If you were a business entrepreneur, then you’d know the true importance of promoting your business to B2B clients. It is not just about finding the right audience but also persuading them that the services you offer are better than your competitors. Businesses that fail to make an impact usually lack the right marketing strategies. On the other hand, well-designed and planned stratagems ensure long-term revenues and profitability for businesses. That where you have to decide between a B2B trade show and a conference.
Nowadays, with digital marketing leading the marketing era, businesses prefer to find their B2B audience online since 80% of their clients have access to digital platforms and smartphones. However, despite the increasing trend of technology, offline marketing channels such as tradeshows and conferences still continue to be a relevant source for promoting businesses. Both offer massive opportunities for networking and even if you’re a beginner or not intentional about it, you will still have a chance to meet new people, make contacts with the industry giants and get your business word out. You can find many businesses at an online B2B marketplace that participate in international tradeshows.
Read on below both in detail to find out which one is best for promoting your business:
B2B TRADESHOWS
A tradeshow is an exposition where companies from a specific industry demonstrate their latest products and offerings. Tradeshows or B2B exhibitions are specifically organized for businesses to showcase their products to both the customers and audience from the industry and rival companies. When you are at a tradeshow, you will see different companies selling their products; convincing their audience and demonstrating live in front of them.
For companies promoting their business, tradeshows can very useful. With a large number of audience belonging to the same industry, you can easily find B2B clients that can make decisions right in front of you. Furthermore, when you meet a decision-maker, you will have greater chances of convincing him to buy your product instead of doing it on a text or call. This is why face-to-face meetings can have a stronger impact.
Since Tradeshows happen on a larger scale, its audience includes journalists, marketers, bloggers and people from the media industry. They are usually the early adopters who are keen on spreading your business idea and new trends. This is how you can get more exposure and free marketing for your products.
Lastly, tradeshows let you meet the competition. Once you invest in a booth, you will need a strong marketing team to convince hundreds of people who will come have a look at your stall. Through a tradeshow booth, you can not only get the right eyes on your product but also keep a track of your competitors, their new products and the trends they are bringing into the industry.
B2B CONFERENCES
A B2B conference is a more formal setup where experts from the industry gather to discuss the new ideas and problems related to their products. When we say conferences are formal, this is because they involve professionals, speakers and experts from the industry and not the general audience. Through a B2B conference, you can promote your business by speaking about it since most conferences involve long seminars and speaking sessions.
Besides that, conferences spark new ideas and solve challenges that companies belonging to the same industry usually face. If you are a new business and don’t have enough contacts, a conference is the best place to get started. You won’t have to deal with the public or informally explain the services, it will just business networking and to-the-point conversations.
If you are someone who hates networking, conferences can still be your chance. Unlike a trade show, you won’t have to stand on booth facing people all day. You can take breaks, target whom you want to speak to and then do the professional talk.
CONCLUSION
Both B2B conferences and B2B Tradeshows have their own pros and cons. They can both be important channels for business networking despite the strong influence of digital marketing. For companies that are more mature and require exposure, a tradeshow will be the perfect place to network. Meanwhile, for small start-ups that target a specific set of audience, attending a conference can be beneficial for turning leads into customers.
