Making the Most of B2B Events

by Jordan-Ann Powell | Apr 16, 2024

B2B events are a prime opportunity to connect with your target audience on a deeper level. But with so much competition for attention, how do you ensure your company stands out and makes a lasting impression? How do you take that gained awareness to meaningful business relationships? 

Here are a few tips to make the most of your B2B event investment:

Create Pre-Event Buzz

• Targeted Invitations: Build a list of prospects, clients and partners you know will be attending and send a personalized message to schedule a meeting time. Use the event time as a space to deepen existing relationships.
• Collaborate with Partners: Co-host or sponsor an event with a complementary business to expand your reach and tap into a new audience pool. 

Own the Event Floor

• Interactive Booth Design: Opt for an engaging booth experience with live demos, interactive games, or a VR experience showcasing your product/service.
• Compelling Content & Giveaways: Offer valuable content like industry white papers or case studies attendees can download. Include a QR code linking to a sign-up form. This enables you to capture emails while giving away something valuable to prospects.
• Train Your Team: Equip your booth staff with the knowledge and tools to effectively engage attendees. Encourage them to ask open-ended questions, understand pain points, and tailor their conversations.

Build Relationships

• Facilitate Connections: Host networking events or roundtable discussions at your booth to foster connections between attendees and position your brand as a facilitator.
• Follow Up Promptly: Don’t let leads go cold. Arm your team with resources to follow up promptly after the event with connections made. 

Extend the Experience

• Share Event Highlights: Post engaging photos and videos from the event on social media, keeping the conversation going. Use the event-owned hashtag for visibility to other attendees.
• Host a Post-Event Webinar: Offer an exclusive webinar based on a popular event topic to nurture leads further and demonstrate your expertise.

ROI for your event investment can be measured as more than just sales revenue to cost ratio. Across tactics supporting events, track key metrics like website traffic during event dates, social media engagement, downloads of resources, and connections made to see the overall effectiveness. If events are part of your holistic marketing strategy, they are one cog in the wheel for overall success.