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Konstantin Anisimov, marketing manager of FASHION HOUSE Outlet Centre Moscow, notes: promotion more than ever depends on the choice of the target audience, and B2B communication channels will always differ from B2C at least with a set of tools. "For example, exhibitions play an important role in B2B promotion, so they will not be inferior to digital tools for a long time," says the expert. Direct informal communication plays a role in finding a business client, and exhibitions provide an opportunity for it. When searching for a retail client, online tools present more opportunities – advertising opportunities in search engines, social networks and various online platforms are being improved. Therefore, the above statement cannot be considered true. Exhibitions continue to be used by everyone who is looking for business partners. For example, MAPIC continues to be popular in the retail business, where tenants of retail space have the opportunity to get acquainted with the proposals of developers, and developers receive an abundance of interesting offers from service providers. The owners of shopping centers sign new contracts with retailers directly at the exhibition, so this platform is unique – it will not be able to replace online tools for a long time. A huge plus of exhibitions is live communication.

However, in general, the number of advertising contacts at specialized exhibitions is significantly less than in the case of advertising in the media, Konstantin Budagyan notes. "The advantage of exhibitions is the possibility of attracting new wholesale buyers and forming a brand image in a professional environment," says Mr. Budagyan. "Most of the major brands continue to participate in the main exhibitions of the season."

Mikhail Petrov retorts: exhibitions in Russia in general are on the way of becoming, and their apparent rudimentary nature and inability to provide a b2b segment are associated with the lack of professionalism of the organizers. "Instead of direct tasks," for example, inviting buyers, "they make a show out of them for onlookers," Mr. Petrov continues. Due to the overwhelming interest of the hype of new sales technologies, the volume of competition has also grown rapidly following the trend. Now, in order to win an audience of buyers on Instagram, you need to invest no less than in TV advertising, but the availability of the tool and communication creates the illusion of customer demand. In general, the pole position increases. On the one hand, the unwieldy veterans of the market, accustomed to opening a store and passively waiting for a buyer, drown the accumulated, on the other hand, the gap between professionals and non-professionals is growing. The clothing market is actively developing the web space; the buyer is moving step by step towards impulsiveness, speed and convenience of purchase. Already today, a computer can evaluate the customer's satisfaction by the facial expressions at the time of sale, which forces the seller to do more sophisticated marketing of services, and not goods, as before. Now all goods are, in fact, services, and in order to succeed minimally, you need to run for innovations faster and faster.

Denis Kosachenko, Retail Director at VFCIS (Vans, Wrangler, Lee, The North Face, NAPAPIJRI trademarks) agrees: brand representatives at exhibitions are finding suppliers or buyers less and less. "Rather, it is a circle of interests where colleagues, competitors, friends meet," the expert sighs. "Well, exhibitions are needed by completely new companies that can show themselves to the entire market at one time."

To be continued.

Text:Ekaterina Reutskaya

Photo: shutterstock