How Events Fit Into Your Marketing Mix
As live event activity makes its gradual return to overall marketing strategies, now seems like an opportune time to remind ourselves (and those holding the corporate purse strings), why events are so essential to brand growth.
Face-to-face interaction offers brand marketers a valuable opportunity to form deeper connections, which are simply not possible over email, Zoom or LinkedIn.
They are the ‘Ying’ to digital marketing’s ‘Yang’. They force us to lean in and experience rather than look down and switch off.
While a balanced marketing strategy will include multiple channels and a range of consumer touch-points, marketers invest in live events because they provide a more meaningful and memorable way to engage prospects, speak to customers and communicate brand values to targeted audience segments.
Events support lead generation and sales acceleration strategies, they amplify brand awareness and they drive revenue generation from ticket sales or sponsorships.
Measurement goals
According to Forrester Research, around a quarter of the average B2B marketing budget is spent on live events.
As with other forms of marketing, this investment can often be reliant on event teams being able to prove ROI or ROO (Return on Objectives). So it’s important to set measurement goals and have relevant event marketing KPIs in place.
These may be fluid, depending on the type of event most appropriate to your brand goals. But the most popular KPIs for generating useful measurement data include:
Increases in event registrations
Attendee satisfaction scores
Attendee engagement
Brand mentions across social and other media channels
The number of customer leads or sales generated.
While contributing to a sales pipeline or revenue bottom line may be the ultimate end goal for many Marketing Directors, focusing on attendee engagement and satisfaction can produce wide-ranging benefits.
A highly satisfied conference attendee for example, will more likely become a future customer, return to subsequent events or be retained as a customer.
Meanwhile, brand awareness and brand mention tracking can measure engagement across various event types—from product launches and roadshows to field marketing and event sponsorship.
Conferences are widely considered to be the most effective event format for achieving set business goals, due to the sheer diversity of potential outcomes.
For instance, exclusive hospitality may help you to win new customers, awards ceremonies will drive revenue from ticket sales and sponsorship, while trade shows and networking events can help to increase brand awareness. But a conference has the versatility to support each of these objectives and more.
So how do events fit into your marketing mix, both today and in the future?
They bring your digital marketing to life
They make your direct marketing more personal
They communicate your internal marketing more effectively
They provide countless opportunities for prospects and advocates to experience your products and form more meaningful, trusted connections with your business and with one another.
Live events are also a gold-mine of information about your attendees. At every touch-point, they leave digital breadcrumbs that provide crucial insights and data to help you create more personal, targeted experiences.
No global pandemic will alter these facts. Human behaviour dictates that we are sociable creatures and face-to-face interaction in the form of live events will continue to be the most effective and trusted marketing channel for generations to come.
This article was first published by Cvent
