Are you able to plan, organize, and manage a business event? Did the event go as planned? Congratulations if yes. You now know the basics of B2B event marketing. You may not have a desire for more success, but this article will help you sell your event and leverage your event data.

Event marketing has proven to be a viable solution for B2B companies in recent years. In reality, it is like lightning speed. This guide will help you to grab your opportunities now.

What is B2B event marketing?

B2B or B to B is a common abbreviation for the term “business-to-business,” which is a transaction between businesses, such as a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. This is different from B2C which refers to a relationship between a business and its customers or B2G, which refers to an alliance between government and business. This blog will help you differentiate B2B from B2C.

B2B marketing refers to offline marketing channels that promote products, brands, and services through personal interactions. The ultimate goal is to actualize business values such as customer retention, increased event revenues, business relationships, and brand awareness.

B2C marketing is often focused on new customers and delighting existing customers. B2B marketing focuses solely on relationships between companies or organizations.

There are many forms of event marketing. You can host an event to establish relationships with prospects or customers. Or you could be an exhibitor at an event to present your products and services to attendees. Even digital event marketing is possible, with webinars (web-based seminars or live-streamed workshops).

Why is B2B Event Marketing so important?

B2B conferences are based on knowledge sharing. It is invaluable to be able to share and gain knowledge with peers from other companies within the same industry. B2B events provide a unique opportunity to bring together decision-makers in a single location. It is also difficult to establish many relationships within such a short timeframe through other marketing channels.

Here are some stats that show the importance of event marketing for B2B.

The majority of marketers (31%) believe event marketing to be the most effective channel for marketing ( Endless Event, 2018, 2018)

95% marketers believe that live events offer participants a valuable opportunity for in-person communication within an increasingly digital world ( Endless Event, 2018).

79% of US marketers use event marketing to generate sales. (Statista, 2018)

Even though digital marketing channels have become more popular, event marketing still has its place. You can establish relationships at an event and talk to people about their business problems and how you can help them overcome them. Direct face-to-face conversations can help you skip unnecessary steps.

Common B2B event marketing strategies

Online events

Webinars

A webinar is a web-based seminar that can include a discussion, lecture or presentation. It is accessible via a user’s computer or laptop. Webinar allows participants to share audio, documents, or applications with others.

A webinar host will usually talk about a topic, then present a slideshow and demonstration simultaneously. Participation will be encouraged through interactive features such as direct messaging to ask questions or joining a group forum.

Live Streaming

This virtual event allows for a person’s live broadcast to an audience. Wyzowl, one of the most prominent explainer video companies in the world, surveyed people and found that 79% said a brand’s video convinced them to purchase a piece or app. Many companies and organizations are using live streaming events to increase their brand awareness and sales. 

It is a great way for audiences to interact in real time. Your company expert could discuss a topic, offer training, and educate courses via Facebook Livestream or Google+ Hangouts to help promote your products or services to prospects. You can use it to give people a sense of the company and how you work.

Offline events

Exhibitions

A study by CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research) shows that nearly 41% spends their marketing budget on B2B exhibiting. Exhibiting at events is perhaps the most popular type of B2B event promotion.

Expos give companies the opportunity to show their products and services face-to-face to potential buyers. They can also ask for feedback and gain valuable insight into their reactions. These opportunities allow companies to set up a standout booth, connect with potential buyers and gain valuable insights into their reactions.

Exhibitions can deliver a higher return on investment than other forms of marketing if they are done well. Event exhibitions can also help increase brand awareness as companies can make a positive impression on people who may not have heard of their brand or products before.

Although there are often fees for exhibitors at events, this tactic is affordable and can be used by marketers as a cost-saving alternative to hosting one.

VIP Dinners

VIP dinners are a great way to warm up leads and move them through the sales funnel more quickly.

These dinners are often attended by prospects as well as existing customers. This allows for intimate business conversations and provides a casual environment to enjoy food and drink. If the customer base is available, this can be done during a trade show or conference. To increase event efficiency, you can offer perks such as live entertainment, celebrity speakers, or gifts.

Trade shows

A trade fair is an exhibition where members of a specific industry can display, demonstrate and discuss their latest products and services. Large trade shows are often held in large cities. They can last several days. Local trade shows can be held in local arenas or hotels and allow local businesses to meet their prospects.

Trade shows are designed to bring together members of one industry. They are closed to the general public. Only company representatives and members can attend. The cost of attending or exhibiting at a trade show can be thousands of dollars. This includes booth rental, design and production of professional displays, promotional items, samples and fees.

Many trade shows offer:

• Space for exhibits
• Workshops and presentations
• Interaction with media
• Networking events
• Private exhibitor events

Expositors come to trade shows with the intention of showcasing their products and services, connecting and strengthening relationships with potential customers, dealers and distributors, as well as networking with influencers and media. Trade shows allow attendees to learn about the latest products and services as well as to take advantage of the “show prices” offered by exhibitors.

