Forbes: All The World’s A Stage – Why Conferences Are Still Invaluable To Your Business

By Heikki Väänänen, CEO & Founder | HappyOrNot

In my latest Forbes article I look at some of the reasons conferences are still so important for businesses. Over the past few years criticisms of events have grown, perhaps in part because of the associated costs, and also because the world is now so connected, and while it’s easy to take events for granted and to view them as being a common but antiquated business convention, by overlooking them you are missing out on a whole array of benefits.

In January this year my co-founder Ville Levaniemi spoke on a panel at NRF 2020: Retail’s Big Show & Expo in New York, and we sent a team to man a booth, as we did at EuroShop 2020 in Dusseldorf in February. Both of these conferences were truly invaluable to us as they allowed us to network and meet with prospective customers, and get across our value proposition and vision within very targeted environments. They were both hard work and took months of planning, but they are worth their weight in gold.

Over the years we have made countless connections at conferences around the globe that have helped our business to flourish, and we consider them to be vital to the ongoing success of HappyOrNot.

Beyond networking, conferences also enable you to boost your confidence and improve your communication skills, keep an eye on the latest developments in your industry, and of course see what your competitors are doing!

Conduct your own research so that you have an idea of the relevant upcoming events, and consider which ones you want to invest money, time and energy into, and then get out there.

For more insights into running a global business, from the best ways to raise capital to why introverts make for such effective leaders, give my Forbes profile a follow!