Siegwerk is foregoing participation in important industry trade fairs and is repositioning itself in terms of customer loyalty. In future, the company will increasingly rely on virtual tools to interact with customers.
11 August 2020
Siegwerk trade fair stand at drupa 2016. The company has cancelled its participation in drupa 2021. (Image: Siegwerk/Norbert Ittermann)
Siegwerk is repositioning itself in terms of customer loyalty. The company is reducing its trade fair appearances and is instead focussing more on virtual tools for interacting with customers.
The supplier of printing inks for packaging applications and labels has decided to not to take part in drupa or the „components“ supplier fair at interpack. Further trade fair appearances are on the test bench. Participation in certain Asian trade fairs has already been confirmed as relevant. The aim here is to further promote regional market development.
Dr Bettina Horenburg (Image: Siegwerk)
„Our decision to cancel our participation in these two trade fairs was also influenced by the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, its further development and its medium-term consequences. We do not want to oblige our employees to participate in any kind of major event at this time.“. Bettina Horenburg, Head of Corporate Communications at Siegwerk.
The company assumes that the overall perception of major exhibitions will change as a result of the global pandemic. Regional, smaller trade fairs and more virtual exchange would be more of an added value in the future. Siegwerk therefore intends to selectively adapt its overall presence at global industrial trade fairs in the future.
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Establishing virtual tools
Siegwerk is currently exploring different communication formats and technologies to engage with customers, demonstrate products and solutions, share knowledge and provide guidance and support. The aim is to make expertise quickly accessible. At the same time, interaction and collaboration are to be improved and intensified. Time-consuming travelling should also be reduced.
„We want the Further virtualising the customer experience, by adding digital customer engagement tools such as live streaming events, digital conferences, virtual demonstrations, training or webinars,“ explains Ralf Hildenbrand, President Americas and Member of the Executive Board at Siegwerk.
Consequently, the company plans to expand its INKday events into a virtual concept to transfer. This enables worldwide participation. The events provide a platform for promoting discussions on current and future industry topics.
„The continuous introduction of innovative communication technologies always offers new opportunities for internal and external collaboration, enabling us to network and exchange information even faster and more efficiently in an international environment,“ explains Bettina Horenburg.
