Guest Post: Why is a Face to Face business exhibition still relevant in a technologically advanced society?

In the 21st century, almost all organisations have a strong online presence and a lot of networking and relationship building is done in the comfort of the office. Often businesses never meet their clients face to face. Cutting back on such activity may have a detrimental effect and spending money on attending an event in your area can have long term benefits. With organisations shifting back to relationship marketing and building long term relationships with clients, a business2business exhibition is the catalyst for building and maintaining such connections.

How to choose the right exhibition for you

In today’s economic climate, organisations must be sure to attend exhibitions that will achieve company objectives and create a platform for new business opportunities to justify spending their marketing budget.

To ensure money is well invested, an organisation should research the show to understand if the objectives match that of their own. Being smart and researching extensively you can make an informed decision if the show is right for you. Some key things to ask yourself are:/p>

• Will this reach the right target audience?
• How can I maximise the organisations presence at the exhibition? 
• What do I want to achieve from attending? 

Target audience

For the event to be worthwhile, the target audience must be there for you to promote your business. Finding out information on the expected types of visitors before attending is key. It is not only the quantity of visitors but the quality, are the people attending the show going to be able to create some real business opportunities for you? Are the exhibitors targeting the audience you need to see at the event

Maximising Presence

One of the key objectives of attending a business2business exhibition is to maximise your presence in the local business community. If you are investing money to attend then why not really optimise the opportunity and take on promoting the event through your own organisation’s contacts, target audience and marketing activity? Working together with the organisers to maximise visitor numbers. This can be achieved through partnering and sponsoring events or even just getting in contact with the marketing department and working with them on any promotional strategies. Be proactive!

Achieving your Objectives

To really see some success from attending a business2business exhibition you need to set out some key objectives and prepare! Get out there and get talking and create a rapport with other business men and women. Make your exhibit stand out and really show off your attributes, innovative ideas and interactive features are really engaging and attractive to visitors.

After the event has finished, it does not stop there. Relationship building is a long term investment so make sure you get the contacts of people to really stay connected and follow up with conversations you have had on the day!

Business South 2012 is drawing in on 22nd and 23rd of February the Rose Bowl, Southampton. Register to visit at www.business2businessshows.com/business-south

This was a Guest Post by Melanie Shoesmith of Jobserve Events, organizers of the Business South event.