Event marketing is one of the most effective B2B marketing strategies.
It can deliver high-quality leads, foster valuable relationships, and establish your brand as a trusted expert in your field. From conventions and expos to webinars and product releases, there is certainly no shortage of options when it comes to event marketing.
But how can your business actually make the most of event marketing, to keep ahead in the competitive B2B environment? This guide will explain what B2B event marketing is (plus the pros and cons), and how to make the most of your corporate event strategies.
What is B2B Event Marketing?
B2B event marketing is defined as the practice of being present and active before, during and following an event meant for businesses, not end users. This is not your typical event marketing, but concentrated on building lasting professional relationships, demonstrating expertise and delivering business impact.
Some of the B2B events you can mention include:
- Trade Shows: Multi-sector trade (Trade exhibitions) shows and events where exhibitors exhibit the products to a bunch of buyers.
- SUMMITSG AND SESSIONS: Meetings that are educational and networking for global business and technical professionals in the industry.
- Product Launches: Launch new products, create buzz, get the press involved.
- Webinars and Virtual Events: Live-streamed programs meant to show, teach or inspire remotely.
The end-result of such events is to raise your brand and building a business relationship and turning the prospects in to buyers.
The Importance of Event Marketing for B2B Companies
B2B Event Marketing provides opportunities that no other marketing medium can to drive business results, making its execution worthwhile if not uniquely insulated against the forces shrinking event management itself. Here’s why it stands out:
Connect Personally And Deeply
Long-term relationship-building is important in B2B, when customer acquisition cycles are often longer and more relationship-focused. Unlike many other marketing channels, events grant you an opportunity to meet your customers and prospects face-to-face and build trusting relationships. But a well-run booth at a trade show, or a thoughtful panel discussion, can create powerful touch points that really stick.
Example: A tech vendor offering a workshop at a major conference, they can talk about the pain, map out solutions and build trust with their products or services.
Drive High-Quality Leads
Events are always great at pulling in targeted, relevant audiences. Whether you’re at a trade show or on a virtual webinar, participants are most likely there because they are already interested in what your business can offer. This makes events as the ultimate sources for qualified leads.
Pro Tip: Leverage sign-up forms, QR codes and interactive surveys to capture event-goer information you can use for follow-up campaigns once they’ve returned home.
Demonstrate Expertise and Establish Credibility
But an event done well reflects your brand as a thought leader in its industry.” When you hold a seminar or deliver an inspiring keynote, you show that your business is the one at the front of the room leading the discussion and providing the solutions businesses are looking for.
Illustration: A software producer giving a presentation on AI developments at a conference which presents the company as thought leader within the field and at the same time discreetly markets its own products.
Strengthen Brand Awareness
Events are an opportunity to increase your company’s visibility. An impressive boot design, interesting activities, or co-branding during sponsorships can make your business shine at the show. “When there is buzz in social media around them, this is then often a bonus to being able to reach a wider public.”
Enable an Environment for Product Demos and Tactile Experiences
For B2B companies in particular, those who have physical products or complex solutions, events can be a place to demonstrate their offerings in action. By doing a live demo, they’ll get to see the proof that they can benefit from your products.
Example: At trade shows, a robotics company showing off its machines draws prospective buyers who can witness the usability and efficiency of their products in action.
Generate Valuable Feedback
Meeting face to face with those who are engaging in the event provides an intimate view of customer thoughts, issues and desires. This could be used as insight for next product development and marketing.
B2B Event Marketing Challenges
Event marketing is extremely fulfilling but not without its challenges. If we can comprehend this problems and remove it early, this help us to get achieve success easily.
High Costs
B2B events can also be a lot of money and resources, too. Renting space, designing branded materials, travel and logistics all add up. While virtual events have the potential to reduce physical costs, advanced tech solutions are needed for a seamless experience.
Pro Tip: Use partnerships and/or sponsorships as a way to offset those costs, without sacrificing quality.
Time-Intensive Preparation
The planning for an event typically consumes weeks or months. Finding speakers, venue or platform, and promotion can be a challenge for small teams.
Difficult ROI Measurement
While digital marketing environments can be measured – you can count clicks, impressions, conversions – event marketing sometimes deals more in qualitative markers of success. Figuring out the financial ROI can be tricky too without the discipline of a lead-nurturing approach.
Pro Tip: Establish the target KPIs and goals that you’d like to hit before an event, monitoring everything from attendee engagement to post-event conversions.
Risk of Low Turnout
The impact of an event really depends upon how many of the right people attend. Bad promotion, bad timing, or too much competition can result in a disappointing turnout.
What It Takes To Make Your B2B Event A Success
Define Clear Objectives
Begin with a crystal clear goal. Lead generation, brand awareness and/or product launch Whether you’re looking to generate leads, increase brand awareness or launch a new product, the purpose of your event will inform everything. Define what those KPIs will be—leads generated, meeting requests booked, hits on your website after the event.
Tailor to Your Audience
Be aware of what your audience requirements from the event. For instance, busy executives may want to pack in a high value session rather than a day-long webinar. Likewise, your messaging should speak to their challenges and aspirations.
Promote Effectively
Don’t wait until the day of to whip up anticipation. Leverage an integrated campaign with email solicitation, social media promotion and influencer partnership to build your target audience in advance.
Example:
- Promote your event with teasers.
- Post behind-the-scenes preparation videos to create some buzz.
- Create an event hashtag to monitor or assign mentions.
Leverage Technology
“Select platforms for virtual and hybrid events with credible backgrounds, and the strong features such as breakout rooms, live chat, and session recordings,” Ziemke said. Leverage the likes of CRM integrations to gather prospect contact details for easy follow-up.
Focus on Engagement
Foster Interactivity at the Event. Live Q&A, polls, and gamified experiences are more memorable than dry information-sharing. This give those attending a sense of participation, rather than their simply sitting back and observing.
Follow Up Post-Event
You shouldn’t stop at the event. Attempt to follow up with the attendees via email and let them know you appreciated their attendance. Give some additional perks such as recordings, summaries or special offers to keep that enthusiasm alive.
Stats That Matter:
77 per cent of marketers use post-event surveys to measure satisfaction and engagement, research has found.
Optimize Your B2B Event Marketing Strategy With These 5 Simple Tips
Event marketing is a fantastic way to build your brand, show what your company knows, and generate the more tangible business results you seek to make. The costs and logistics of some challenges (often more than others) are resource-intensive, but the potential payoff dwarfs these inputs if run correctly.
Whether you’re organizing a B2B event for the first time or looking to improve one that you’ve already established, don’t forget that the fundamentals of success are in the preparation, creative activation, and productive follow-up.
