Value of B2B events

Devi Paulsen

“We produce events for the business-to-business (B2B) trade sector, focusing on the built environment, agriculture, transport and infrastructure sectors in Africa. The main reason we do this is to provide great support for businesses. We provide the platform for businesses to be able to get in front of their customers quickly and in a short space of time,” says Devi Paulsen, CEO, Hypenica.

Key reasons for events

Paulsen provides the five key objectives as to why these events are so important as a marketing channel and what you can gain by attending.

• Lead generation: companies generally attend a show, exhibition or conference because they want to generate new leads and fill their sales pipeline

• Branding: Often companies that want to reinforce their brand identity to their key customers use this as an opportunity
• Thought leadership: This is important, especially in the conference context. Anybody who wants to position himself or herself as the key provider of a service or technology generally wants to be seen as a thought leader. Participation as either a speaker or panellist at a conference affords such as opportunity.
• Networking: Another important aspect of attending a show is the opportunity to network. People that want to network with their peers, customers or even their competitors, find the experience invaluable.

• Product market testing: Businesses can exhibit or be a sponsor to test their product on the market through research. For example, how does the market respond to their new product or concept?

“The greatest achievement is to see business taking place on the exhibition floor. We recently hosted the African Agri Investment Indaba 2016 in Cape Town, which was the first of its kind in Africa. Before we even started, we had brought in $2.6bn of agri projects and potential investors. For me that is what it is all about.

“Preparation is key to the success of any event. Whether you are attending as a delegate or an exhibitor, you need to understand what you want to achieve. That way you’re assured of a successful experience,” concludes Paulsen.