Did you know that events represent one of the largest line items in a marketing budget? It’s true, in fact research has shown that 40% of a marketing program budget is spent on in-person events (for companies with less than $100M in revenue).[1]
Live events are growing more popular because they have proven to be effective at driving strategic business development initiatives, generating valuable leads, and nurturing and deepening relationships with existing prospects and clients.
This emphasis on live events also comes with scrutiny from executives and pressure from key stakeholders to deliver measurable results and demonstrate success, which can leave event planners and marketers scratching their heads over how to prove the value of the events they produce.
Read on for our top three tips to help maximize your trade show marketing and for a more in-depth discussion, download the eBook The Ultimate Guide to Trade Show Marketing.
Tip #1: Align on KPIs
The first step we recommend taking is to align with your team on measures of success. We suggest that you track and report on these six key performance indicators:
- Total number of appointments
- Booth Check-ins
- Qualified leads
- Opportunities created
- Revenue generated
- Return-on-investment
Alignment around common goals helps ensure that everyone is on the same page, and event planners can avoid being blindsided by requests for data they don’t have a plan in place for. Detailed information about of each of these can be found in the eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Trade Show Marketing.
Tip #2: Tech Integrations Are Your New Best Friend
Now you might be asking yourself, “How exactly am I supposed to capture and track those KPIs?” The solution is to take a hard look and make sure your technology stack supports you. Integrations that allow you to have a cohesive system between event management, marketing, and sales tech are game-changers. Not only will they allow you to capture, quickly follow up on, and nurture leads, but tech integrations can also help you with:
- Segmentation and lead development
- ROI tracking and reporting
- Lead prioritization
- Evaluating and optimizing your event mix
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to system integrations, but you can further explore key integrations and the benefits they can offer you in the eBook found below.
Tip #3: Strategize the Complete Lifecycle of Your Event
Planning strategies tend to focus on what happens on the day of the event itself, but your pre and post-event strategies are also worthy of time and attention.
Pre-Show
Consider this: The average tradeshow has over 400 exhibitors, and attendees only visit about 14% of those booths.[2] Even more concerning is the fact that the average attendee walks into the show with a list of 75% of the exhibits they want to see.3 For event planners and marketers, this means it is critical to have a pre-show appointment setting strategy that will maximize your return on dollars and time.
Day of Show
It’s the day of your event. Did you know that most of the positive feelings trade show attendees have are due to your event staff?3 The following is a set of onsite best practices to help you get the most from your staff. The Ultimate Booth Interaction Strategy found in the eBook will include tips on how to:
- Get out into traffic
- Smile!
- Start a conversation
- Check them in
- Log, qualify, and score
- Tailor your demo to your target persona
- Score prospect lead quality
Post-Show
The show is over, but the work doesn’t end there. Post show follow-up is where you transform opportunities into dollars. Did you know that nearly 80% of leads generated at events are never contacted?3 Don’t let yourself fall into this category of being “ghosted.”
A simple, three-tiered strategy will ensure timely, personalized, and relevant follow-up that will win you more deals. Segmenting your leads into three groups based on their order of importance and then following up accordingly ensures that your team can prioritize your best prospects and that you continue to add to your pipeline of leads.
Despite the success of live events, marketers and trade show planners are only scratching the surface of all the valuable tools and effective strategies that they can use to maximize their events. Let our eBook take you deeper and unveil all the ins and outs necessary to measure the true success of your events.
Download The Ultimate Guide to Trade Show Marketing today.
[1] https://www.marketingcharts.com/charts/successful-top-funnel-b2b-demand-generation-tactics/attachment/demandgenreport-most-successful-top-of-funnel-b2b-demand-gen-tactics-feb2019
[2] http://www.skyline-etips.com/trade-show-marketing-in-9-steps/
Cvent is a leading meetings, events, and hospitality management technology provider with more than 4,000 employees, 27,000 customers, and 300,000 users worldwide.