Virtual stands help Accelerator workshop software stay in show-business

The team behind the Accelerator fleet and workshop management software solution has been undeterred by recent industry event cancellations, having opted to host its first ever virtual show stands, to allow prospective customers to learn more about its offerings remotely.

As a product that has been in the fleet management sector for over 23 years, Accelerator is a common sight at commercial vehicle trade shows across the country; and this year the time was due to present its system at the Commercial Vehicle Show, as well as the debut ITT Hub event.

After the events were postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Accelerator team used its virtual show stands to present its products to would-be show attendees via a series of events, to coincide with the original show dates.

Graham Helliwell, commercial director at Technopoly which provides the Accelerator software, presented a daily show from the company’s office in Newquay.

From here he demonstrated the benefits of the fleet and workshop management system and held interviews with existing customers, as well as with the CEO of the ITT Hub, Mark Griffin. This provided an opportunity for potential users to learn about the products on offer, as well as all about the company, and the opinions of existing customers who have been using Accelerator for many years.

Daily articles were published highlighting much of the additional functionality available for fleet managers. This included a look at the GoMobile mobile application and some informative pieces on how best to manage DVSA compliance through the Digital Earned Recognition scheme.

The team also ran some light-hearted events, including a ‘pens, polos and pasties’ promotion alongside some pictures of the team in lockdown on the Accelerator social media channels.

The event rounded off with a preview of the team’s upcoming developments.

Ashley Tankard, sales executive for Accelerator, said: “Our stands have been hugely successful this year. We have received a massive amount of positive feedback from the guests and show hosts who were promoting the stands. We hadn’t seen any of the other attendees take this approach, but we decided to take the initiative and it has paid off.”

“Through our virtual stands we were able to offer product training, demonstrate our range of fleet management products and answer any questions the visitors had.

“By being online, we had the flexibility to present in ways which we wouldn’t have been able to on a physical show stand. For example, we could screen-share with multiple visitors and speak to them all at once without the need to crowd around a monitor or shout across a physical stand.”

Ashley added: “I would like to thank everybody who spent time speaking to us and watching our content whilst we have been hosting these events. It’s great to know that we can still help our key workers whilst they are keeping vital services running during the lockdown.”

Accelerator will be presenting at the trade shows again in 2021 and the team is looking forward to hosting more virtual show events in the near future.

The virtual stands, and all of the published content from both shows, is still up and available to view at the Accelerator website – where free demonstrations of the software can also be arranged.