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2409192marketo Definitive Guide To Event Marketing
2409192marketo Definitive Guide To Event Marketing
Table of Contents
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Sho u
hy e
W ad t Guide
h
e
I finitive
R
De vent ?
E
to rketing
M a
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Why Should I Read the Definitive
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This guide provides information, tips, and best practices for every aspect of events.
Use it as a workbook – take notes, highlight what you find inspirational, share what
you learn with your colleagues, and start driving measurable results from your
event marketing.
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Wh
y
Eve Incl
n u
Mar ts in de
keti Yo
ng M ur
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Why Include Events
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Why Include Events in Your Marketing Mix?
Today’s Buyer
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Why Include Events in Your Marketing Mix?
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Comm
Kinds on
o
Event f
s
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Common Kinds of Events
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Common Kinds of Events
Online Events
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Online events connect presenters Webinars Virtual Events Live Streaming Events
and participants through a web-based Whether called webinars, webcasts or These events allow individuals in different These are live events that you can
interface. Common types of online web conferencing, these types of events locales to participate in a virtual environment stream to your viewers. You can conduct
events include webinars, virtual events, revolve around presentations, discussions, that has the look and feel of an offline event, these with a simple webcam or employ
and live streaming events. These or workshops, are delivered via the web, combining the educational elements of a full production crew for higher quality
types of events are often less costly can happen in real time or on demand, a conference with the networking and broadcasting. Applications such as
than in-person events and enable and typically last 30-60 minutes. Real- interactive features of a trade show. Livestream and Ustream, as well as new
you to easily reach a geographically time webinars enable interaction among Participants visit a virtual “booth” where options like Google+ Hangouts, offer a
dispersed audience. The convenience participants, providing the opportunity to they can collect materials, meet the staff, live service that allows you to fully stream
and savings of live events – for both receive and discuss information on a topic ask questions, and even pick up some your broadcasts, record them, and engage
sponsors and attendees – are too as it is presented, through web-based virtual swag. These programs tend to your audience with chat and social media
significant to ignore. conferencing tools. Real-time webinars happen in real time for all participants. functionality. Live streaming events operate
can be interactive on many levels, and similarly to a webinar and should be
typically allow attendees to ask questions promoted accordingly. At Marketo, we use
directly of to the presenters. live streaming events for our User Summits
and Roadshow tours so that people who
are unable to attend in person can get
the benefit of the presentations. We use
a professional production crew to record
our speaking sessions and have had
great success getting people signed up
to view them.
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Common Kinds of Events
Physical Events
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Big
F
Rea our
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Big Four Reasons for Events
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Big Four Reasons for Events
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Question: What are the goals of your event programs? (Check all that apply).
N=309
Source: BtoB magazine: State of Event Marketing, July 2011
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Big Four Reasons for Events
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Big Four Reasons for Events
Lead Generation
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Big Four Reasons for Events
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Big Four Reasons for Events
Education
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Role
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an E at
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Roles at an Event
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Roles at an Event
Hosting
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When you host an event, you gain full While online events pale in comparison
to live events, the cost to host a live
Event Partner $X,XXX (Sponsorship Package 2)
control over the event’s branding and • 6 -foot table
content – and the audience you want event can be prohibitive. That said, Sponsorship Template • Logo on event landing page
to draw in. Being in this position gives the value of hosting an event cannot • Signage at the event
you extraordinary power to define how be understated. When you consider the Your Event Name: • 1-page collateral piece or swag
you want your company to be unprecedented opportunity to engage An explanation of your item as chair drop and/or premium
portrayed and the audience you want and influence your target market, it’s event and target audience: location on promotional table
to attract. If you are diligent about easy to see why you should consider • 1 sponsored email blast
targeting your attendees, the payoff working at least one live, hosted event
will be in the self-selected audience into your marketing budget. $X,XXX (Sponsorship Package 3)
already interested in you and your • 6 -foot table
