Ultimate Guide to B2B Event Marketing

What is B2B event marketing?

B2B event marketing is a strategy that uses events and conferences to reach and connect with other businesses. These events can be physical gatherings, virtual conferences, or even hybrid models that combine both.

B2B event marketing holds significant importance for a couple of key reasons:

• Relationship Building: B2B decisions often involve multiple stakeholders, and traditional digital marketing can make it challenging to reach all of them. Events provide a physical or virtual space for concentrated interaction, allowing you to build rapport and trust with potential clients and partners. This personal connection is crucial in B2B sales.
• Targeted Reach: B2B events typically attract a specific audience within your industry. This allows you to focus your marketing efforts on qualified leads, unlike broader marketing strategies that might waste resources. Imagine attending a conference specifically for logistics companies if you’re selling warehouse management software.

Here are some additional benefits that highlight the importance of B2B event marketing:

• Lead Generation: Events are prime opportunities to collect leads and grow your sales pipeline. You can gather contact information, answer questions directly, and gauge attendee interest.
• Brand Awareness: By participating in or hosting events, you increase brand visibility and establish yourself as an industry authority. Events allow you to showcase your expertise and solutions to a concentrated audience.
• Education: Events provide a platform to educate potential customers about your offerings and industry trends. This establishes you as a valuable resource and positions your company favorably.
• Market Research: B2B events offer valuable insights into your target audience’s needs and challenges. Observing their behavior and interests during the event allows you to refine your marketing strategies.

There are a variety of B2B event marketing formats, each with its own strengths and purposes. Here are some of the most common types:

• Trade Shows: Large exhibitions where multiple businesses within a specific industry gather to showcase their products and services to potential customers and partners. They are ideal for generating leads and brand awareness.
• Conferences: Events focused on education and professional development within a particular industry. They typically feature keynote speakers, workshops, and panel discussions. Conferences are good for thought leadership and establishing yourself as an industry expert.
• Webinars: Educational online seminars typically conducted virtually. They are a cost-effective way to reach a broad audience and provide valuable insights on industry trends or product demonstrations.
• Roadshows: A series of smaller events held in multiple locations, bringing your message directly to a target audience. This is a good tactic for product launches or geographically dispersed audiences.
• Networking Events: Events designed to facilitate connections and relationship building between professionals. They can be informal gatherings or structured meet-and-greets. Networking events are useful for building partnerships and brand awareness.
• Product Launch Events: Events specifically designed to generate excitement and interest for a new product or service offering. They often include presentations, demos, and networking opportunities.
• VIP Events: Exclusive events for high-value clients or partners. They serve to strengthen relationships and provide a platform for personalized interaction.
• Workshops & Seminars: In-depth educational sessions focused on a specific topic or skill set. They are ideal for lead generation and establishing your company’s expertise.

Overall, B2B event marketing creates a unique space for building relationships, generating qualified leads, and strengthening your brand within your industry.

What is a B2B event marketing strategy?

A B2B event marketing strategy is a roadmap that outlines how you’ll use events to achieve your business objectives.

Here are the key elements that make up a successful B2B event marketing strategy:

• Target Audience: This is the foundation of your strategy. You need to clearly define who you’re trying to reach. This involves understanding their demographics, industry roles, needs, challenges, and preferred content formats.
• Event Goals: What do you want to get out of your B2B event marketing efforts? Do you want to generate leads, increase brand awareness, launch a new product, or establish thought leadership? Clearly defined goals will guide your entire strategy and the tactics you choose.
• Event Format: The type of event you choose should directly connect to your goals and target audience. There are various B2B event formats, like trade shows, conferences, webinars, workshops, and networking events. Each has its strengths for different situations.
• Compelling Content: Regardless of the format, your event needs to offer value to attendees. This means developing engaging content that educates, entertains, or sparks meaningful conversations. This could include keynotes, workshops, interactive sessions, product demonstrations, or industry panels.
• Promotion and Outreach: Spread the word! Utilize various channels to promote your event before, during, and even after it takes place. This could involve social media marketing, email campaigns, influencer outreach, industry publications, or partnerships with relevant organizations.
• Lead Capture and Nurturing: Have a plan to capture leads during the event. This could be through registration forms, contests, or business card scanners. After the event, follow up promptly with attendees to continue nurturing those leads and build relationships.
• Technology Integration: Many event marketing platforms can streamline processes, automate tasks, and enhance the attendee experience. Consider using technology for registration, lead capture, event apps, audience engagement tools, or even integrating virtual elements into your event.
• Networking Opportunities: B2B events are prime opportunities for attendees to connect and build relationships. Facilitate networking by incorporating designated networking time, breakout sessions, or online communities for attendees.
• Metrics and Measurement: Track key metrics throughout the event lifecycle to measure your success. This could include website traffic, social media engagement, registrations, leads generated, attendee feedback, and brand mentions. Analyze this data to understand what worked well and identify areas for improvement in future events.

B2B event marketing strategies can be broken down into three distinct stages: pre-event, during-event, and post-event. Each stage plays a crucial role in maximizing the impact and achieving your desired outcomes.

