Item: Whova
Rating: 10
Author: Kevin Reynolds

Overall Satisfaction with Whova

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My company is comprised of myself and one other employee, my wife, and we recently used Whova to promote our products, both new and established, and to meet virtually with clients and friends as our usual show/meeting was cancelled due to COVID which addressed the current problem of not being able to gather in person.

Pros and Cons

Pros

The app keeps everyone up-to-date with real-time notifications of how participants are viewing presentations, promotions and notices
It enables exhibitors to view participants, including competitors, before going live in order to ensure equal opportunity and better understanding of how best to operate
The meeting forums, such as integrated Zoom, were robust enough technology for those with cutting-edge gear as well as those less tech-savvy who might have older components as they worked for all types of hardware.
The app seemed to capture the "Community" feeling one gets when attending a live show with personal messages, public and private message groups, introductory procedures and an all-inclusive design suitable for any user

Cons

I would have liked to be able to upload documents such as pdf's and Word files from my mobile device or desktop easier.
When uploading photos the default was to my photo gallery on my mobile rather than being able to search deeper into Google Drive or other saved files.
Documents and pictures were public, which is good for more social interaction, but I would have liked to have been able to upload unlimited pics and docs on my personal booth as well instead of 5 pics and 2 docs.

Return on Investment

We were able to present closeout opportunities which worked well as our current climate tends to lean toward saving wherever possible so there was some success in that area in particular
Our organizers priced the participation well as the price of admission was half the cost of our biannual dues which it went toward if one participated
Since we can continue using the app after the show it enables vendors to [do] their diligent follow ups without having to have a separate database of clients and interested parties

Usability

I found it very intuitive and generally user-friendly without bugs

Support Rating

I only had a single issue regarding a photograph that was handled immediately and a colleague somehow ended up with two profiles which was also handled right away. Those two instances are all I have to go by. Other than that it was smooth but I did have ample information regarding who to contact if I experienced an issue

Key Insights

Do you think Whova delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Whova's feature set?

Yes

Did Whova live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Whova go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Whova again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), Google Analytics, Chrome Remote Desktop, Pandora FMS

Likelihood to Recommend

Our industry, orchestral stringed instrument making, presents a particular challenge as one needs a live room with decent acoustics in order to properly evaluate the sound qualities of a given piece. Craftsmanship, appearance and other details are almost impossible to evaluate virtually. Granted this is not something that any virtual format could greatly improve upon so it is no "fault" of Whova in particular just a reality given our circumstances.
It is well-suited for commerce as one can present their merchandise, promotional opportunities and discuss ways to help clients best serve their local customers.

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