message – buyers who are primed to Be aware that when you host an event • Logo on event landing page
be your customers. You’ll have access you will be responsible for driving Location(s): • Signage at the event
to a captive audience that is exposed attendance versus when you sponsor Actual Agenda or Sample Agenda: • 1-page collateral piece or swag
to your brand and message at every and attendees are brought to you. item as chair drop and/or premium
9am:
turn. Moreover, these attendees are Because of this, hosted events are best location on promotional table
actively seeking to participate in the for companies that maintain a large 10am: • 1 sponsored email blast
programs and activities you provide database they can leverage, or a large 11am: • 1 session speaking opportunity
during the course of the event. team and budget to devote to a robust
12pm: Break for Lunch/Keynote
promotional plan. Sponsor Agreement
1pm:
Company Name:
A great way to offset the cost of hosting 2pm:
your own events is to offer sponsorship Contact Name:
3pm:
opportunities to partners. If you are Title:
interested in doing this, you should 4pm:
Mailing Address:
create a sponsor prospectus. We do 5pm:
this at Marketo when we embark on our Email:
Marketing Rockstar Tour, using the $X,XXX (Sponsorship Package 1) Phone:
template to the right to showcase our • 6 -foot table Signature:
sponsorship packages to our partners. • Logo on event landing page
Date:
• 1-page collateral piece as a chair
drop and/or premium location on
Terms & Conditions (add your own)
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Roles at an Event
Sponsoring
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Roles at an Event
Speaking
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When you speak at an event, you are In addition to reaping the brand benefits of
in front of an audience of potential having your company’s name published in
customers who will leave the event the agenda and other marketing materials Tips for Securing
with a much stronger awareness of seen by event participants, speaking is Speaking
your company. Gaining this knowledge an especially effective way to convey your Opportunities at
firsthand can be much more powerful company’s thought leadership. Speaking Tradeshows
than reading about your company and at an event does more than any blog or
its offerings. The audience also has whitepaper your company might publish; • P lan early
the opportunity for immediate it provides you with the opportunity to • Research the event to identify
interaction with the speaker before, speak in front of an attentive, interested relevant topics
during and/or after the presentation. audience. Assuming your perspective • Craft a concise, compelling pitch
As any salesperson will tell you, there is fresh, distinctive, and relevant, it should • Don’t just talk about your
is nothing more effective in building a have immediate appeal to attendees and company
strong relationship than face-to-face may even spur them to take action. • Present a distinct point of view
interaction. • Connect with leaders in the space
• Assemble a press kit that includes
multiple media forms
• Make sure your sessions
or interactive
• Be persistent!
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Snapshot
Eileen Fridkin
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Eve
n
Tec t
hno
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Event Technology
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Event Technology
Webinar Platforms
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Event Technology
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Event Technology
Registration Platforms
Because the time and energy that go Eventbrite Certain Marketo
into planning an in-person event are Supplies everything you need to organize While Certain offers SaaS-based We offer event marketing software and
big, you want your platform in place so a successful event, sell tickets and solutions for a range of event needs, its event-specific apps designed to help you
set-up, registration, and reminders are manage registration. With Eventbrite, you Registration and Attendee Management manage anything from a simple webinar
simple. The last thing you want is to create a webpage for the event and then system helps collect attendee details and all the way to a large-scale conference.
get derailed by the up-front logistics can use simple, free tools to promote your registrations online. You can build For example, Marketo Event Check-in app
around promoting your event and event through personalized emails to your registration forms to suit your needs, and lets you check people into your event from
registering attendees. Fortunately, contact list or through sharing in social can even take advantage of Certain’s multiple iPads and syncs the information
you can tap into an event registration media. It even offers an app that let’s your connections to common e-commerce instantly and directly to your Marketo
platform to ease the pain. attendees pay at the door. systems to streamline registration account. Our event marketing software also
payment. With the built-in tools, you can integrates seamlessly with online webinar
Cvent print badges, and check-in registrants
on-site or before the event.
providers including Adobe Connect,
Cisco WebEx, Citrix GoToWebinar, ON24,
This event management software allows
you to automate much of the event BrightTALK, and ReadyTalk. That means
planning process, freeing you from the you don’t need to manually import data
repetitive, time-consuming tasks that are from these platforms, for higher
the bane of in-person event planning. productivity and fewer costly errors.
You can use Cvent to select a meeting
site, build a custom website, register
your attendees, process payments online,
manage your budget (either for single
or multiple events) and maintain
communication with personalized emails
and reminders to your registration list.
