simply browsing as well as with clients who want presentations by specialists, meaning the preparedness of competent people to take the interaction over and conduct meetings if necessary (online and offline);

• preparedness to interact in different languages if the fair is taking place in different countries and language environments at the same time;
• upon the end of the fair, ending work at the stand and selecting follow-up activities to work with the archive. All OnlineExpo fairs remain active after the event by up to a year, i.e. until the next fair;
• the organizers of the fair send initial summaries and analysis of the fair to all exhibitors within five days after the end of the fair;
• inform the organizers of the fair of your experiences and suggestions on an ongoing basis. The fair environment is constantly improving with constructive feedback.

• Booking fee and participation fee after selecting the specific package or solution (discounts are possible, e.g. for early bookers);
• rent of virtual stand area where the price difference depends on the package selected, which in turn differ by means of attracting the clients’ attention and setting up the stand and overall participation in the ad campaign of the fair centre;
• cost of stand construction service – you can use the modular self-service constructor provided by the organizer of the fair or a special solution and design created by a designer as an extra service;
• expenses related to technical extra services and inventory necessary for offline activities which depend on extra activities outside the virtual fair centre – often at your own office or sales premises. Therefore, expenses are minimal but should nevertheless be remembered;
• visual design: professional texts, computer graphics, images, posters, videos etc.;
• performers and trainers planned for webinars, making video clips;
• staff expenses for staff recruited for the fair (translators, technical consultants, journalists or copywriters);
• hosting and office expenses if you offer activities to clients outside of the online environment: lunches and dinners, receiving VIP guests, the press, etc., organizing workshops.

One large area of expense should be planned separately, namely expenses made before, during and after the fair on information exchange, public relations and personal advertising. The organizer of the fair does ensure an extensive advertising campaign, but it is always smart for an exhibitor to additionally influence their specific target groups. When preparing for a fair, reflect on who is your target group and based on that, consider which materials with what kind of design and format you might need, and where and how to distribute them.

• advertisements and marketing articles in various media: print, web, TV, radio, social media, outdoor advertising, etc. Find the media which suit you and your budget. Also approve your advertising activities with the organizer of the fair in order to use all cooperation opportunities for the best result as effectively as possible;
• PDF and HTML materials: product descriptions, price lists, company overview, invitations or letters, business cards, brochures, electronic forms;
• direct missives: mail, e-mail and use of databases.