The Top 21 B2B Marketing Conferences to Attend in 2020

The Top 21 B2B Marketing Conferences to Attend in 2020

10/09/2019 • Marketing • 15 MINUTES READ

Reading helpful blogs and participating in industry communities are two great ways to hone your B2B marketing skills. But if you really want to take your professional development to another level, consider attending a marketing conference in person.

Yes, I know it’s pricey. Tickets for these kinds of events generally aren’t cheap, and adding travel expenses on top can feel cost-prohibitive. 

But there are two things that make the investment worthwhile. First, there’s the hands-on learning. Hearing an inspiring speaker share cutting-edge tactics and techniques can be 10x more impactful than reading similar material on your own. Keynote speakers and panelists are one of the most important aspects of a successful virtual event. Know how to acquire the best talent for your virtual event.


There’s also the networking component to consider. I’ve made a huge number of connections attending conferences as both a participant and speaker. It should tell you something that despite how full my calendar is with multiple companies and a young child at home, I still make time to attend conferences throughout the year.

Not sure where to start? The following are a few of my favorite events for B2B marketers in particular:

1. SaaStock 

SaaStock 2019 is coming up fast. If you’re able to plan a quick Irish getaway, you’ll enjoy sessions from speakers like G2’s Co-Founder and CEO, Godard Abel, and Christoph Janz, Partner at Point Nine Capital. Other events in the SaaStock series include:

2. ITSMA Marketing Vision Conference 

The Marketing Vision conference is on its 25th year and focuses specifically on B2B marketing excellence and leadership. If you can’t make the tight turnaround on this one, stay tuned for 2020 dates, as it’s unlikely this established conference is going away anytime soon.

3. MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum 

With keynote speakers like Convince and Convert’s Jay Baer and MarketingProf’s Chief Content Officer Ann Handley, this MarketingProfs event is well worth the trip for B2B marketers.

4. Growth Marketing Conference 

I’m not exactly impartial here – I’m part of the Subscription Growth Track panel happening on Wednesday, December 11th, along with Guy Marion of Brightback and Suneet Bhatt of Crazy Egg. But even if I wasn’t speaking at Growth Marketing Conference, I’d still recommend it. The event’s site calls itself “Silicon Valley’s largest digital and growth marketing conference,” and the pool of speakers and sessions they’ve put together absolutely delivers on this promise.

5. B2B Marketing Exchange 

The B2B Marketing Exchange event is produced by Demand Gen – and even if you don’t know who that is, chances are you’ve come across their industry-leading research in your work as a B2B marketer. Work directly with their team while enjoying a trip to sunny Arizona at this event.

6. SaaStr Annual 

40+ hours of content from 300+ speakers makes a pretty compelling case for attending SaaStr Annual. But the deal is even sweeter for early-stage founders and SaaS owners seeking funding – the event also hosts a “Meet-a-VC” program that could connect you with potential partners or actual funds before you head home.

7. Get Stacked — The B2B Marketing Technology Conference 

Slightly cheesy name aside, Get Stacked is a great event for learning how to take advantage of marketing technology to the fullest. And, at the time I’m writing this, they’re still looking for speakers for the 2020 event. If you’re in the UK and have something worthwhile to share on a martech topic, this is your chance to apply and potentially improve your name recognition in the industry.

8. Modern Business Experience 

Missed Ann Handley at the MarketingProfs event? Catch her here, at Oracle’s Modern Business Experience conference alongside Andrew Sinclair, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Software Enterprise, Motorola Solutions, and Mick Ebeling, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Not Impossible Labs, in sessions designed to appeal to those in marketing, commerce, sales and service roles.

9. Adobe Summit 

Whether or not you’re an Adobe products user, there’s plenty to learn at Summit’s combination of sessions and hands-on labs. The event’s 2020 speaker lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but pay attention to this one. Even if you aren’t able to attend in person, the event offers an online pass to keynotes and sessions at a discounted rate so that you can still take advantage of the content being shared – no matter where in the world you are.

10. MarTech Conference West 

Can you answer “yes” to any of the following questions posed by the MarTech event? Struggling to see results from marketing technology investments? Don’t have the time to deeply evaluate martech? Fighting internal resistance to change? Need more training than your company can provide? If so, this conference may deserve a spot on your calendar.