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Event Technology
Highlight: Creating an
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Event Technology
Highlight: Creating an
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Event Technology
Highlight: Creating an
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oting
ro m
P r Eve nt
Y ou
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Promoting Your Event
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When putting so much time and energy into planning your event, you
want to make sure that you do the promotion right. To generate the highest
amount of registrants, you need a mix of email, social, public relations,
and other types of paid promotions to get the biggest bang for your buck.
By communicating with your audience early and often leading up to the event,
you will have a better turnout as your event will be top of mind for your attendees.
Just like lead nurturing, successful event promotion will consist of a series of
touches that may include press releases, emails, direct mail, and call downs.
Remember to take into consideration what sort of event you are hosting when
determining the promotional tactics that will draw in prospects or customers.
Promotions for webinars and online events will often rely on emails, while those
for offline events may take a multi-touch approach.
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Promoting Your Event
Segmentation
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No matter what sort of promotion you Take into consideration company location
are using, segmentation is vital to vs. personal location vs. inferred location,
getting the right attendees registered like IP address, to make sure that you are
for your event. Make sure you spend sending your communications to the right
time on data quality and ensure that person. You certainly don’t want to send
the lists can be reused in the future. someone who lives and works in Boston
an invite to an event in Wisconsin, unless
You want to focus on demographics like your data shows that they have attended
job title, industry, location, etc to target events in that area before. But keep in
top prospects (especially for direct mail mind that you’ll never get it exactly right,
or call downs), and remember that so message appropriately.
location matters.
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Promoting Your Event
Email
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Finding the right number and times The same principles apply to online
events (e.g., webinars and virtual
Marketo Multi-Touch Event
for email promotions for an event has
a great deal to do with the type of event conferences), but on a smaller, less Promotional Plan Template
you are promoting. For a larger trade intense scale. When people don’t
show, you should send a series of physically have to attend an event,
promotional emails starting roughly they are more likely to forget about it. Event: Revenue Rockstar Tour Event: CMO Breakfast
a month before the actual event, and For online events, it’s best to begin Event Description: Event Description:
spaced a week or a little more apart. promotions 2-3 weeks beforehand Marketo hosted roadshow tour High-touch event to build relationships
This allows people to plan accordingly. so your event is fresh in the minds with customer executives
of your attendees.
Promotional Timeline: Promotional Timeline:
Many marketers worry of under-
promotion. Does this sound familiar? • A nnouncement: Multi-city email • 4 weeks prior: Email invitation
“Our reg numbers are too low! We invite + big-bang press release • 4 weeks prior: Automated voicemail
won’t hit our numbers! Send a blast • 2 weeks prior: Individual city invite confirmation from a Marketo
today, and the day after tomorrow, • 1 week prior: Individual city invite v2 executive
and Saturday, the day before, and • 2 days prior: Limited space invite • 3 weeks prior: Direct mail invitation
the morning of...” This sort of behavior • 2 days prior: Automated voicemail • 2 weeks prior: “Forward” from lead
leads to deadly over-promotion. Once confirmation (prospects only) owner to personalize communication
someone receives an email a few times • 1 day prior: Reminder email • 1 week prior: Customer call downs
with the exact same offer and there’s • 1 week prior: Email from Marketo
no click, any more promotions will executive for prospects
only frustrate your audience lead • 3 days prior: Confirmation email
to un-subscribes. from Marketo executive
• 2 days prior: Automated voicemail
confirmation
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Promoting Your Event
Telesales Outreach
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Telesales outreach are another great Secure Meetings or Demos Guided Voicemail Service
way to create additional touches for
your event. Live sales call downs with Prospects at the Event Aa vendor
guided voicemail campaign through
such as Boxpilot enables you
Getting key prospects to register for the
should be to a targeted list, as you to add a personal touch to your call downs,
don’t want your inside sales teams event is half the battle. Getting them to
actually attend is the other. Provide your while not tying up your inside sales teams
wasting their time calling unqualified for days on end. Guided voicemail lets
prospects. Use the segmentation sales and sales development team with
a report of registrants for the event so that you send pre-recorded voicemails to your
rules discussed to come up with your target list. You can have your voicemail
targeted list. You can either reach out they can use this to secure meetings or
demos at the event. Great content and recorded by anyone in your company,
using your inside sales reps, or you from a sales lead all of the way up to your
can do an automated voicemail awesome prizes can get prospects
registered – but securing their time to CEO. The upside of using a service like
campaign. At Marketo, we use both this is that it is cost effective and fast.
tactics depending on the event we are meet is not only a definite indicator they
will show up, but it also affords a chance A great way to incorporate this strategy
trying to promote. is to use guided voicemail for the majority
to create opportunities.
of your segmented list, and save your live
Remember to target your list by region call downs for a highly targeted segment
if it is an in-person event, and by audience of hot prospects or customers.
