First digital trade fair developed
The Bühler Virtual World 2020, the company’s first digital trade fair, has made headlines across the globe and provided Bühler with a unique platform to engage with customers in times of coronavirus. In total, 501 virtual meetings were held between May 12 and June 11.
“One of the many benefits of the Bühler Virtual World is that we decide how long the show will run for – there’s no need to say goodbye to our customers like we would on physical trade fairs,” summarizes Jochen Metzner, Head of Live Communications at Bühler. What sounds like a marketing pitch is actually an essential advantage of the first ever digital trade fair at Bühler. Bühler has created an exclusive platform to showcase innovations to customers and partners, and as such holds a valuable ace up their sleeves in times of travel restrictions and market uncertainties. While the expectation was that the consumer foods industry would respond positively to this initiative, the success of the Bühler Virtual World was overwhelming.
From May 12 until June 11, 2020, a total of 24,000 unique visitors viewed over 122,000 pages in the Virtual World. More importantly, 175 leads have been generated in 501 virtual meetings. While these numbers are impressive, it is the encouraging feedback from customers that underlines how important it was to set up the Bühler Virtual World when it became clear that the pandemic would have serious impacts on the way we do business and walk the talk as an industry leader.
One customer wrote: “Congratulations for setting up such a great and informative event,” and another user stated: “Challenging times breed innovation and creativity! Congratulations to all involved.”
The successful format of the Virtual World has later been used for product launches such as Arrius in November, the first fully integrated grinding system in the milling industry. From a virtual press conference to customer meetings, Bühler’s stakeholders had the opportunity to engage virtually in times of extended travel restrictions in the fall of 2020. The next Bühler Virtual World will take place from March 22-26, 2021, and will include Advanced Materials, Grains & Food, and Consumer Foods. Registering for the Virtual World 2021 and booking one-to-one sessions will be possible by February 17 at virtualworld.buhlergroup.com
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