On Wednesday 5th April, representatives of over 600 north west companies attended the E3 Business Expo in Bolton. Delegates visited throughout the day to meet with exhibitors, to participate in business networking sessions and to listen to a series of seminars and expert panels.
The one-day event took place in the Premier Suite of the Macron Stadium.
“Last year’s Expo created a solid foundation,” said Mubarak Chati, managing director of the event organiser, 1 Events Media. “We’d set out to pack as much as possible into a single day event – the idea being to ensure that visitors could use their time as productively and efficiently as possible. That inaugural event drew over 500 delegates and, importantly, it proved to us that the model worked.
“For 2017, we kept the same basic format and the Expo proved even more popular. We had an excellent turnout and every element of the event did its job. The networking sessions were vibrant and popular, and the six seminars gave their audiences valuable insights into important business issues. These added features helped to keep people coming in all day, and the many guests I spoke to seemed to be finding it really rewarding. Feedback from the stands was likewise very encouraging, with exhibitors remarking on both the quantity and quality of visitors.”
The seminars included presentations on bid writing, content marketing, business networking and the effective use of IT. There were also two Q&A sessions in which expert panels took questions from the audience on the future of digital marketing, and how firms could make best use of social media.
The seminars took place to one side of the main hall, where, on more than 60 stalls, exhibitors demonstrated new products, new technologies and new solutions to the challenges of business. Alongside the exhibitors, organisations including the FSB, the Department for International Trade, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Intellectual Property Office all took stands and provided visitors with support, advice and information.
“I’m incredibly pleased that the E3 Business Expo is growing in stature,” said Mubarak Chati. “We’re now benefiting from word-of-mouth recommendations. As a result, we’re seeing more visitors and there’s been much greater interest from exhibitors. The stands were all sold out well ahead of the deadline this year. In fact, we’re already getting bookings for next year’s Expo, which will take place on 14th March 2018.”