1. Pre-Event Stage: Planning and Promotion

• Define Goals and Target Audience: This initial step lays the groundwork for your entire strategy. Clearly identify your event goals (brand awareness, lead generation, etc.) and define your target audience’s demographics, needs, and preferred content formats.
• Choose the Event Format: Select the B2B event format (trade show, conference, webinar, etc.) that best aligns with your goals and target audience. Consider factors like budget, reach, and desired level of attendee engagement.
• Develop Compelling Content: Craft engaging content that offers value to your target audience. This could include keynote speakers, workshops, product demonstrations, industry panels, or interactive sessions.
• Event Promotion and Outreach: Spread the word through various channels like social media marketing, email campaigns, influencer outreach, industry publications, or partnerships with relevant organizations.
• Lead Capture Strategy: Develop a plan for capturing leads during the event, such as registration forms, contests, or business card scanners. Integrate technology for registration and lead capture if possible.

2. During-Event Stage: Engagement and Experience

• Logistics and Execution: Ensure smooth event execution by managing logistics like venue setup, registration, audio/visuals, and speaker coordination.
• Content Delivery and Engagement: Focus on delivering high-quality content that is engaging and informative for your target audience. Encourage active participation through interactive sessions, Q&A opportunities, or networking activities.
• Lead Capture and Nurturing: Implement your lead capture strategy and have a dedicated team to follow up with leads promptly after interactions during the event.

3. Post-Event Stage: Follow-up and Measurement

• Lead Nurturing: Continue nurturing leads captured during the event through personalized email campaigns, additional content offerings, or invitations to future events.
• Metrics and Analysis: Track key metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, leads generated, attendee feedback, and brand mentions. Analyze this data to understand the effectiveness of your strategy and identify areas for improvement in future events.
• Post-Event Content Marketing: Repurpose valuable event content (presentations, recordings, blog posts) for continued engagement and brand awareness. Share highlights on social media or create additional content based on attendee feedback.

By effectively managing these three stages, you can ensure your B2B event marketing strategy delivers a successful and impactful event that achieves your business goals.

What are B2B event marketing examples?

Here are two real-world examples of successful B2B event marketing campaigns and the reasons behind their effectiveness:

1. Dreamforce by Salesforce:

• Event: Dreamforce is an annual conference hosted by Salesforce, a cloud-based software company. It’s known for being a massive, multi-day event attracting tens of thousands of attendees from various industries.
• Why it’s Effective: Dreamforce goes beyond just product promotion. It focuses on creating an immersive and engaging experience for its target audience. The event features renowned keynote speakers, interactive workshops, product demonstrations, and a strong focus on the customer experience. They leverage social media extensively, using a dedicated event hashtag and encouraging attendees to share their experiences online. This approach fosters brand awareness, thought leadership, and community building within the CRM software industry.

2. SAP Sapphire Now & ASUG Annual Conference:

• Event: This combined conference is a major annual event co-hosted by SAP, a software giant, and the Americas’ SAP User Group (ASUG). It brings together SAP users, partners, and industry experts.
• Why it’s Effective: This event leverages the power of partnership and user communities. By co-hosting with a user group, SAP taps into a pre-existing, engaged audience. The conference focuses on education and knowledge-sharing, offering sessions on emerging technologies like AI and blockchain that are relevant to SAP users. This approach fosters customer loyalty, educates users on new product features, and positions SAP as a thought leader in the enterprise software space.

These examples showcase how B2B event marketing can be successful by:

• Focusing on audience needs: Dreamforce and SAP’s conference offer valuable content and experiences that cater to their target audience’s interests and challenges.
• Building relationships: Both events create opportunities for attendees to connect, network, and build relationships with industry peers and solution providers.
• Leveraging technology: Dreamforce utilizes social media effectively to create buzz and encourage engagement. SAP utilizes a co-hosted event model to expand reach and build stronger user relationships.
• Demonstrating expertise: Both events showcase the expertise of the host companies by featuring industry leaders and offering insightful sessions on relevant topics.

By following these principles, B2B event marketing can be a powerful tool for driving brand awareness, lead generation, and relationship building within your target market.

8 best B2B event marketing companies

Here’s a table outlining some B2B event marketing companies:

Company Name	B2B Industry Expertise	Services	Price Range	Popularity	Website Link
The Marketing Arm	Tech, Manufacturing, Professional Services	Event strategy & creative, experiential marketing, event production	Varies (custom quotes)	Medium	https://wearetma.agency/
GES Exposition Services	All B2B Industries	Trade shows, exhibits, event production, experiential marketing	High	High	https://www.ges.com/
Maritz	General B2B	Event production, brand experiences, live marketing	Varies (custom quotes)	High	https://www.maritzglobalevents.com/
Accelevents	General B2B	Virtual & hybrid event platform, webinars, live streaming	Varies by plan	Medium	https://www.accelevents.com/
MPI (Meeting Professionals International)	All B2B Industries	Event strategy, logistics, production, technology	High	High	https://www.mpi.org/
Freeman	Manufacturing, Automotive, Construction	Trade shows, exhibits, experiential marketing, event management	High	High	https://www.freeman.com/
EMERGE	Marketing & Advertising, Technology, Healthcare	Event strategy, creative development, attendee engagement, lead generation	Mid-Range	Medium	https://www.emergemarketingandmedia.com/clients
Intrepid	Technology, Healthcare, Financial Services	Virtual & hybrid events, webinars, live streaming, content marketing	Mid-Range	Medium	https://www.intrepidfp.com/about-us