B2B Tech Vendors: Maximise Event Participation For Brand Positioning

As a tech vendors, do you want to maximise your B2B event participation and boost your brand positioning?

With the business events season in full swing, here are five strategies to maximise the return on your investment and, boost your business communication, when participating in industry events

B2B events provide a great opportunity for tech companies to showcase their products and services, support brand positioning, network with current and prospective clients, and make new industry connections, but they’re also costly and time consuming to plan and manage. To maximize your Return on Investment (ROI) on B2B events, here are a few strategies to consider:

1. Set clear goals – before participating in an industry event, set your goals and objectives. Are you looking to generate leads, build brand awareness, launch new products or network with potential clients and partners? By setting clear goals you will be able to measure the success of your participation afterwards. Your objectives will also determine who you’re looking to reach, what messages you want to convey, what collateral you may want to bring and what marketing and communication channels you want to use in the lead up to the event. 

2. Target your audience – every event has its own respective audience and can be segmented by geography, industry, job title or else, so make sure you research an event’s attendees to ensure they align with your objectives. A list of sponsors and partners on the event’s website, attendee lists, and post-event reports are good sources for this information. These  help to identify your target audience and you can use this information to set up meetings with specific people, reach out to organizations you want to talk to and select conference speakers you’re keen to connect with.

3. Craft your messages – Based on your goals and objectives for the event and your target audience, you can create your messages. Carefully consider what you want and need to say; what products and services do you want to highlight; how technical is your audience, and what do attendees need to know and think about your business? Tailor your messages as much as you can, and remember, what works for a travel or hospitality trade show that attracts hotel general managers and marketing teams, is very different from an event that’s more tech focused and has IT leaders in attendance

4. Leverage (social) media – Event marketing starts well before the event does. Make the most of your participation by communicating early. LinkedIn is a great platform for this. Develop a calendar of posts to promote your presence at the event, tag the organizers, use the official event hashtags, and focus on pre-event posts and live coverage during the event as well as post-event updates or news you can share. If you’re a speaker at the event, the organizers often provide social media templates you can use, if so, you use them. You also can also repost updates from the organizers or comment on their posts to show your participation and anticipation for the event. LinkedIn is also a great way to reach out to target attendees, to invite people to set up meetings with you or visit your booth and to attend your speaking session. B2B events often have media partners and industry press in attendance, another great way to get your message across to your target audience. Reach out to relevant journalists that are covering the event, pitch for interviews or offer your contributions to stories they may be working in the lead up to and during the event for PR exposure.

5. Measure your ROI – Once the event is over it’s not over. Measuring the success of your participation is key in understanding what you may do or don’t want to do next time around. Metrics such as the number of leads generated, increases in website traffic, engagement on LinkedIn, mentioned in the press, or sales appointments can all be helpful in determining the ROI based on the goals and objectives you set.

If you have any questions or need help with your B2B communication strategy, feel free to contact In2 Consulting