Numbers from the ARM Industry?s First Virtual Trade Show

The accounts receivable management industry’s first virtual exhibit hall — insideARM’s EXPO 3.0 — turned a once daunting task into a Jetsons-like experience for more than a thousand ARM professionals.

EXPO 3.0 is a free-to-the-attendee tradeshow that allows exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to network with fellow peers from their desktop computers.    

The show opened on February 16, 2010 and ran all day, with exhibitors manning their booths with staff. Over 1,000 people attended and spent more than 5,916 hours visiting 10,249 areas and downloading 5,372 information files from 58 booths.

One attendee commented, “I was amazed that you could do something like that online, as if you were actually there.”

But even those that were not able to log on the day of the event still have a chance to participate. The unique electronic platform allows booths to remain open for another three months. Visitors can browse exhibitor offerings and download information even if there is not a representative to directly interact with.

“I am glad to see we will still have access to the site, one day just wasn’t long enough,” an exhibitor noted.

In addition, five educational webinars were conducted throughout the day — “State of the ARM Industry,” “Spotlight on Healthcare Collections,” “M&A in the ARM Industry: Activity and Trends,” “ARM Legislative & Regulatory Update” and “Pardon the Interruption: Credit Card Collections” — are still available at the webinar center.

“Excellent initiative,” another attendee commented on a follow-up survey by insideARM.

Exhibitors averaged 87 visits each on the opening day. One pleased exhibitor commented, “Two words…VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!”

EXPO 3.0 can still be accessed, for free, until May 16, 2010. Returning visitors can simply log in at http://www.insidearm.com/expo/ to access the exhibitions and webinars; new visitors can quickly register at the same link.

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