Invitations and social media posts about business conferences probably pop up in your inbox and LinkedIn feed on a regular basis. But you might find yourself wondering “Are business conferences worth it?” You hear about the benefits of traveling to conferences, but you’re still not sure if it’s right for you.
It’s an understandable reaction. But there are a lot of reasons to attend conferences. As long as you choose the right events, attending business conferences can help you grow your company and boost your bottom line.
Why attend conferences and events in the first place?
Time and again, we’ve seen how attending a conference can bring many advantages to your business. These include:
- Expanding your network. Connect with potential partners in complementary services, who could help to expand your SMB offering
- Building trust. When you turn up at SMB conferences, you show your clients that you care about their perspective, which helps them see you as a trusted advisor.
- Enhancing credibility. Speaking on panels and hosting workshops helps to cement your thought leadership and establish you as an authority in the small business world.
- Staying informed. Business conferences and events are the best way to keep up to date with changing trends and SMB pain points, and to check out your competition.
- Generating leads. SMB conferences present excellent opportunities to meet potential clients and attract new customers.
Now that you understand the value conferences bring, we’ve broken down the top conferences for 2025 that any SMB-serving organization should look out for.
Best B2B events in 2025
B2B Marketing Exchange February 24-26, 2025 — Scottsdale, AZ
This event is tailored for B2B marketing and sales professionals seeking to improve their strategies and tactics. The workshops, case study presentations, and networking sessions offer excellent opportunities to improve your marketing performance, while also acquiring tips that you can share with your own clients. What’s more, you can expect to find a number of small business owners who’d be interested in hearing about your offering.
NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) February 25-27, Las Vegas, NV
The NAHB International Builders’ Show is the premier event for professionals in construction, real estate, and home improvement. It showcases the latest building technologies, sustainable solutions, and innovative design trends, making it the place to be for organizations that serve contractors, real estate agents, and small businesses in related verticals.
It’s an excellent opportunity to stay updated on industry trends and best practices, and connect with new and existing customers.
Fintech Meetup March 10-13, 2025 Las Vegas, NV
Fintech Meetup is where the biggest players in finance, technology, and banking come together to discuss the future of financial services. You can expect keynote speeches, panel discussions, and networking sessions focusing on the latest developments in the fintech space.
It’s an ideal opportunity to learn about innovative trends that you could add to your SMB offering, and find fintech startups and entrepreneurs who are looking for support.
Enterprise Connect March 17-20 – Orlando, FL
Enterprise Connect is the premier event for enterprise communications and customer experience technologies, making it the place to be if you’re serving this space, or want to find partners in this vertical. It’s an excellent opportunity to explore next-gen collaboration tools and find ways to expand your SMB offering.
The NAB Show April 5-9, 2025 – Las Vegas, NV
The NAB Show is a must-attend event for professionals in media, content creation, and entertainment technology. It covers everything from live broadcasting and streaming services to cutting-edge content monetization strategies.
You’ll want to attend to discover the latest trends in digital content, marketing, and video production, and to network with potential new customers and partners.
IFA Conference September 5-9, 2025 – Berlin, Germany
The IFA Conference is billed as the world’s largest consumer and electronics trade show, making it a must-attend for organizations that serve manufacturers and retailers. The sessions and panels ensure that you’re up to date with the latest product innovations and trends, helping you understand your SMB clients’ concerns and pain points and refine your own customer offering.
IBC Conference September 12-15, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
The IBC Conference is a global event for media, entertainment, and technology professionals, covering everything from broadcast innovation to AI-driven content creation. You’ll find an extensive hands-on exhibition, thought-provoking panels, and sessions discussing new trends in content distribution.
Attend the IBC conference to learn better ways to connect with your clients, network with potential partners, and build relationships with startups and entrepreneurs that could benefit from your services.
Ignite Conference September 17-19, 2025 – Copenhagen, Denmark
Organized by TM Forum, Ignite is the go-to event for digital transformation in the telecom and enterprise sectors. This year, the conference focuses on agility, efficiency, and innovation as pathways to growth. You’ll learn useful strategies that can bolster your customer relationships, and gain new methods to help your SMB clients to drive their own digital transformations.
Web Summit November 10-13, 2025 – Lisbon, Portugal
Web Summit is focused on exploring where technology is going next. It’s also a highly regarded occasion for generating leads, meeting new collaborators, and collecting solid contacts for future mentors, advisors, or partners.