(e.g., marketing executives), to ensure you
are driving the right people to the event.
Is your team too small or short on time?
Dedicate time in the morning when the
whole team is present to sit down and
perform the call down. Blocking this time
off on the team’s calendar ahead of time
ensures this a task that won’t slip from
their work day. Bringing in free breakfast
never hurts either.
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Promoting Your Event
Direct Mail
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Promoting Your Event
Paid Promotions
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Paid promotions are an effective way • B anner and display – These types of • S ponsored newsletter and emails – • O
utdoor advertising – This is
to drive attendance, particularly to ads appear on a website and can be By using sponsored emails, you have advertising that appears when
events that you host, large conferences, effective at driving new names to register access to a target audience that might someone is in transit, or at an activity
and large virtual events or webinars. for and attend your event. You can either not otherwise be reached. outside of their home or office, in order
Through paid promotions you can place your ads on sites that you think • Guerilla marketing – This is a form of to drive awareness or encourage
expand your attendee list and get new your target audiences frequent, or you marketing that tries to generate brand a specific call-to-action. Billboards
names into your database. can sign up for a retargeting campaign awareness at a low cost by using are a prime example of this, as are
where your ads are targeted based on atypical methods like graffiti, flash ads targeted to commuters on buses
Here are some techniques that we have your audience’s internet preferences. mobs, and poster campaigning. or in subways. These ads are also less
found successful when using paid ads • Search engine marketing – People • T V & radio advertising – You can use targeted so they are best for brand
to promote events: search for the events that they want to radio or TV to deliver a scripted awareness.
attend. Make sure you put ads on message to attract new clients. Just • Print advertising – From flyers to
Google, Yahoo, and Bing to maximize keep in mind that this form of newspapers and magazine ads, print
your exposure. When someone advertising is less targeted. advertising includes all advertising
searches for an event or a webinar found in printed media. Put an ad for
having to do with your expertise, catch your event in an industry-specific
their attention with search ads. magazine or print fliers to give out at
smaller networking events.
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Promoting Your Event
Partner Promotions
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Public
Relati
o
for Ev sn
ents
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Public Relations for Events
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Public Relations for Events
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Event Goals and Metrics Here are some tactics you can use
to rise above the noise:
• L ove on em’! – Invite your prospects,
customers, and influencers to lunches
Before any event, it is crucial to determine
your event goals for PR. What are you and special events. Also make sure
planning on getting out of the event? Also • F ocus on influencer relations – The your briefing rooms are comfortable
consider your tangible goals and metrics media at noisy shows will be flooded and inviting, and in a tranquil setting
for the event. How many press releases with inquiries. Instead of focusing on away from the rest of the conference.
will you write? How many briefings will getting media spots, invest time in • Beat the drum and keep it rolling – Plan
you pursue? influencer relationship building. and start promoting early. And always
• Ask, don’t tell, your analysts – Analysts feature a call to action. Come to our
are booked solid with companies booth! Download our whitepaper!
Situation Analysis looking to tell them about the next latest Come to our sessions!
Before you decide on your PR tactics, you and greatest. Instead of telling analysts
need to understand the context of the your pitch, ask them questions about Announcements
show, including both internal and external your space and the industry. Show that Do you have any news to announce at the
factors. you care about what they think. An event? While nice to have, it isn’t necessary.
analyst at a busy show might be more However, if you do not have any news, you
Noise Level apt to take your meeting if you position need to figure out your angle for the show.
