Organising events is a great way for B2B businesses to stay visible in a crowded marketplace and generate more sales. With that being said, organising an event is rarely as simple as booking a venue and sending out invites. The success of an event depends on building anticipation for it beforehand, engaging with the audience throughout the event’s life cycle and having a post-event plan as well.
This is where event marketing comes into the picture. To make B2B events truly effective, you need a well-planned event marketing strategy that’s strategically executed and aligned with your business goals.
In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about B2B event marketing, from the planning stage to post-event follow-ups. But first, let’s understand why it’s important to invest your resources into marketing and promotions for your B2B event.
Why B2B Events Need Proper Marketing
Event marketing is all about making sure that the news about your upcoming event reaches the right people, at the right time, with the right message. Here are some of the main reasons why investing resources into marketing your B2B event is important:
Reach Your Target Audience
The goal of event marketing isn’t just to get more people to attend your event — it’s also to attract the right people. Promoting your event helps ensure that your intended audience, including the decision-makers and leading industry professionals, gets to know about your upcoming event and is motivated to attend.
Drives Attendance and Engagement
Without effective promotion, even the best-planned events risk low turnout, which may lead to missing your business goals for the event and a low ROI. Effective outreach helps fill the room, whether that’s physical or virtual, with people who are genuinely interested.
Helps Build Anticipation and Set Expectations
B2B events are often tailored to demonstrate expertise, build partnerships, and provide valuable insights to help other businesses grow and make informed decisions. Marketing your B2B event allows you to shape this narrative ahead of the event, giving attendees a clear idea of what they will gain by attending your event.
Supports Lead Generation
Running targeted promotions for your B2B event can help you connect with the right audience and build a qualified lead list from the interactions. This can help support your business goals effectively and achieve a positive ROI from your efforts.
Achieve Long-term Results
Through post-event content, social media, and follow-up emails, event marketing helps you keep in touch with your audience, even after your event is over. By building a lasting connection with your audience, you can not only invite them to your future events, but also build more partnerships in the long run.
Steps to Promote Your B2B Event Effectively
Step 1: Setting Clear Objectives
By having your objectives well-defined, you can give a clear direction and purpose to the rest of your event planning process. This is why, before anything else, you need to decide what you’re actually trying to achieve.
Begin by asking: What’s the event for? Are you aiming to generate leads, reconnect with existing clients, launch a product, or position your brand in a specific market? These are all valid goals, but each one requires a slightly different approach.
Once you’ve defined your purpose, the next step is to make it measurable. Identify tangible outcomes: number of attendees, leads captured, booked meetings, email signups, press mentions, or demo requests.
Also, consider the audience’s intent. For example, if you’re targeting decision-makers close to purchase, the event should focus on one-to-one discussions. If the aim is early engagement, you might focus more on brand experience and thought leadership.
Step 2: Identifying Your Target Audience
A good B2B event starts with a clear picture of who you want to attend. A focused audience allows you to tailor the entire experience, from the invite and the content, to the way you follow up. It also helps with budgeting, because you’re not wasting time and effort marketing to people who were never going to attend in the first place.
Start by narrowing things down by role, industry, and location. Are you hoping to reach procurement managers in the public sector? Or are you focused on marketing leads at medium-sized tech firms? The more specific you can be, the better.
If you already have buyer personas, this is an opportunity to utilise them. If not, talk to your sales team — they are usually the closest to the customer and can help map out what different types of prospects care about.
Step 3: Handling the Marketing Strategy – Pre-Event
Having a pre-event marketing plan can help generate interest in your event, gather insights and build momentum. Here are some suggestions for creating a solid marketing strategy:
Plan Your Timeline
Start by working backwards from the event date. Set a clear timeline for when invitations go out, when to start sharing event details with your audience, and when to send reminders. A steady build-up of anticipation prior to the event would always work better than a sudden announcement.
Create Interesting Content
Use your blog, LinkedIn page or email newsletter to share updates and behind-the-scenes previews. This could include a speaker Q&A, a short video of last year’s event, or even a quick write-up of what attendees can expect to learn.
Use Segmented Email Marketing
Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach people in B2B markets. But avoid sending one blanket message to everyone. Segment your contacts by job title, industry, or buying stage. Tailor the content, and be clear about why they should come to your event. Keep subject lines short, the message focused, and always include a clear call to action.
Get Your Sales Team Involved
Get your sales team involved early in the process. If they are in active conversations with prospects, a personal invite to the event can be a great touchpoint — and may push some of them closer to a decision.
Highlight the Value You Are Offering Through the Event
Throughout your messaging, avoid talking only about your brand. Instead, focus on what attendees will gain from attending your event: useful insights, practical advice, and valuable contacts. That’s what will make people commit their time towards attending it.
