On January 24-26, we visited the Intralogistics Poland Expo 2024, held in Warsaw. The event was dedicated to the logistics and transportation industry, providing an excellent opportunity to see planed innovations in 2024. We learned about current developments in the local market. As always, we gained exciting insights into B2B marketing. Below, we provide a brief overview of the event and discuss the results of the overall marketing efforts, taking a closer look at how companies fared in marketing and sales.

This edition of the Intralogistica fairs has attracted companies from IT solutions, logistics, warehouse equipment producers, and automation. An estimated number of visitors could be high as much as 10K within three days. The event may have reached at least half of its estimation, which, looking at the number of exhibitors (almost 80 companies), might still be a good result. Of course, there is always more about the visitors' quality than quantity.

In short, the event was well-prepared, and exhibitors also brought attractive offers of the companies to light. Of course, there was quite a visible marketing deficit that we will tell you more about in this article

A strong belief is given by the fact that companies do not have enough resources to run comprehensive marketing activities. When we look at many trade shows, we see a few people directly running sales and taking marketing as a supportive area. It is true because marketing is supposed to support sales, but by putting much higher resources into marketing, we can also gain much better results in sales. Logistics marketing is specific and should maintained during the trade shows.

As we have seen during many similar trade shows, Intralogistics has shown again that marketing is constantly underestimated in B2B. Many sales professionals and directors still perceive marketing as additional expenses that may have no measurable return. Nevertheless, by visiting logistics fairs in Warsaw in January 2024, we have seen that marketing is still an additional component without enough trust from sales departments and CEOs (who might not even be aware of its powerful capabilities). We observe companies where their marketing effort was limited to covering expenses for the booth, delivering demo equipment at the venue, and paying for folders or flyers. So, most likely, all that was an effort that the event organizer could provide. This trend is apparent both in Poland and at other events held in Europe that we visited, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium transport and logisitcs fairs, or in the UK, and many others countries.

Many may ask how participation in an event can still influence decision-makers after a year from taking part in it. Many approaches in digital marketing can help reproduce and distribute information about participation in the events for a much longer. One of those is creating dedicated landing pages that will align a particular event with well-tailored marketing content and, therefore, can be displayed in SERP for people searching for a particular event online. People who search may see the same event posted by your company at the top of the Google ranks. Of course, there is much more to say about it.

Simply put, you should create an event marketing plan to be more effective during your trade show. It should include pre-promotion activities, activities during the event, and actions after the event. We have outlined several necessary steps here.

• Optimize your booth design: Make sure your booth is visually appealing and effectively communicates your brand. Use eye-catching graphics and signage to attract attention.

• Make contacts in advance: Identify key attendees, partners, or influencers with whom you want to make contact. Contact them before the event to schedule meetings or collaborations.

• An engaging booth setup: Create an inviting space with interactive displays, demonstrations, or product samples. Train your booth staff to be knowledgeable, approachable, and skilled at engaging conversations.

• Engage on social media in real-time: Broadcast live, post photos, and share updates during the event. Encourage attendees to use the event hashtag and mention your company.

• Collect leads: Have a streamlined process for collecting contact information from interested attendees. Consider using technology such as QR codes to capture potential customers easily.

• Run giveaways: Run contests or giveaways to attract attention and encourage participation. Use these opportunities to gather more leads and engage your audience.

• Generate content: Use content generated during the event (photos, videos, testimonials) for future marketing efforts. Create blog posts or press releases about your participation and success at the trade show.

• Ask for feedback: Ask attendees for feedback on your booth, products, or presentation. Use this feedback to improve your trade show participation in the future.

Marketing can create a long-lasting effect on your B2B sales. Some complex methods and strategies can help you. By deploying modern marketing as a constant part of sales, you can influence your market better and increase sales. Today, marketing helps improve sales significantly by utilizing technology. In many cases, finding a B2B marketing company that can complement your team and enhance your business capabilities with the skill set required in your industry. This way, you can save money on permanently hiring skilled marketing employees.