When sponsoring an event, one of your it as being in need of their expertise. What will you announce and how will you
key challenges may be breaking through announce it? You also want to take into
the noise. Very large shows with many consideration what the rest of your year
sponsors are typically very noisy. Take looks like as far as PR announcements and
this into consideration and know that you how you can roll your event announcement
will need to come up with a special hook into your marketing calendar.
to get yourself noticed. If you are hosting
your own event, you don’t need to
yell through the noise; instead you will
have the perfect platform to let your
company shine.
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Public Relations for Events
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Public Relations for Events
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• ew product/service
N
• Customer win/momentum
• Strategic/corporate momentum
• Demand generation
• General event info 3. What date is this announcement being
made?
1. What is the news being announced? 6. Is there a call to action? How does this
prospective customer find out more? 8. What publications or other media
4. What is the most unique benefit of this Do they call a phone number, go to a do you want to release this to?
news to audience? What desire does it website, visit your booth, etc? (this will What type of tailored angle should
fill or problem does it solve? Why does be used as a last sentence in the body you take in the release to get the
anyone care? How is it different, better, of the press release) editor’s attention?
new, innovative?
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Soc
ia
& Ev l Me
ents dia
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Social Media & Events
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Social Media & Events
Being active on social networks Twitter for Events Set up Promoted Tweets
before, during, and after your event Twitter is a powerful tool for not only Use a combination of paid and non-paid
is the bread and butter of your event marketing and promoting your events, but tweets. Tweet 2-3 variations of event
social strategy. Since events are in also engaging and connecting with the information and special offers. Then run
real time, attendees often use social audience and attendees in real time. Use these tweets in a Twitter timeline ads and
networks to get updates and to engage Twitter to live tweet, interact with partners be sure to bid on your company name
with other participants in a live and influencers, and drive traffic to your and your event hashtag
environment. During an event, social event page. The first step is to make sure Build Twitter Lists
networks offer a unique opportunity you set up a hashtag for your event to Build event lists to include speakers, Running promoted tweets can be a very
to interact directly with your audience use on Twitter, and make sure this is well sponsors and people who are already powerful way to support your events.
and have them share your message. publicized. If you are giving a webinar, mentioning your event. Tweet and retweet Run two tweets with slightly different
the hashtag should be announced by the these folks within your timeline. This is a messaging in a promoted tweet search
moderator and listed on the slides. If you great way to introduce your speakers and campaign targeting relevant hashtags
are attending a live event, make sure you sponsors to your followers while adding and keywords. Make sure to schedule
tweet the hashtag beforehand and value to the event participants. Additionally, the campaign to end just before the event
include it on promotional materials. you might also want to build a competitor begins. During the event, run another
list to see what your competitors are doing campaign targeting the event hashtag
Before the Event during your event. with a relevant offer.
Before the event, take the following steps:
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Social Media & Events
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Social Media & Events
Visual Tactics
You can use a variety of visual tactics
on Facebook to promote registration and
create engagement opportunities during
your event. Before every event, create
a graphic that you will use on your social
networks. Your graphic should not only
be eye catching, but it should also include
relevant information about the event like
name, time, date, hashtag, and a
Facebook tab with embedded landing page
registration link.
Marketo Facebook albums Marketo Visual Event poet
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Social Media & Events
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Social Media & Events
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Social Media & Events
to Promote Events
Visual content is an important part Visual Notetaking representation allowing the audience
to quickly grasp big ideas and translate
of creating engagement across social Hiring a graphic facilitator to capture
channels. It stands out from all the visual recordings from an event is a fun their impact and value.
text, helps tell a story, and gives event and innovative way to keep your audience • Gets attendees to look up from their
attendees all the information they engaged. Having a talented artist on devices. Putting pen to paper, or in this
need in a short amount of time. Visual hand sketching notes in real time creates case sharpie to foamcore, is an
content for events can be a valuable a memorable record. Here are three antidote to the pervasiveness of digital
tactic before, during, and afterwards, benefits from using a graphic facilitator culture. Studies show it can help retain
becoming a cornerstone of your event to illustrate online and offline events. more information.
strategy.