Put it in your calendar to ensure that you’re part of the cutting edge of tech discussions, and can learn about what’s on the horizon for the wide and varied tech industries.
Best SMB events in 2025
Small Business Expo March-December 2025 — various cities across the US
Acclaimed as the largest small business conference, trade show, and networking event in the US, the Small Business Expo is a series of events held throughout 2025 in various cities across the United States. It brings together education, relationship-building, and marketing opportunities.
SMB owners come to promote their company, learn new ways to grow their business, and connect with vendors, suppliers, and organizations like yours that help them to grow and take advantage of new business opportunities.
Digiday Publishing Summit March 24-26, 2025 — Vail, CO
The Digiday Publishing Summit brings together media and publishing professionals to discuss challenges and opportunities in the digital publishing landscape, covering topics like generative AI in ad buying and cookie-less marketing.
It’s a top event for small and medium publishing, media, and marketing companies, making it an excellent event for you to connect with SMB clients in these verticals, understand their pain points, and build trusting relationships.
Digital Transformation Conference October 1 2025 — New York, NY
The Digital Transformation Conference is essential for small business owners looking to leverage technology for growth. It’s a one-day event that covers a lot of insights, trends, and best practices. You’ll want to come to network with entrepreneurs, startup founders, and SMB owners who are on the hunt for digital tools and support from an organization like yours.
Service World Expo October 27-30 — Las Vegas, NV
Service World Expo is a must-attend event for professionals in the home services industry, including HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contracting. Your SMB clients come here to learn best practices for marketing, operational efficiency, and business growth strategies.
That makes it a smart conference for you to attend to hear about their needs and concerns, attract new customers, and even lead a session to cement your credibility and thought leadership reputation.
How do I find a good conference to attend in 2024?
Although all the business conferences that we’ve mentioned above are worth attending, you might not have the time, money, or energy to participate in them all. If you’re working to narrow down your shortlist of small business conferences, here are some things to consider.
Understand your budget
Cost can be a useful way to make decisions. Perhaps you can only afford to attend a few events a year, or your travel budget doesn’t permit you to fly overseas or across the continent. There are plenty of local conferences that are worth your time, so put them at the top of the list.
Map out conferences based on goals
Clarify what you want to gain from the conferences you attend and define clear KPIs. Do you want to generate leads, find new partners and collaborators, or research changing trends and ideas in your field? This will help you decide which events bring the most impact.
Draw on experience
It can help to look back on the notes you made about last year’s events, to see which ones were the most effective and which didn’t help you advance your goals. Consult with your sales team as well as previous sponsors, to see if a conference that you attended previously is worth going to again.
Learn where your audience will be
Once you know your aims for conference attendance, investigate which events attract the audience you need. Prioritize events with a significant SMB audience, and look for ones that offer opportunities to participate in a panel discussion, deliver a session, or hold a workshop with someone you’d like to collaborate with.
Think outside the box
Don’t be too quick to dismiss conferences as irrelevant. An event that might not seem suitable at first could become valuable once you investigate a little more. For example, perhaps you’ll benefit from connecting with the sponsors rather than the audience, or be able to present a session with a potential partner.
Start early
Business and entrepreneurship conferences begin marketing well in advance. Collect a list of potential events a good 6 months before they are meant to occur, and keep an eye on the LinkedIn or X profiles for the top events so you’ll know when tickets go on sale. Most events have Early Bird discounts, so be sure to take advantage.
Make the most of each conference
Your conference time is limited, so maximize each one you attend. Write a list of the people and organizations you want to meet, and reach out to them in advance to schedule time to talk. Ensure you make time to connect with your existing partners and customers as well as potential new ones, to keep those relationships strong and vibrant.
Contact the coordinators
It’s well worth talking with conference coordinators in advance. Ask about the layout of the conference, because there can be significant distance between the exhibition space and the discussion areas. This way you can plan your time more effectively. Ask for a sample of attendees so you can get an idea of the audience, and find out what timelines and deadlines there are for submitting papers and applying for a session or a booth.
The right business conferences can bring valuable advantages
Small business owners, SMB-serving organizations, and entrepreneurs alike can all benefit from attending business conferences and events. With a mix of education, networking, and brand promotion, conferences bring numerous opportunities for you to find new partners, refine your offering, and grow your business.
We’re so convinced about the value of these conferences that we’ll be attending many of them ourselves. To request a meeting at these events with one of our partner experts, click here.