11. TOPO Summit 

I’m a big believer in the importance of sales and marketing breaking down silos in order to work more closely together. Turns out, the folks at TOPO agree, which is why they’ve filled their agenda with sessions designed to support these two disciplines as they work together to drive scalable revenue growth.

12. SiriusDecisions Summit 

The theme of the SiriusDecisions 2019 Summit was “TOGETHER: Achieving High Performance by Aligning the B-to-B Revenue Engine.” And although the theme for the organization’s 2020 event hasn’t yet been announced, it’s clear that their focus on the needs of B2B companies makes this conference one to watch as you’re planning next year’s travel calendar.

13. Growth Hackers Conference

Although the 2019 Growth Hackers Conference has come and gone, there’s been no word on 2020 dates yet. Keep this one on your radar, though. The 2019 event attracted speakers like Sean Ellis of Growth Hackers and Steli Efti of close.io – and there’s no reason to think it won’t draw a similar caliber of speakers the next time around.

14. ANA – Masters of B2B Conference 

Not much has been released yet about the Masters of B2B Marketing conference being put on by the Association of National Advertisers, but I’m including it here because it’s generally well-regarded among marketers. Stay tuned for more information – especially if paid advertising factors heavily into your B2B sales and marketing strategies. 

15. CONNECT CMO Leadership Summit 

The CONNECT CMO Leadership Summit is an invitation-only conference produced by Quartz Events. Invitations are extended by Quartz to Directors, VPs, SVPs and C-level execs – if you’re one of the lucky ones invited to attend, your ticket is free, and you’re eligible to take advantage of perks like a personal concierge and travel reimbursements.

16. Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo 

More than 1,600 marketing execs attend Gartner’s Marketing Symposium and Xpo, where sessions focus on preparing marketers to establish and execute their visions amidst changing political and socioeconomic environments. Even better? The event lets you get up close and personal with Gartner leaders. 

According to its website, attendees are able to “Meet with Gartner experts behind the latest research and take advantage of your opportunity to meet with them in a private Gartner one-on-one during the conference.”

17. B2B Marketing Ignite 2020 

As it’s nearly a year away at this point, not much has been announced about B2B Marketing’s 2020 Ignite event (besides its tentative date and location). To get a feel for whether or not this conference might be right for you, check out the “Best Bits of 2019 Ignite” for presentations and highlights from the 2019 event. 

18. Mozcon 

The Moz team is top-notch, so it should come as no surprise that this perennial favorite conference made the list. Whether or not you use any of the Moz tools, this conference is worth a look, thanks to speakers like Andy Crestodina, Dana DiTomaso and Sarah Bird. Early-bird ticket savings are in effect until October 31st, 2019 – lock in lower rates now if you’re sure this event will make your 2020 conference list.

19. Inbound 

For the last two years, Inbound and Content Marketing World have been held at the same time, so I’m thrilled to see some space between the two conferences this year. Inbound tends to skew a little more beginner-level in terms of session content, but it’s still a great opportunity to learn about up-and-coming B2B marketing trends – especially if you’re a Hubspot customer or partner.

20. Content Marketing World 

CMI is hands-down the best conference for those who focus on content marketing, and it regularly draws top content specialists to lead sessions for both B2B and B2C marketers. Since we’re more than a year out from the 2020 event, not much is known yet about future lineups. However, if you want to be included in the mix as a speaker, sign up early. The Content Marketing Institute is known for closing down speaker applications as early as 10 months before the year’s event.

21. CXL Live

The premier experimentation and optimization Event. CXL Live 2020 is a must-attend conference for businesses looking to drive growth through optimization and experimentation. You’ll get a fresh way of looking at your business challenges, and learn tons of ideas and solutions. Discussions will go deep in conversion optimization, online experimentation, digital psychology and analytics. Learn from the best in the field. 

I’m still working on my 2020 conference travel plans, and you should be too. Let me know which events are on your radar by leaving a comment below – maybe I’ll see you there!

Image: Pixabay

Entrepreneur & Digital Marketing Strategist

I build and grow SaaS companies.

“When it comes to marketing, Sujan is the best. I’ve never met someone with such creative tactics and deep domain knowledge not just in one channel, but in every flavor of marketing. From content, to scrappy guerrilla tactics, to PR, Sujan always blows my mind with what he comes up with.”

RYAN FARLEY Co-Founder of Lawn Starter

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