The coronavirus pandemic has meant that we have had to cancel all in-person events. In order to still provide you with the latest news and strengthen the togetherness of our community, we have – together with our partner Solution 360 – launched the first virtual regulars’ table of JTL, which immediately broke all records. Find out more about the format, how the evening went and how we will be organizing JTL regulars’ tables in the future.
Moderators and speakers of the virtual regulars' table
Briefly explained: The idea behind our regulars' tables
The regulars’ tables have been one of JTL’s most popular event formats for years. Whereby “from JTL” is only partially correct in this context, because the meetings are always organized by one of our service partners, who acts as host on the evening and designs the program according to their wishes.
Although we at JTL occasionally take a look at the regulars’ tables or provide you with interesting news and insights into our current projects through presentations, the organizer is and remains the respective service partner. And for good reason: It is important to us that the JTL regulars’ tables are not marketing or sales events, but an open forum for our community. For you as a participant, this means first and foremost an incredible amount of variety, because each regulars’ table is a unique event – which is often also regionally characterized.
Usually, current trends in eCommerce or news about our products are presented in two to three presentations. Afterwards, the focus is on exchanging experiences and networking among online retailers. Because not only should you receive information from the eCommerce industry during the JTL regulars’ tables, we also want to hear your feedback and your wishes – in the spirit of “community-driven development”.
How JTL's first virtual regulars' table works
During a JTL regulars’ table in face-to-face format, you will meet an average of 30-50 merchants from a wide range of industries. In the virtual format, the number of participants is much larger, as is your chance to make many new contacts with colleagues that you might otherwise never have met.
But there are other advantages of the virtual regulars’ table:
No travel necessary You can take part in the virtual regulars’ table no matter where you come from.
No costs Even though JTL’s regulars’ tables are generally free of charge, there are no costs for travel, hotel etc. for the virtual format.
More participants At the face-to-face events, the number of participants is very limited due to the size of the location. Up to 1000 retailers can take part in the virtual regulars’ table.
Good communication The digital format also makes it easier for you to contact us, the host and other participants after the event.
Which tool is used to offer the virtual regulars' table?
For the first event, we opted for the “GoToWebinar” portal, which we also use for our webinars and which impresses with its consistent stability and user-friendly operation. This meant that participants did not have to install any software, but could simply join in via their browser with a headset or by telephone.
The evening was hosted by our long-standing partner Solution 360, which has already held 9 regulars’ tables since 2016. Solution 360 is already planning an expansion for the next virtual event:
At the next digital Stammtisch, we would like to make more intensive use of breakout rooms so that participants can switch agilely between topic-related rooms depending on their interests. And when face-to-face events are possible again, there will certainly be an opportunity to combine them with the digital format in a meaningful way.
JTL's first virtual regulars' table breaks all records!
n the case of the first virtual Stammtisch, both we and the host Solution 360 were surprised by the positive response and the extremely high number of registrations:
Internally, we expected 100 people to attend, for whom we had packed a snack package as a “little extra”. We were absolutely thrilled when all the packages were “sold out” after just one hour. A total of 552 people logged in. This popularity showed us that not only we as hosts were longing for the “Stammtisch” format, but that the JTL community was also looking forward to it.
By the way: The JTL regulars’ tables – whether virtual or face-to-face – are open to anyone who is interested in our products or online business in general. It doesn’t matter whether you are already an experienced eCommerce expert or are just toying with the idea of getting into online business. The colorful mix of participants is what makes this format so enriching!
The program of the first virtual regulars' table
As already mentioned, the focus of a regulars’ table is on exchange and networking. But at the first virtual event, we also wanted to offer you a particularly high-caliber lecture program, so that our Managing Director Thomas Lisson did not miss the opportunity to provide the participants with news from JTL development.
And this is what the program looked like in detail:
Welcome & keynote │ Henryk Lippert – Solution 360
News and perspectives from JTL (presentation and Q&A) │ Thomas Lisson – JTL-Software
Plugin news │ Andreas Petermann – CSS implementation
Mobile Checkout-Optimierung │ Martin Meinert – AmazonPay
What's next for the regulars' tables?
Since the first virtual JTL regulars’ table was so well received by all participants, further dates are to follow in the coming months. But don’t worry: this will in no way replace the face-to-face meetings! As soon as the situation allows, we would like to welcome you to our regular meetings live again. However, it is conceivable that we will combine virtual and face-to-face formats in such a way that participants can also join in via video transmission.
Solution 360 is also already working behind the scenes on further virtual event formats:
At the end of 2020, we decided that we didn’t want to let another year go by without a JTL regulars’ table. The first event was a “surprise bag” for us, which gave us ideas for further formats. In fact, we are already planning another digital event. We are currently working flat out on the new edition of our easyTemplate360 for JTL-Shop 5 and will probably hold another online event in 3 months (early Q3).
How to become the host of a JTL regulars' table
Would you also like to host a JTL regulars’ table? We would be delighted to welcome committed hosts for both the virtual format and the subsequent face-to-face events.
JTL regulars’ tables can only be organized by our official JTL service partners. So if you are a service partner, you are welcome to contact us, the partner management, for further planning. Together we are sure to organize an unforgettable event.
Why is it worth being a host? Solution 360 answers this question based on more than 5 years of experience:
We ourselves have been JTL users from the very beginning and have built up a stable network of experts as an agency over the years. We support each other and benefit from each other’s experience and know-how. The JTL regulars’ table is also ideal for exchanging knowledge with these partners and for further expanding our network. A regulars’ table is fun and is always a great opportunity to meet up with friends and get to know new people.
When will the next JTL regulars' table take place?
You can always find upcoming regulars’ tables in our continuously updated calendar of events:
Would you prefer to be informed directly about new regulars’ table dates? Then subscribe to our event newsletter! This way you won’t miss any future regulars’ tables in your area when face-to-face events are possible again.
