The State Of The Event And Trade Show Industry

According to the Center for Exhibition Research, nearly 9,000+ business-to-business trade shows and exhibitions were held in the United States in 2019-20, adding $101 billion in revenue to the nation’s GDP. Companies exhibit their latest and most innovative products and services in these trade shows. Sellers maintain contact with existing customers while also getting an opportunity to meet new ones. In the state of the event industry, customers increase contextual targeting by meeting with businesspeople, gathering their business details to invest in, and expanding their ROI with B2B matchmaking programs. The conventional trade show experience includes all of this through the evolution of onsite technology with targeted networking.

However, the global spread of COVID-19 brought trade shows and exhibitions to a halt in early 2020, with significant cancellations of big events, including the Mobile World Congress and Google I/O, implying a bleak future for live events and trade shows.

How To Strengthen the Event Industry?

Digitizing trade shows is the ultimate game-changer for the events industry in this pandemic situation. In the future, technology will influence almost every aspect of a trade show, and it has already started. These days, interactive experiences are popular in trade show exhibitions. The importance of every trade show depends on the number of new customers we encounter and the orders made.

Digital trade shows had an impressive start, many attendees appreciated the ease of simply logging into an event website from the comfort of their home to learn about the industry’s latest technologies and strategies for managing unprecedented times. Furthermore, as the B2B trade industry struggles for innovative sustainable practices it was  found that it could achieve many of its trade show objectives in a more environmentally friendly manner by considering the following points:

• More clients, less time: Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to network, discover potential customers and create new B2B leads. They also serve as a specialized marketing tool designed to accelerate contact and increase sales by connecting buyers and other stakeholders from similar industries. AladdinB2B is a leading technology and trade app provider which enhances trade shows and events by arranging pre-targeted networking with highly qualified B2B meetings between participants.

• Strengthens Customer Contact: While presenting products or services, virtual shows enable sellers to appeal to all of the buyer’s thoughts. Appropriately, a hybrid trade show offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for direct communication with virtual online components, essential for building trust and closing a deal in B2B meetings. Buyers are in an optimal state in the hybrid model because they continually benefit from having multiple vendors in one place that they’d like to ask questions or meet physically, inspect the product, interact with stakeholders to enhance their capacity to meet customer needs, and strengthen their competitive position. Hybrid trade shows can also be a great way to fascinate investors and reconnect with current clients to keep a positive picture.

• Substantial return on investment (ROI): Digital trade shows are considered necessary for non-mass media marketing platforms. It increases ROI, and best practices for generating B2B leads to new markets. As a result, they have higher rates of return than direct marketing and advertising, which is most effective when the company size is limited. Consider a single day spent at an exhibition that offers access to more clients from more locations than a regular workday will ever provide.

• Analyze your market rise: Simply being present is a cost-effective way to conduct market research, keep up to date on business developments, and observe the competition up close. Whereas marketing about your company at exhibitions is also essential if you are not ready to make the required investment in hosting an entire trade show. Substantially, attending an event will enable you to make contacts and gather market intelligence which helps to increase exhibitors’ ROI with B2B matchmaking programs. 

Digital Shift is Rapidly Growing in the Trade Show Industry

In a recent survey conducted by the participants of an event, when they would be comfortable attending a trade show, nearly seven out of ten said it would be the first quarter of 2022. Despite their wish to participate in an event, respondents were more optimistic about company finances; just three in ten said they would spend 100 percent of trade-show budgets, even though it was safe to attend in-person events. Others prefer attending events online.

According to event industry stats:

• 66.5% of event professionals plan to use the hybrid model as their go-to format once in-person events resume (EventMB, 2020).

• 65% of trade show visitors and 57% of exhibitors expect that digital event technology will still have the benefit after the pandemic ends.

In other words, while people prefer to attend in-person events, virtual events are proving to be just as effective for B2B lead generation. One can imagine business leaders putting their investment where it is most efficient, where virtual alternatives are equally successful and emerging. The finance applied to travel an entire marketing or sales team to a conference does not add up by using digital options to replace in-person trade shows.

When trade shows continue to develop into a completely immersive digital environment, marketing tactics also improve with time to reach customers. Brands of all sizes recognize the immense value of trade show marketing. Companies continue to engage in trade shows for various reasons, including strengthened partnerships, increased visibility, better conversion rates, and more impactful statements.

While organizing an event, define your priorities, objectives, and marketing materials so that you can keep your participant engaged and report the success of the event and refine the entire presentation of your event. Keep records and provide them with follow-up tools to monetize their attendance at your event. 

At AladdinB2B, we have follow-up tools that manage your business opportunities on one platform to give your visitors a valid reason to come to your event and learn more about the company behind the logo.

You should have no trouble getting started with your first event marketing plan with us, as now you have all the resources to accelerate the digital transformation of trade shows through online and hybrid models. To digitize your next event follow AladdinB2B leading meeting and matchmaking technology and leave a positive impression on those that matter.