The B2B and PR courtship: Things they don't teach in school

This is a late blog post as I was waiting for my internship company to vet the blog I wrote for the company to be uploaded before I can post it up. It is essentially a similar blog post but on 2 different angles. The one which I am posting here now is my own angle in which I felt I learnt through my internship about doing public relations in a B2B event. You may also wish to look at the other angle which I have written for my internship company here.

PR in B2B event

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege and opportunity to attend ‘The Internet Show Asia’, a business-to-business (B2B) event for businesses in the technological industry, specifically the internet and mobile sector. The Internet Show Asia is Asia's largest and most holistic digital marketing business event. Over the span of two days, the event featured various conference tracks, seminars and advice from tech and business gurus. It was an enriching and insightful experience that has given me new found knowledge which has bolstered my understanding of how public relations work in the B2B community.

How B2B event functions

A business-to-business (B2B) event is a platform for businesses in the same industry/ sector to showcase their capabilities or offerings (products and services) and to reinforce their positioning to the event’s audience. More importantly, it is an excellent time to gain exposure and generate possible leads. However the costs to participate in such events are high.

By and large a B2B event is industry sector centric, in this case the internet and mobile sector. Therefore there was a strong pull of attraction for people who has interest in this particular sector, such as industry analysts, existing customers, prospective customers and trade media. This group of people usually attend such events to find out more about what is currently available in the market and especially for customers, who can provide a better return on investment.

On the other hand, most businesses participate in the event to be more efficient in achieving their goals too. A good example of this would be to schedule all the meetings at the event itself since all the industry players would also be present at the event. Not only those this help cost savings by having to fly around lesser, it also makes it easier to do business since the participants of the event are industry players, customers and other stakeholders.

Furthermore, the organiser would be or is expected to be helping to do publicity for participating businesses as well as getting as many as possible industry players to attend the event. This helps to create possible new business leads with interested customers who are participating in the event looking for such partnerships.

Purpose of Public Relations (PR)

So where do public relations come into play in such an event, it barely even seemed like public relations should have a slice of the pie. However that was where I was wrong. Public relations are a very important element in a setting such as a B2B event.

PR agencies attend such B2B events not only for information gathering but also to source for new business opportunities. After all, there has never been a greater opportunity to engage with influencers on the ground in the world today. It is very much a two-way street in a B2B event such as this. There is demand for PR agencies as there is a need to rise above the clutter. Moreover, PR agencies are also considered as a stakeholder especially when the focus or the expertise of the agency lies in that specific industry; technology.

Speaking to people and introductions are fairly easy. The event access pass already has your name and the name of the company you are representing; you will also be giving out business cards, the more the better. Additionally, the exhibitors are more than willing to engage you to share more on their companies and offerings. All that is left is really listening and sharing, assessing the company, building relations and getting the agency name and capabilities out. What is crucial here is really to establish your agency as the PR agency to go to as well as how PR can help further their business goals.

The take-away is a lot, to name a few, the new knowledge gained about different companies, what they can do, latest technologies or upcoming advances and of course new business leads. All of this information can aid the agency greatly in the road ahead be it for the agency itself, their retainers or future clients.

Conclusion

In order to succeed or simply do well in B2B PR, it is important to cultivate an interest in the industry and their latest offerings. Where else other than a B2B event can provide the first-hand information required? Hence, attending B2B events can be very effective for PR agencies. This is even more so when the industry is the agency’s specialty. The take away from just a short tour in the event would provide tons of new information that helps to build content and create new ways forward for the agency and its many deliverables. As a PR agency or representative of one, you do not need to be a subject matter expert but it is important that you are knowledgeable and come across as one. After all, eventually you are expected to take on a consultancy role and advise your client on the way forward. No one can do it properly or effectively without latest information in the industry.