I’ve had a hand in planning almost 100 events in my career so far. No one event like the other – different sizes, different audiences, different activities, etc. Even the events that are duplicated in different locations come with their own set of unique challenges.
But there are events that I love above all others and those are for business-to-business events, here’s why:
Business-to-business events are highly targeted
You aren’t trying to cast the widest net possible to get the “general public” to your event. (As a rule of thumb… the general public isn’t a good target audience for anyone, to be effective you need to narrow down who you want to reach.) Instead, you have an extremely clear picture of who you want to attend your event. This gives me a really clear picture of what the event should look like, what the vibe should be, what the activities need to be, food, music – everything.
More intimate events = better conversation
Events give companies the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations and connections with real people. This isn’t a cold call that can be screened or an email that can be thrown in the trash – it’s an experience. By having a narrower audience, you’re going to have a room full of warm leads that you can actually have a meaningful conversation with. Better yet, while you’re making the rounds, your attendees will be able to talk shop – they’re all in the same industry and will have a lot to chat about.
No one is wasting money, time, or efforts
Most of the business-to-business events that we focus on are a lot smaller in nature because of the narrower audience. We have the opportunity to really invest in a nicer overall experience for the attendees with food, gifts, and activities that suit the room. No time or money is wasted on attendees that aren’t interested in (or even in the market for) your product or service.
You can set clear measurable goals
If you’re measuring the success of your event by the number of attendees, we need to change your way of thinking. I like to set goals for events around what we want attendees to do rather than how many show up, ex: take a tour, watch a presentation, sign up for a program, etc. We do these for all events, but I’ve found that B2B events drive and track these goals easier than others.
Here is a quick look at a recent event we did for Golden State Hops!
To introduce the new Fresno-based hop farm to the local beer scene, we planned an event for all the local brewery owners, workers, and homebrew aficionados throughout the Central Valley. The event included tours of the hop farm, beer from all the local breweries, sandwiches from the popular food truck Meltdown Bistro, and gift bags packed with swag and promotional materials including pint glasses, stickers, coasters, and grapes from Golden State Hops parent company, Fowler Packing.
Anna Gonzalez, PR & Content Director