• E xtends conversations and builds Presenting thoughts and ideas visually
Event Graphics buzz. Immediately after each speaker is a terrific and simple way to capture a
conversation and its meaning. Hiring
At Marketo, we make a graphic for every session, your visual boards draw
webinar and event that we promote. We crowds who take photos and post them graphic recorders who sketch what is
find that it increases the EdgeRank of our to various social networks right away. discussed at meetings and conferences
posts (so they are more likely to show up • Enables better understanding of key is a great way to keep your audience
in the feed) and captures the attention of takeaways. Visual boards become a engaged and communicate complex
our fans on social networks. We have piece of content providing a tangible ideas in a meaningful and memorable way.
seen an uptick in registration by using this
tactic, particularly in a promoted post. You
can see the post below had a social reach
of over 150,000 people.
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Social Media & Events
to Promote Events
Infographics
Creating an infographic about your event
or series of events is a fantastic way to get
someone excited about attending. Not
only is it a fun and unique visual take on
events, but it also provides your audience
with important logistical information in
a way that is easy to understand.
Infographics work best if you are
sponsoring a large event or hosting your
own event. You can even create one
infographic depicting all of the events
you will participate in during a given year.
And because infographics are super
shareable, they will give you a social lift.
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Social Media & Events
Social Promotions
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Motivate prospects and leads with Another example of social referrals for
sweepstakes and referral offers that events was done by Jive Software. To get
capture the data that helps enhance more people to attend its user conference,
your lead database. Put a social twist the company deployed a referral campaign
on your referral programs and amplify on its website and a few places online.
your reach by leveraging your The offer was $200 off of registration for
referrer’s network. You can use getting friends to register.
applications like Marketo Social
Marketing to engage your audience The outcome of these referral campaigns
in a new way and have them share is that your message is shared by your
and amplify your message with their audience and not by a brand. A recent
friends and colleagues, making your Nielson survey shows that 92% of buyers
event even more of a success. believe what their peers say vs. 33%
believing what a brand says about itself.
Referral Offers So, through referral campaigns, you can
get that peer-to-peer endorsement which
Give your followers an incentive to share
your event information by determining a is a very powerful promotional tool. And
sharing goal and rewarding them for their as your audience participates and people
efforts. For a recent annual user summit, respond to their messages, you capture
we incented registrants to refer two friends all of that data and build a database of
and get 50% off of their registration fee. social profiles. Through applications like
Marketo Social Marketing, you can see
This program delivered great results. things like social reach, how many times
We expanded our reach by 2.5x, saw your message is shared, and conversions.
5.9 referrals for each shared link, and
achieved an incremental revenue of
$40,000 in just two weeks.
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Social Media & Events
Social Promotions
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Social Media & Events
Influencer Outreach
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Influencer outreach is all the rage in • R each out to influential folks who are
the world of social media. It’s essential in the area where your event will take
to identify and connect with influential place. This could be a list of bloggers
folks in your industry to make sure or experts in a particular space. Write
your business and initiatives are on a personal email to them or reach out
the right people’s radar. Once you via LinkedIn with a personal invitation
identify your influencers, segment the to the event. Similar to how a PR
list by location and follow these steps. department would reach out to media,
this is a great way to connect with
influencers and bloggers while building
a social press list for future events.
• Pre-arrange times for short video
interviews with keynote speakers
or other influential folks who will be
attending the event. This makes for
fantastic follow-up content for your
blog and other social channels.
• Create content assets that highlight
your influencers. This is a great way to
engage with influencers and speakers
before the event, and get a viral, social
asset to use at the event.
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Social Media & Events
Live Blogging
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Social Media & Events
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nline
O nts
Ev
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Online Events
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Online Events
Webinars
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Online Events
Webinars
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Online Events
Webinars
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Webinar Timetable
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Online Events
Webinars
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Polls Q&A
A best practice is to include a poll or Another best practice is to answer
other questions for your audience in your questions at the conclusion of the webinar.
webinar. Polls provide an opportunity for Q&A not only offers an opportunity to
active participation by the audience, and clarify key points, but is also one of the
Ten Tips
ensure that they stay engaged with your biggest incentives for people to attend
for Webinars:
presentation. While open-ended questions the live webinar rather than watch the
are an option, the results are more difficult recording. Allow respondents to ask
to incorporate into a presentation on the questions via the webinar software’s
1. Use your webinar to educate, not sell.
fly. Try simple poll questions, such as chat functionality. The host should collect
2. Conduct a practice session at least a day in advance.
“How many of you use webinars as part these questions and choose the best to
3. Don’t overload your slide deck with text. If you do, people
of your marketing strategy right now?” be asked at the end of the presentation.
will read when they should be listening. Instead, use brief
You can also include poll questions that Note that moderated Q&A through chat
outlines and images to illustrate your points.
are related to your content in order to get usually produces cleaner results than
4. Sign on to the webinar at least 30 minutes in advance
some benchmarking stats. trying to conduct Q&A by having
to give time to troubleshoot.
attendees ask their questions via phone,
5. Write your follow-up emails before the webinar to ensure
especially if you have a large audience.
that you can send them out as quickly as possible.