Roadshows

A roadshow series is a series of events that lasts several days or more. They are held in multiple cities and have the purpose to retain existing customers, draw attention, communicate your brand’s message and reach potential customers in other locations. You bring events to people, rather than having them travel.

It is not difficult to visualize, but think about your favorite brand. After recording their album, they usually pack up and go on a world tour. They travel from one city to another to promote the new song and perform it for their fans. Similar concepts are used in event roadshows. Companies and organizations can use them to get their message and brand out into the territory where they are most comfortable to reach customers and prospects.

A roadshow strategy can be a great way to increase your hosted events and engage your target accounts across your country. However, it takes a lot of planning and human resource. It will be necessary to find a venue, vendors, or staffing requirements for each location. Although it may seem like a lot of work, it can bring in thousands of leads and generate lots of B2B marketing leads.

Conferences

After your company has reached a certain level of growth, you might consider hosting an event on a bigger scale. Although conferences can be costly and time-consuming, bigger events offer greater opportunities. These events provide companies with a great source of leads and increase customer lifetime which in turn generates more sales.

These are some of the characteristics that a conference may have:

• Paid event: Only attendees can access the event after purchasing a ticket

• Huge audience: Many people attend.

• Program schedules with advanced and detailed information

• Sometimes, it takes several days

Conference marketing can be a significant investment in both time and money. However, if planned with care, it will increase the visibility of your event as well as boost registrations and sponsorship sales.

Three key secrets to successful B2B event marketing

Identify your event goals

Keep in mind that others are doing the same thing, so you must make it happen too.

Every good B2B event marketing strategy starts with clarifying goals. It is important to determine if you are:

• Launching a new product

• Your customers should be able to use your product better by being educated

• Building loyal customers

• Customers remember your brand.

• Your industry has a learning gap

You can set many event goals, but ensure they are in line with your brand’s overall goals.

Once you know the “why” behind event hosting, you can set a few goals that you need to achieve.

• Attain X amount of pre-event registrations
• Increase attendance by X% over last year
• Drive X% of the traffic to your event site

When setting your event goals, budget is an important consideration. If your company is planning to host large-scale events, budgets are crucial to success. You can use historical data from last year to determine if there have been any significant changes. Next, identify the must-haves, and calculate all costs.

Promote on multiple channels

Email marketing

Email marketing is a proven way to connect with your network. It allows you to share information and inform them about what’s happening. To promote your event and keep your customers informed about what’s happening, tap into your email list to send promotional emails.

Keep your subject line brief, simple, and engaging. Don’t forget to include any positive feedback you received from an event similar in the past. Make sure to emphasize the “early bird”, call for action (CTA) buttons such as “Register Now!”

Social media

You can use all your social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, LinkedIn, LinkedIn, Pinterest ,…. By leveraging the most popular platforms, you can reach multiple audiences and help customers to share their experiences.

Although social media may seem like an easy task, it is not. To reap the benefits of your efforts, you must have a comprehensive strategy. Here are some tips to optimize each social media channel.

• Facebook: Create event pages, update and share information, engage your followers and target specific groups with paid promotion

• Instagram: Use images and videos to engage with your audience. You can also link directly to your registration site.

• LinkedIn: This is a great platform for industry networking and B2B. It allows you to approach specific companies in the same industry.

• Twitter: Make sure to use hashtags and posts for your event. To make your event viral, you might consider connecting with influential people.

Your company can also promote the event via social media and email marketing.

Promote and leverage your association partners

Two heads are better that one. Event attendees will be more excited and able to benefit from the collaboration of multiple partners and businesses. Here are some tips to help you plan and execute a successful partnered B2B event.

• You need to find the right partners. If you have several companies competing to host your event, don’t let that distract from your task. It doesn’t matter if you partner with sponsors or other businesses to host an event. What matters is that you share the same vision and have the same goals. To find the perfect partner, ask them specific questions to get a better understanding of their motivations for partnering with you, their main goals, and their expectations.

• Define roles for each partner. Once the goals have been aligned it is time to define the roles for each of the partners. It’s best to base this on the strengths of each partner. Let your partner take charge of social media campaigns if they have a lot of followers on social media. Your company may be a strong content marketer, so make sure you do everything possible. Although all tasks can be shared with others, it is easier to assign each person responsibility for specific tasks when each role and task is clearly described.

• All objectives must be measured before the event begins. This will allow your company and partner to clearly see the success of the event and what can be done to improve it.

Conclusions

Remember that face-to–face contact with prospects and customers is still an invaluable marketing tool. This is a great opportunity to have such personal communication through B2B event marketing. Event marketing is resource-intensive. Therefore, it’s important to have a clear event marketing strategy.

Event marketing is a great way to promote your company’s brand. However, many companies fail to realize the benefits and are unable reap the full benefits. This article is intended to help you create a solid strategy that not only overcomes challenges, but also produces events that yield long-term dividends.