Streamline the Sign-Up Process
The easier it is to register, the more likely people are to do it. Avoid long forms and make sure your sign-up page works properly on mobile. If you are using third-party software, test it thoroughly before launch.
Step 4: Handling the Marketing Strategy – During the Event
Marketing doesn’t stop once your B2B event begins. In fact, it’s the best time to share your message, create live content, and encourage real-time engagement.
Here are a few activities to focus on:
Sharing Live Updates on Social Media
Post short clips, photos, and quotes from speakers throughout the event. Use a clear event hashtag and encourage attendees to share their own updates.
Encouraging Interaction
Use polls, Q&A sessions, or event apps to keep attendees involved. This not only helps drive engagement, but can also provide useful data for post-event analysis.
Setting up Branded Touchpoints On-Site
Ensure your branding is visible — from presentation slides to signage and delegate materials. Consistent visuals help reinforce who you are, as a brand, and what you stand for.
Live Streaming or Recording Key Sessions
If possible, stream your event or record select sessions for future use. This gives you content to share later and helps widen your reach beyond the room.
Capture Testimonials and Feedback
Ask attendees and speakers to share their experiences via short comments or reviews during the event. These can be used in your post-event content and to promote future events.
Step 5: Post-Event Follow-Up and Lead Nurturing
The event might be over, but your work is just getting started. What you do in the days and weeks that follow will often decide whether the event delivers real business outcomes.
Have a Quick Follow-Up
Aim to follow up with the leads you’ve gathered during the event, within 48 hours, if possible. People’s attention shifts fast, so this is your window to keep the conversation going. A simple thank-you email is a good start, especially if it includes a short recap, relevant resources, or a link to a recording if it was a virtual session.
Segment Your Attendees
Not every attendee will be at the same point in their buying process. Some might be ready for a proposal. Others may need more time and information. Use your CRM to group people based on behaviour — who visited your stand, who asked questions, who booked a meeting — and tailor your follow-up accordingly.
Share Useful Content
Rather than sending sales-heavy messages straight away, provide something of value. That could be a case study, a whitepaper related to the event topic, or even an invitation to a follow-up webinar. Keep it relevant and helpful.
Hand Over the Leads to Your Sales Team
Make sure marketing and sales are aligned on what happens next. Don’t just dump a list of attendees into someone’s inbox. Include notes, activity history, and any useful context gathered at the event. A warm lead can go cold quickly, if it’s not handled with care.
Ask for Feedback
Ask attendees about their experience at the event. A short survey can highlight what worked, what didn’t, and what you could do better next time. It also shows that you value their time and input, which helps build trust, long-term.
Step 6: Measuring Event Success
Finally, it’s time to evaluate whether your event achieved its goals and how well it contributed to your business objectives. With the help of the insights gained during this step, you can better plan your future events and also align your sales process to get the best possible outcomes.
Track Attendance vs. Registrations
One of the first things to check is how many people showed up compared to how many registered. A high no-show rate could indicate a problem with your invitation process, timing, or expectations. If a lot of people registered but didn’t attend, you may want to rethink your follow-up strategy.
Analyse Engagement Metrics
During the event, measure how actively people participated. If it’s a virtual event, how many people interacted with the content or speakers? For in-person events, how many engaged with the demos or took part in Q&As? High engagement usually means the content and experience resonated well.
Monitor Lead Generation
If lead generation is part of your goal, track the number of leads generated before, during, and after the event. How many were qualified? How many moved to the next stage in your sales pipeline? If you saw a noticeable increase in conversions, that’s a good sign of success.
Look at the Post-Event Metrics
Look at how the event impacted your longer-term business goals. Did it increase website traffic? Did social media mentions spike? Did you gain media coverage or industry recognition? These are all valuable indicators of event success.
Calculate the Return on Investment (ROI)
This step involves comparing the total cost of organising the event with the revenue generated or the value of leads secured. Even if the ROI isn’t immediately apparent, consider intangible benefits like brand awareness and customer relationships.
Final Thoughts
Remember that while B2B events are an investment, they offer invaluable opportunities to showcase expertise, engage with your target audience, and drive business outcomes. By focusing on value, leveraging content, and nurturing leads before, during, and after the event, you can ensure that your B2B event will have a positive impact on your bottom line.
If you’re planning a B2B event and want it to deliver real impact, our team at Purple Patch is here to help. With years of experience in corporate event planning, we understand what it takes to bring your ideas to life and make your event run smoothly from start to finish. Whether you’re organising a conference, product launch, or internal event, we’ll work with you to shape an experience that fits your goals and vision. To plan your upcoming B2B event, get in touch with us today!