If any questions go unanswered due to
6. Set up a Twitter hashtag to allow people to tweet during
time constraints, ask the presenter write
the webinar.
answers to the questions and present
7. To encourage audience participation, include a poll or two
them as a blog post.
in your webinar.
8. At the end of the webinar, leave some time for Q&A.
After the webinar concludes, take the leftover questions
and answer them in a blog post on your website.
9. After the webinar, take 2-3 minute snippets of the recording
and incorporate them into blog posts and videos.
10. Use your webinar and follow-up emails to let people know
about other upcoming webinars.
#DG2EM
Online Events
Webinars
67
#DG2EM
Snapshot
Anita Wehnert
68
#DG2EM
Online Events
Virtual Events
69
Looking for a way to reach and engage Here are some applications for
in a two-way dialogue with thousands virtual events: Which of the following corporate objectives
of global participants without accruing • Trade show have virtual events helped you achieve?
costly travel expenses? A virtual event • Training
is a cost-effective way to experience • Product launch
8.9%
Increased
8.9%
Increased ROI
6.7%
Generated
client interaction press coverage
#DG2EM
Online Events
Virtual Events
70
#DG2EM
Online Events
Virtual Events
71
#DG2EM
Online Events
Virtual Events
72
#DG2EM
Online Events
Virtual Events
73
Networking Lounge
As an exhibitor, you want to monitor
Virtual Event Best Practices
The networking lounge is a great way to
engage with people outside of your booth, the networking lounge to see what Engage outside of the booth
get a feel for what others are saying about discussions are going on, how people feel There are many ways to engage outside
the event/sessions, and draw some about your booth or session, or if they of the booth. The networking lounge can
interest back to your booth. If you are have a pain point that your company or be a powerful tool to interact with the
hosting the virtual trade show, you want solution may be able to address. Use the crowd, and draw some attendees back
to monitor the lounge to gauge the lounge as a way to mine for potential to your booth.
audience’s mood and help solve any prospects, but be sure to engage in the
problems or confusion you see trending. conversations without being too salesy. Many platforms allow you to upload and
exchange virtual business cards (vCards).
After you engage in the booth or with
someone in the chat box, be sure to
exchange your cards.
Prizes
Prizes or points can be awarded to
attendees for completing a series of
specific actions during the event,
such as:
• Exchanging a vCard
• Visiting your booth
• Attending a session
• Downloading content
• Completing a survey
• Participating in a group chat in your
booth
Networking Lounge
Once attendees complete all of the required
actions, they can be entered to win a prize.
#DG2EM
Online Events
Hybrid Events
74
While virtual events have become While the event is held in real time you can According to an InExpo report,
increasingly popular because they’re also include a virtual component to it. You seamlessly integrating both public and
cost effective, many still crave in- can provide online participants with virtual private technologies, you can blend the
person interactions and the ability access to live audio or video streaming of online and physical events and create an
to check out a product in person. keynote speakers or workshops, blog experience that unites them. For example,
The solution is a hybrid event, which posts, photos or streaming videos from you could enable virtual attendees to view
combines a physical event with an the event, and enable interactions via and interact with physical attendees via
online component. social-media channels like Facebook or a live webcam. By integrating the physical
Twitter. 40% of marketing executives and virtual in a hybrid event, you can
surveyed by EMI said they are already expand your reach and create an
employing hybrid events. And it’s no experience that is memorable and
wonder why. According to the Virtual meaningful to all attendees.
Edge Institute, 82% of online audiences
found the virtual environment helpful for
making a decision to attend in person
the next time.
