Study: Marketers View Events, Conferences as Place to Attract New Customers

B-to-B marketers believe events and conferences are the best places to acheive their No. 1 goal: Attracting new customers, according to a new study by Questex Media Group. The survey, which was sent to Questex customers, shows marketers view events and conferences, as the most important of all media channels, followed by print advertising and e-mail marketing.

In the study titled, "Changes in Business-to-Business Marketing: Objectives, Strategies & Investment," 70 percent of the respondents (print advertisers and trade show exhibitors) said lead generation/finding new customers are their most important marketing objective.

The study comes as magazine publishers are increasingly investing time and money into expanding their online and event presence and confirms the idea that b-to-b media companies need to take a tri-fold approach to marketing–integrating events, e-media and print in order to keep up with competitors. "The good news is that all of the platforms that business has available are viewed with high regard in the minds of the marketers," says Steve Ennen, director of communications at American Business Media. "What we’re in now is a revolutionary shift in our media delivery platforms, so we have to adjust. Face to face events are powerful, the online world has a lot of potential and print is consistently viewed as better for brand building and lead generation."

The report also revealed that 47 percent of respondents plan on increasing their online advertising investments for the upcoming year, while 44 percent say they will be spending more on e-mail marketing. Thirty percent say they plan to invest more money into print media.

Questex surveyed 767 b-to-b marketing professionals including a mix of trade show exhibitors and magazine advertisers across five vertical markets including the technology, travel, beauty, home entertainment, and industrial and specialty categories. More than 20,000 readers of Questex publications and Web sites as well as event attendees also were surveyed. "This data demonstrates the broad recognition among marketers that digital media and events hold as important a position in their strategy as b-to-b print media and, consequently, an increasing share of the marketing budget is being allocated to these channels," says Questex CEO Kerry Gumas.