It’s been said that the most effective salespeople are those who have a keen interpersonal awareness. For this objective, B2B event marketing has been shown to be as effective as gold.
Not only that, but it’s also a tried-and-true, adaptable tactic for shortening sales cycles and accelerating pipeline generation. Here are some numbers to support it.
The Changing Environment of Exhibitions and exponents.com state the following:
- Events typically account for 31.6% of a company’s marketing spending.
- At least one new supplier was discovered by 77% of corporate decision-makers at the most recent trade exhibitions they attended.
- 92% of people who attend trade exhibitions want to find new items.
- Compared to other channels, this B2B event marketing strategy provided unique value to 95% of respondents.
Given these figures, it is safe to infer that businesses view these events as having a lot of potential and opportunity.
What is B2B Event Marketing?
B2B event marketing has long been viewed as a way for brands to interact with consumers in person in order to increase brand awareness, create leads, deepen customer relationships, accelerate sales, and achieve other business objectives.
B2B events aim to shorten sales cycles and increase pipeline creation for a quicker, more significant, and more long-lasting ROI. According to Statista, 79% of US marketers use this tactic to make revenue.
B2B events have changed from being a primarily offline marketing technique to an online one as a result of recent technological advancements and pandemic constraints, but they still connect with other firms on a more personal level than other internet strategies.
B2B event marketing, whether offline or online, enables brands to share expertise and establish themselves as authorities in their sectors by addressing problems with the services and products they offer.
Simply put, B2B events are growth hacking tactics to cultivate relationships with the ultimate purpose of generating business income, whether they take place in person or virtually.
How Effective Is Event Marketing?
According to Endless Events, a startling 87% of C-suite executives believe that live events will encourage them to increase their future investments in this marketing technique. Briefly said, B2B events improve:
- Brand Awareness
- Lead Generation
- Connection Stimulation
- Collection of Client Feedback
- Recognition Of Rival Brands
Brand Awareness
According to Sageworld.com, 88% of companies participate in marketing events to raise brand awareness. Even while social media marketing is still proving to be a vital tool, it can be difficult for one brand to stand out in this crowded environment.
Therefore, marketing events are viewed as means of standing out from the competition and leaving a lasting impact on businesses that are important. It makes it possible to have one-on-one conversations with prospects to learn about their problems, identify their pain points, and position your brand more effectively when pitching your goods or services as a solution.
B2B events also assist in managing brand reputations so you can govern how the audience views them.
It works well for services that target specific markets, like Amazon listing optimization tools. Since few people may be aware of it, an event showcasing it will benefit from brand recognition, especially for individuals working in the FBA sector.
Lead Generation
Events marketing assists in identifying and nurturing qualified leads or prospective customers with the highest odds of converting (also known as hot leads).
The target market will be attracted by digital channels, paid or organic, but the majority of these folks are not warm enough to convert. In other words, even if both tactics have their advantages, event marketing is much more successful at generating hot leads.
Why?
Business decision-makers typically attend these events. These leads are frequently challenging to connect with through digital methods.
B2B events create a distinctive environment by gathering brand executives or corporate decision-makers in a single location, making them a gold mine for brand exposure, relationship building, and revenue-generating.
These are supported by additional data from Sageworld.com, which states:
- 51% of attendees make a visitation request from a sales representative.
- 70% of event attendees want to improve connections with other companies.
- 72% of attendees hope to meet new clients.
Stimulating Connections
One thing that marketing events enable companies to do is speak with prospective customers about their problems and issues and give answers, which may or may not involve promoting your brand directly.
Even just sharing your knowledge with others might increase your stature as an industry thought leader. This is especially useful because learning new things is one of the key reasons companies go to B2B event marketing conferences. If you can provide them with more information, they’ll probably turn to your brand for advice and see your services and products as potential solutions.
Additionally, it gives potential customers who are beginning to show interest in your brand the chance to learn more about it through direct interaction with you. You can promote your brand and explain how it can benefit the company, how it can expedite procedures, or how it can resolve issues.
Inbound marketing services for SaaS marketing brands can tremendously benefit from this.
Additionally, you’ll be able to respond to inquiries right away that could otherwise take some time to respond to on digital platforms like social media.
B2B marketing events, in general, provide you with the chance to speak with brand executives in real time, allowing you to share information, advertise your company, and rapidly address their questions so they can decide more quickly whether or not your brand offers the benefits they require.
Getting Client Feedback
B2B marketing events give you a chance to gather real-time feedback on what potential customers value about your goods or services and how it has benefited them or will in the future.
It also enables them to see flaws, disadvantages, and improvements they want to make in real-time.
This allows you to review your offer and alter your strategy because you receive up-to-date feedback from qualified leads about how you can improve your services.
Recognizing Rival Brands
B2B events provide you with the chance to mingle with fiercely competing brands in your sector, where you can examine their lead generation, management, and engagement strategies.
Additionally, you get to examine and learn from their sales pitches. Effective business practices and other activities that they engage in that your company hasn’t yet adopted, and get ready for the upcoming events you’ll attend.
Simply put, you can get suggestions on how to raise your brand to its level. You may watch, take in, and develop from it.
People always think about what’s in it for them when attending events, such as the advantages they can gain from it. One of the key components for a successful event is developing an event plan that adds value and positions your business as a thought leader in the industry.
The best strategy to develop relationships and increase client retention is to always strive for one-on-one interactions.
The success of your efforts will ultimately depend on whether you can improve brand recognition, foster relationships, and generate a significant return on investment through B2B marketing events.
