Future of B2B Events: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person

The Future of B2B Events

B2B events have been the cornerstone of business strategies that offer impeccable opportunities for lead generation, brand awareness, and networking. Recent years have experienced a huge transformation in the B2B events industry due to rising technological advancements and changing consumer behaviour and expectations. The adoption of this in B2B surged due to the pandemic outbreak, which introduced virtual and hybrid events (which are here to stay forever!). The future of B2B events is going to be a perfect blend of virtual and in-person.

As per a report by Custom Market Insights, the event market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% by 2033. By the year 2023, the market will be touching a valuation of USD 929.29 billion from USD 498.41 billion in 2023. This data also tells how events serve as a powerful way when talking about building connections, achieving business goals, and boosting brand awareness. Based on your target audience, business goals, and resources, there are various types of events to pick from, such as virtual, in-person, and hybrid events. Each of these events has its own unique set of advantages and challenges.

To understand this wide range of events, let’s take a dive into when to pick which event and how it can benefit you.

1. Virtual Events

Virtual events have gained popularity in B2B companies in recent years due to being cost-efficient and providing impeccable accessibility. This event holds no geographical limitations, and the company can expand its audience beyond regional and local boundaries. Virtual event management software such as Zoho and Zoom helps in organizing virtual events smoothly.

Why Pick Virtual Events?

• Has the potential to attract attendees across the globe with no monetary spend on travel and is proven to be eco-friendly due to no material waste during the event.
• Is cost-effective as this event eliminates catering, venue, and travel expenses.
• Virtual event management software offers virtual engagement tools that can be used to engage audiences via chat rooms, polls, and Q&A sessions.

When to Opt For Virtual Events?

Pick virtual events when the goal of your event is to offer information to a widespread audience while also offering convenience of location and cutting down expenses. This event is useful for arranging virtual conferences, webinars, and workspaces where the goal is to educate and create brand awareness.

2. Hybrid Events

Hybrid events include a wide range of events such as trade shows, seminars, conferences, career fairs, & workshops.

These events offer a compiled advantage of both virtual and in-person, as they offer flexibility to cater to global as well as local audiences. Hybrid events are highly reliable as they allow the audience to attend the event physically as well as virtually. The remote attendees can be a part of it with the assistance of hybrid event management software such as Zoho and Zoom.

Why Pick Hybrid Events?

• Combines the audience from both in-person and virtual events, allowing them to interact with each other and with the presenter.
• Hybrid events can offer valuable data about participation, engagement, and feedback.
• Balances cost by expanding the online reach and limiting physical venues.

When Should A Business Choose Hybrid Events?

Hybrid events are a perfect blend of virtual and in-person events and are a perfect fit if your business goal is to boost participation while offering a touch of face-to-face interactions. Businesses choose hybrid events to organize trade shows, conferences, and launch products, where event engagement by remote and local audiences plays a significant role.

3. In-Person Events

In-person events have a deeper impact on building fruitful relationships and offer memorable experiences. However, these also require appropriate planning of logistics and event management. These events involve higher costs, but the tangible engagement and personal interaction this event offers are irreplaceable.

Why Pick In-Person Events?

• Even after the introduction to virtual and hybrid events, in-person events make a higher impact and build stronger and more personal relationships.
• Starting from live demonstrations to network-building opportunities, in-person events provide a more immersive and engaging environment.
• Physical events provide greater creativity in branding for the business through the usage of décor, signage, and impressive event design.

When Should A Business Choose In-Person Events?

If the goal of your business is to build stronger relationships, offer hands-on experience, and provide high-impact networking opportunities, an in-person event is the perfect option. This event fits best for large conferences, in-person networking, product launches, and trade fairs where personal engagement remains the key to success.

Utilize Event Analytics To Overpower Your B2B Events

In the ever-expanding digital world, virtual and hybrid events have become the norm for B2B businesses. Owing to the ongoing trend of conducting events virtually, the adoption of virtual and hybrid events has surged in recent years. B2B event marketers need to stay ahead, and event analytics is the way to go.

How Do Event Analytics and Insights Help a Business Become Effective?

Event analytics and insights offer a data-driven approach to predict the effectiveness of the event and help in making business decisions.

• Event analytics helps in building a sense of connection and engagement for the audience.
• Align event planning and execution by optimizing event logistics and measuring event success.
• Leverage event analytics in analysing attendee’s preferences, behaviours, and satisfaction levels.
• Customize the event experience to individual preferences, which leads to increased engagement and client satisfaction.
• Use real-time insights to make informed decisions for the event, such as addressing logistics challenges, adjusting schedules, and optimizing the delivery of content.
• Utilize AI, ML, and predictive analytics to anticipate attendee behaviour and preferences, enabling proactive event planning and customization.

Event analytics is an advanced tool customized for modern event planning. By leveraging the data from attendees, businesses can expand their events to new heights. To begin your journey towards effective event planning. To nurture the ever-changing preferences and global dynamics of today’s audience, the events industry has witnessed a major transition. Event marketing has a major impact on the strategic planning, execution, organizing, and promotion of a product, brand, or service to connect with its attendees.

Best Practices To Consider When Organizing Your B2B Event

Define Your Business Goals

The first and foremost step is the planning and defining of your business goals. Your goals need to be measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Identify Your Target Audience

Identify your target audience based on various factors such as demographics, buying behaviour, job titles, and industries before finalizing your target audience.

Choose the Right Platform

There are many virtual events platforms available, but picking the perfect fit for your goals remains crucial and liable to the event's success. Choose your ideal event type by analysing your target audience based on your event format, event size, event type, and event goal. These factors will help you determine the ideal event type for your business growth.

Measure Success

Measuring the success of a B2B event is essential to understanding the impact of the event and making smart event planning decisions. To measure the success of your event, you may use post-event surveys, questionnaires, and event KPIs to understand the impact and emotional experience of the attendees.

Impact Of AI On B2B Events

As AI is taking over every sector, event management companies will be most impacted by it. With the help of AI, the event industry will be adopting AR and VR to gain traction in their businesses. VR (virtual reality) and AR (Augmented reality) have the potential to transform the way B2B events take place. These technologies offer intense experience to improve knowledge retention, engagement, and overall event satisfaction. These technologies offer a seamless integration of physical as well as digital elements, which makes augmented reality step into the real world.

On the other hand, VR offers the opportunity to experience complete immersion in the digital world. However, VR replaces the real view with digital content by using inbuilt advanced graphics.

The Future Of B2B Seems To Reflect Even Brighter

By utilizing AI and analytics, event organizers can customize experiences to cater to attendee’s preferences, measure the event impact, and optimize engagement in the event. What boosts B2B events is audience accessibility and inclusivity, which considers the varied needs of the audience to improve their overall experience and develop a more inclusive community.

Looking to create B2B strategies that drive growth and build connections? Contact Marketboats today!