The Possibilities of Virtual Business

SBT speaks to owner of Monk Marketing and organiser of B2B Expos, Mike Monk about the impact of Covid-19 on the events industry and how businesses can continue to gain from virtual expos during this difficult time

Thanks for chatting to us, Mike. Can you tell us about the B2B Expos you have been running for the past 3 years?

I have been running the B2B Expos – Brighton Business Expo – since the launch in October 2016, so this year would have been our fifth anniversary. The Expo itself has grown year on year and the reason I chose to launch it was because I saw a gap in the market that suggested a good business-to-business exhibition in the Brighton area was really needed. I’m very happy that I did it but of course I’m disappointed this year because with Covid-19 coming along I was unable to put the exhibition on. I’m hopeful that it is going to happen again in June or July next year. Each year it has grown and this year, had it happened, it would have seen over 100 stands and probably over 700 people through the door. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to get back on track!

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on many businesses, but especially the events industry. Can you tell us about how you have pivoted and why you launched the Sussex Virtual Expo?

Covid-19 has had a big impact on my businesses. It was quite alarming how everything went so quiet from the end of March onwards. I could see I wasn’t going to be holding my exhibition this year and I noticed that sales had really dropped off in my promotional merchandise business, Monk Marketing. I decided to pivot and I’m now doing a lot more online in the merchandise side of things. I have actually also launched a virtual expo – the Sussex Virtual Expo.

How did the Sussex Virtual Expo work and what is next for Virtual Expos and B2B Expos?

I ran the Sussex Virtual Expo about five weeks go and it was very well received. It saw good numbers and we had around 15 exhibitors for the very first one online. My hope now is that I can run a virtual expo possibly every quarter, while still running the live event each year. I think this is going to be the way of the future now and we’re going to see both virtual and live events happening in the same period.

How do you see the future of virtual events?

I feel the future of virtual expos and live events is still good, albeit we will of course have to think about how we do things and showcase them on the right platform. I run the Sussex Virtual Expo on the REMO platform, which works extremely well for a virtual exhibition. With regards to having live events, I think there will be restrictions following on from Covid-19, including of course social distancing and many general safety measures put in place. It is likely we will have to limit numbers coming in and have one-way systems around the hall. Having said all of this, I still think we can hold the events and I am optimistic they can be successful – we just have to adjust to the new normal.