Did You See Us at the B2B Marketing Expo?

On 16^th-17^th November we exhibited at the B2B Marketing Expo at Excel London. Did you come to see us and take in the show?

If you did, you may have got the same impression as us – it was different this time.

It was our first time exhibiting at a large event since the start of the pandemic and as some may have expected, footfall seemed a bit lower than in the past. We estimated that there was more than 50% less attendees than from previous years (pre-Covid).

This is one of Europe’s leading marketing events that gave attendees the chance to meet suppliers, network, listen to talks/seminars, and attend various masterclasses. It was probably a good benchmark then of where the UK is at when it comes to returning to exhibitions.

But what was our experience like despite the lower footfall?

Well, we had a very good show. Of course, our priority as an exhibitor was to start worthwhile conversations with potential new customers and to catch up with existing customers. The attendance levels across the two days would therefore influence our success in some way.

There was less attendees and therefore less people to talk to, however what we found was the conversations we did have were more worthwhile compared to previous exhibitions.

There was less quantity but more quality.

The general consensus amongst our fellow exhibitors was the people who used to attend these type of events for a day out of the office with no real purpose weren’t there. The people who attended were generally worth getting to know.

The conversations we had were valuable ones, although of course it would have been nice to have a few more.

An exhibition is what you make it

We had a good show because we made sure we did. We were keen to make sure we got the most out of the room on each day. According to a few visitors, we were only one of a handful of exhibitors approaching people for conversation. We know it’s important to have good products and a well-designed stand, but proactively managing your stand at exhibitions is equally as important.

When some of the team took a break from the stand to take in the rest of the exhibition we were able to see some of the speakers on show. We listened to some well-delivered talks with notable mentions going to Darryl Prail from Vanillasoft and Hannah Fry, mathematician and broadcaster.

Overall we had a good event and are glad we attended. It certainly felt good to be back considering not long-ago Excel’s primary function was a Nightingale Hospital!

Are you exhibiting again?

As a business, do you feel the time is right to start exhibiting again? Has your lead generation strategy changed over the last 18 months?

If physical events have always played a key role in your lead generation activity but you’re not yet ready to return to the exhibition halls, we have some ideas for you to effectively repurpose that budget: It’s Time to Fill Your Events Lead Generation Gap.