Exhibitors Gearing Up as Curiosity Grows About Online ARM Expo

Exhibitors are gearing up for the accounts receivable management industry’s first virtual trade show, insideARM’s EXPO 3.0, to be held online on Feb. 16. Many are busy setting up their presence at the show and preparing to have workers staff their booths, much like with live conferences.

But EXPO 3.0 will operate a little differently than a traditional exhibition. The virtual conference will feature an online exhibit hall with virtual booths, live webinars and other valuable information for credit grantors, collection agencies, collection law firms and debt buyers.

Some of the virtual booths will include live hosted chats, with others giving out prizes or offering presentations. There will also be a virtual meeting place for attendees and exhibitors, enabling them to have planned discussions and other networking opportunities. Attendees can visit a booth at their convenience. Podcasts will also present critical information in lively formats, including a one-minute-on-20-subjects podcast, “Pardon the Interruption,” a takeoff of a sports program with a similar format.

Since everything is available online, the virtual conference doesn’t have the production or travel expense of a physical conference, which many find to be very appealing. Many of the stakeholders never make it to a physical conference, or, if they do, can spend little time there due to other business considerations.

“Because everything is electronic, we will have a huge savings on providing ‘onsite’ materials,” noted Carey Shandley, director of sales and marketing for ACA International.

“We’re very excited, there’s a lot of momentum,” said Stephanie Eidelman, publisher of insideARM and chief operating officer at Kaulkin Ginsberg. “We’re expecting a big turnout. There are already more than 1,100 people registered and a lot of exhibitor booths are finished. We expect a lot more people will come the day of the event because attendance is free and little planning is required to attend.”

Every stakeholder in the service provider selection process – the IT team, finance group, collections management, key collectors, executive team, etc. -- can attend without cost or time out of the office.

Exhibitors can also have several people staff their booths without the costs that are typical of a physical conference. For example, ACA plans to have representatives from the insurance arm, educational arm and others available for chat at different times.

“We will be interacting with people very actively,” Shandley said. “The interaction opportunities following the live event are fabulous for this. This will help promote the awareness of our association and how we can help meet the needs of the industry. This will help us get important information out to credit and collection professionals.

ACA, insideARM and Kaulkin Ginsberg will also be working together to host legislative and regulatory updates.

Exhibitors, and attendees alike, can attend the virtual booths much more easily because staff can be at any variety of locations. Different managers staff their booths from different locations – impossible to do for a physical conference.

For example, Sean Keegan, national marketing director for collection agency United Recovery Systems, Houston, TX., will be meeting with clients in Phoenix part of the day and staffing the booth another part of the day. Another colleague will staff the booth when Keegan is in the client meetings.

“We’re really a technically oriented company,” Keegan said. “But there are some people who don’t want to move into the next century. I think that this is the future. With the whole virtualization process and the chat feature, we can provide people with the kind of information that they are looking for.”