5 Tips to Successfully Launch Your Virtual Showroom

Tired of all the unknowns and ready to do something to sell your product? 

We have been listening and empathizing with brands in our industry on how we can overcome this time together, and we know you are ready for an answer on how to sell your products in the midst of a new normal. To provide an easy solution and to make your products available for interaction with your buyers, you can offer a remote trade show experience with a Virtual Showroom. 

What is a Virtual Showroom?

In simple terms, a Virtual Showroom is akin to a dynamic product line launch video. It's a transformative digital experience where your buyers view captivating videos showcasing your latest products and seamlessly access the digital catalog to explore your entire line in detail. With this immersive platform, buyers can engage with your products, visualize them in various settings, and make informed decisions while placing orders—all in one seamless interface.

Virtual showrooms leverage technologies such as 3D modeling, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and interactive features to provide users with an immersive and engaging experience.

The main functions of the virtual exhibition hall include:

Interactive Product Display

Virtual showrooms allow users to browse and interact with products through interactive displays, 3D models and multimedia content. Users can zoom in, rotate and examine products from different angles to get a closer look at details and features.

Virtual Tours

Some virtual showrooms offer virtual tours of the space, allowing users to browse different areas and explore product collections, exhibits or demonstrations at their own pace.

Customization Options

Virtual showrooms can offer customization options, allowing users to personalize products, select colors, materials and configurations, and visualize the customized look in real time.

Product Information and Details

The virtual showroom provides detailed product information, specifications and pricing, as well as links to purchase the product or request more information.

Interactive Presentations and Demos

Brands can showcase their products through interactive demos, videos, demonstrations, and tutorials that highlight key features, benefits, and use cases.

Virtual Try-On Experience

In industries such as fashion and beauty, virtual showrooms can provide a virtual try-on experience where users can use AR technology to see how the product itself will look.

Interactive Tools

Virtual showrooms can integrate interactive tools such as chatbots, live chat, or virtual assistants to provide assistance, answer questions, and guide users through the experience.

Analytics and Insights

Virtual showrooms can track user behavior, interaction and engagement metrics to gain insights into customer preferences, interests and purchase intent.

Virtual showrooms offer several benefits to brands and consumers, including:

• Accessibility: Virtual showrooms can be accessed anytime, anywhere, allowing users to explore products from the comfort of home or on the go.
• Cost Efficiency: Virtual showrooms eliminate the physical space, administrative costs and logistical challenges associated with traditional showrooms.
• Convenience: Virtual showrooms provide users with a convenient and efficient way to browse, shop and interact with products without being restricted by physical location or business hours.
• Increase Engagement: Virtual showrooms provide an immersive, interactive experience that engages users and captures their attention, thereby increasing brand awareness, customer loyalty, and sales opportunities.

Overall, virtual showrooms are a powerful tool for brands to showcase their products, create memorable experiences, and connect with customers in the digital age.

Here are the five steps to launch your Virtual Showroom: 

1. Get your Digital Catalogs up and running

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to get all your products uploaded into your Digital Catalog so you can sell directly to your buyers.

Digital catalogs allow you to showcase your products in a visually appealing and organized manner.

By presenting your products in a well-designed digital format, you can effectively highlight key features, specifications, and variations, enhancing the overall presentation and appeal of your virtual showroom. Also, digital catalogs provide convenience to customers and brands. Customers can easily search, filter and browse products to find what they need quickly and efficiently. For brands, digital catalogs simplify the process of managing and updating product information, pricing and inventory, saving time and resources compared to traditional printed catalogs.

By leveraging digital catalogs as part of your virtual showroom strategy, you can create a compelling and engaging shopping experience that drives customer engagement, satisfaction, and sales.

If you have questions or would like to see how you can set up your Digital Catalog, click here.

2. Plan your digital showings schedule

Just like you would plan a sales meeting, take the time to plan out how you want to present your line of products. By planning your digital showings schedule, you can choose the most suitable times to showcase your products when your target audience is most likely to be online and engaged. This ensures maximum visibility and engagement with your virtual showroom.

Perhaps have a highlight reel of main products, then narrow your focus down to subcategories. We recommend having a plan for the following:

• Digital Video Tradeshow Plan
• Digital Sales Meeting Plan 
• Digital Line Release Video

Planning a digital showing schedule when launching a virtual showroom will allow you to optimize timing, coordinate with events, allocate resources effectively, proactively engage with your audience, engage a global audience, collect feedback, repeat the virtual showroom experience and follow up with attendees. By carefully planning your digital presentation, you can maximize the success and impact of your virtual showroom launch.

3. Set up your recording studio

Whether it’s at your home or a space in your showroom, gear up your recording studio. A recording studio allows you to create high-quality audio and video content for your virtual showroom, ensuring that your presentations, demonstrations, and product showcases are professional and engaging. A recording studio offers the flexibility to customize your virtual showroom presentations to suit your specific needs and preferences. You can experiment with different lighting, camera angles, backgrounds, and audio setups to create a unique and memorable viewing experience for your audience.

As your virtual showroom grows and evolves, having a recording studio in place allows you to scale your content production efforts to meet increasing demand. Whether you're expanding your product offerings, launching new campaigns, or targeting new market segments, a recording studio provides the infrastructure and resources needed to support your growth.

In case you missed it, the Co-Founder of RepSpark and Partner of L*SPACE shared the technology they have implemented to set up their recording studio. If you don’t have the budget to invest in a lot of equipment, no worries. An iPhone, webcam, or GoPro are good alternatives; just make sure your lighting is bright to properly show off the colors.
Here’s the basic checklist you want to have in your studio:
·      Video Camera
·      Good Lighting
·      Microphone to capture clear sound

By investing in a recording studio, you project a professional image to your audience, demonstrating your commitment to delivering top-notch content and experiences in your virtual showroom.

4. Begin recording your video segments

Start recording the video segments of your line so you can hit the ground running when we launch next week. Recording video segments early helps you manage your time effectively and avoid last-minute rushes. By starting the recording process early, you can set realistic deadlines, allocate resources, and prioritize tasks to ensure that your video content is completed on schedule.

Also, early recording allows you to leverage your video content for marketing and promotion efforts leading up to your virtual showroom launch. You can share sneak peeks, teasers, and behind-the-scenes footage to generate excitement and anticipation among your audience.
When you record the video of the clothing, be sure you showcase:

·      How the clothing fits and/or drapes
·      Highlight the features - pockets, buttons, etc
·      Speak to the fabric and material
·      Highlight the inspiration for a collection

During your video segments, think of the customer who would be shopping the product online and what they would need to know. We know this is a new dynamic from being able to touch and feel, so get creative with new ways you can virtually show off your hard work and designs. Once your videos are complete, be sure to upload the content on a password-protected video platform. Our Virtual Showroom integrates with YouTube, Google Drive, and Dropbox.

5. Alert your buyers for the next trend in trade shows

Here’s the hard truth: we may not ever go back to how trade shows have historically been conducted, so it’s time to jump on the digital bandwagon and get your buyers to do the same. Via the Customer Communication Hub or the email tool of your choice, send out a teaser of what they can be looking forward to, and how they can now interact with your products. Do you have samples on hand? Use the lead time to send color swatches or popular items their way so they can have something to hold while enjoying the video of your line debut. 

To learn the details of how you can set up your Virtual Showroom, here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started.