Motivation
Werkzeug-Eylert GmbH & Co. KG from Chemnitz is a third-generation tool wholesaler with a product range of more than 40,000 articles. For more than 20 years, Werkzeug-Eylert has been organizing the “Eylmesse”, a one-day in-house fair at the company’s headquarters with more than 80 exhibitors and various seminars and events, for its numerous customers, especially the automotive industry, public institutions, craft businesses and SMEs.
Werkzeug-Eylert plans to extend the in-house fair by a virtual fair – originally in order to include international customers in the annual fair events. In context of the Covid-19 crisis, the virtual fair can also become an important (and only) substitute for the in-house fair. The company is also asking how the use of digital tools and modern media can increase the customer experience at the in-house fair.
Objective
The aim of the pilot project is to examine the possible uses and design of digital tools and media for the Eylmesse and to integrate them into a concept for implementation. The overall goal is to strengthen the brand “Werkzeug-Eylert” and to enrich it emotionally. The guiding questions are:
- How should the virtual Eylmesse be designed in order to best convey the core of the in-house fair to national and international customers?
- What potential for optimization through digitization exists for the in-house fair in order to create new customer experiences?
- How can the in-house and virtual fair (extended by digital components) be linked in the best way possible?
Results
In the pilot project, a concept for the digital Eylmesse (i.e. virtual fair and extended in-house fair) will be developed and the implementation of the virtual Eylmesse will be monitored. The following components are planned:
- Market analysis of implementation examples for digital fairs and realization of an idea development workshop
- Development of an implementation concept including cost estimation and a customer journey analyses as design guidelines (business plan for the digital Eylmesse)
- Gradual refinement of the concept and joint implementation (in the context of work meetings/workshops)
