The secrets of event-based marketing

Social media might be the hottest new marketing tool on the block right now, but there has also been a simultaneous swing towards event-based marketing.

This approach is becoming increasingly popular as business owners seek out increasingly rare opportunities to get some face time with their customers.

But how you run the event can make or break any future dealings with those in the room, so tread very carefully.

How does event-based marketing work?

Inviting potential customers along to learn about your business can be a tough ask, but those involved in event-based marketing business say it can work wonders for a business.

Adam Benson, director of event-based marketing experts Recognition PR describes it as one of the best sales programs around. “What other marketing activities give you an opportunity to bring prospects into your world for an hour or two (or longer) and be completely engaged with you at the exclusion of all else?” Benson says.

Event-based marketing works particularly well for service-based businesses and business-to-business discussions in highly-involved categories such as technology, management consultancy or accountants and auditors, says Benson.

“This sort of marketing enables potential customers to get a sense of what you’re like as a client so you will need to share your intellectual property to some extent.”

Don’t offer prospects the opportunity to learn about a new product or service unless the only people you are inviting have an explicit interest in this, Benson says.

“If your event sounds like it’s going to be a sales presentation, then registrations from prospects are likely to be low.”

Instead, provide must-have information that positions your business as an expert and shows you are confident about your ability, he says.

Jane Palin, director of Sydney’s TomTom Communication has worked in this space for 15 years. She has noticed an increased interest in event-based marketing in recent years.

“Businesses are realising that events provide a deeper understanding of what you’re like to work with and also gives your business an insight into what customers want, enabling you to fine-tune your offering,” Palin says.

Running an event

If your business has the resources you may be able to organise the running of an event in-house. However, hiring an expert might be wise, particularly for the first event. Benson says depending on the size of the event and the involvement required from a third party, this could cost anywhere between $3,000 all the way up to $30,000 for larger events.

If you’re considering running an event of your own, firstly consider what information you would share with potential customers at the event.

More than ever, content is king, Benson says.

“It’s all about relevancy and delivering information in a thoughtful and well-meaning way. You want people to walk away with new thinking in your particular area so that you’re on their list of potential people to do business with if the need arises,” Benson says.

A business might like to borrow an expert or a current customer to present the information, but make sure the expert doesn’t overshadow your event, he says.

“Most business people are being invited to events on a daily basis so you need to give people a fantastic reason to come to your event.”

Palin agrees. Small business owners can feel overwhelmed by all the information they’re “supposed” to know to keep the business afloat, so an event should aim to make them feel educated and in control.

“You want to educate rather than intimidate,” she says.

Design an event people want to come to, which creates real value.

“This isn’t just about selling, it’s an opportunity to engage and build stronger relationships with your customers.”

Mary Morton of Melbourne PR and marketing agency Spice and Soul agrees. Businesses need to invest sufficient time to develop an event strategy and implementation plan including contingencies, from the outset, she says.

“This can save a huge amount of time and resources in the longer term and mean that businesses are more likely than not to bring their event in successfully and within budget. Like anything, a lack of planning usually leads to poor, haphazard executions and poor outcomes. While this might sound obvious, you’d be surprised how many companies come unstuck by not adhering to them.”

Felicity Zadro, managing director of Sydney’s Zadro Communications says RSVPs can be handled via a professional program or in a spread sheet.

“Be all over it by setting an RSVP date, follow people up with phone calls, know how many people will be arriving, greet them at the door and make them feel welcomed.”

Narrowing the field

Trying to decide who to invite to your event can be tricky. While most businesses will have a database of past clients, these events are usually reserved for potential clients that don’t know your business particularly well so you need new leads.

Benson says businesses will need to invite more than double the numbers of people you hope to have there on the day, with a 50% drop-out rate on the day common.
But consider keeping the groups small and perhaps running a few similar events.

“Some businesses get carried away, but remember that you can’t have a meaningful discussion if you’ve got 200 people in the room,” Benson says.

Renting a list of potential targets from a commercial list provider could be a good option for you, which will cost around $1.70 per record, Benson says. But leave the list purchasing to the last minute because the industry agrees that data ages at 30% per annum, Benson says.

And whether you market the event via email, direct mail or postcards, make sure it is professional.

“One thing I see a lot of is a really good event which is being promoted via poor marketing. Too many businesses use bad HTML that doesn’t work on lots of different email systems, or they don’t check that links in email text actually work, which can let the whole event down,” Benson says.

Picking a location

If your office is near your potential customers and suitable, it can be a good place to host an event as it gives people an insight into what you’re like to work with as a company.

“But if you’re tucked down a dodgy lane with no parking, consider paying for boardroom hire,” Benson says.

Hosting an event can cost as little or as much as you’d like to spend, Palin says. She was recently charged with the task of creating an event with virtually no budget.

“I had to get clever and found a glamorous new residential building project and managed to get use of the penthouse for nothing by explaining I was giving them access to potential buyers,” Paling says.

Measuring success

Businesses should set very specific goals during the planning phase of an event. These could range from the number of people to turn up to your event, how many sales leads you achieve or how many new names you add to your database.

Ultimately, though, event-based marketing is designed to make the phones ring and drive sales, which is often the best measure.

Zadro says it is vital that your business has a system to record where it met leads to know what has been successful. Other measures of success might include how many sales kits were given out, who signed up to receive the newsletter, if there were any social media mentions and what was said, website hits afterwards, whether there was any media coverage generated from the event, how many evaluation forms were filled in and what was the feedback.

Benson says it can also be worth re-inviting attendees.

“People who have attended good events will pass on the invitation when they get it again, so make sure a ‘refer a friend’ link is included in your invitation.”

Top tips:

• Pick a date for an event that would suit your customers and be prepared to work around their schedule.
• Consider hiring an outside firm to organise and run the event on your behalf but be sure to get quotes up front.
• Make sure your content is compelling.
• Spend the time making sure that the marketing of your event is professional.
• Use social media to promote your event.
• Don’t necessarily use traditional venues like hotels or serviced apartments for your event. Think outside the square.
• Manage RSVPs closely and make guests feel welcome by greeting them at the door.
• Create specific printed materials that provide insight into your offering.
• Value your customers’ time by considering exactly how long the event needs to run for to get your messages across, and don’t run overtime.