#DG2EM
Snapshot
Peter Micciche
75
CEO, Certain.com
Peter Micciche 1. Shift from logistics to attendee 3. Managing event and supplier spend. 5. Green meetings are the new normal.
serves as Certain’s engagement and business Now, more than ever, companies are Registration packets, informational
President and contribution. The meetings and events incredibly discerning about how their pamphlets, and heavy binders with
CEO responsible industry is in the midst of a significant event budget is spent. It’s necessary hundreds of pages of data,
for the company’s transformation. Event professionals are to justify the time and funds required spreadsheets, and presentations are
vision, strategy, shifting focus away from a traditional to send representatives to a live things of the past. From conference-
and global emphasis on operational excellence, conference or tradeshow. Cost plays specific apps to customized emails to
operations. logistics, and expense management a role on the event planning side of the social media communications, events
Certain provides toward the true value of events as sales equation as well. Event managers rely are going digital, which means they are
a comprehensive event management and marketing enablers. This means on complete event management becoming more and more eco-friendly.
platform that delivers everything you event professionals must join marketers platforms to effectively plan an
need for event operations. Peter has and business executives to determine engaging, informative event from start 6. Engagement management is the
extensive executive management and the business goals of each event and to finish that demonstrates clear value new event management. One-way
board level experience in public and evaluate success against those goals. for prospective attendees. communication is no longer acceptable
private software companies. for event attendees. Giving voice to the
2. Mobile and social driving 4. It’s about measurable business attendee is the only way to create
We asked Peter to share his take engagement. Companies are relying value. Companies put their dollars strong engagement. Communicating
on the top industry trends. on mobile apps and integrated social where they see value and they must with attendees from the first invitation
media to accompany and enhance be able to quantify a return on the to post-event communities, engaging
every aspect of an event. New event investment required to execute an them through real-time polls, mobile
planning technologies are being event or to send attendees to an apps, social media, and enabling
utilized for easy online registration, outside event. It’s crucial for event attendees to network with the
customized communication with managers to prove the tangible and individuals they deem most important
attendees, and the extension of an intangible value of their event to all is the only way to sustain and build an
event’s life beyond the actual venue. stakeholders. event audience.
#DG2EM
Snapshot
Peter Micciche
76
CEO, Certain.com
7. Lines between face-to-face and 8. “Live” events are here to stay.
digital are blurred. Online and virtual Though virtual technology is making
technologies can expand an event’s a name for itself in events, traditional
reach and create opportunities to face-to-face meeting and events
connect globally with on-site attendees continue to drive the largest audiences.
and those participating remotely. Online In fact, they’ve become even more
communities, virtual events, and hybrid important in this connected-yet-
events (virtual and in-person) are disconnected age.
commonplace as event organizers
respond to the increasingly digital world.
#DG2EM
al
77
hy sic
P nts
Ev e
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Physical Events
78
#DG2EM
Physical Events
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Planning
80
No matter what sort of event you are You need to determine your event goals,
hosting, your planning process will who will be staffing your event, what your
be essentially the same. One way of look and feel will be, what your promotions
running an event is to sign the will look like, etc. There are many detailed
contract, arrive at the show, run your aspects to planning a successful trade
booth, and run a follow-up campaign. show, so you have to be sure to run
Such a laissez-faire approach is a tight ship.
essentially like throwing your
investment down the drain. That’s why Once you have determined your goals
you need to plan every detail, because and have begun the planning process,
inevitably something will go wrong. you can get very specific about who is
But if you take every detail into going to be involved in your event, and
consideration, you can lessen the in what way. Your audience may go far
impact of a disaster when something beyond attendees, and can include
goes awry. sponsors, press, analysts, and other
partners.
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Planning
81
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Planning
82
Breaks
Cocktails
Staffing
Airfare
Hotels
Internet
Food Allowances
Transportation
Other Incidentals
Posters
Collateral
Gifts/Giveaways
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Planning
83
Logistics
Stage
Projectors
Laptops
Screens
Microphones/Sound
Video
Other AV
Speakers
Travel Costs
Speaking Fees
Event Promotion
Design
Direct Mail
Outdoor Advertising
Social
PR
Security
Insurance
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Event Logistics
84
There is a lot to keep track of when Creating a Schedule Your schedule should keep track of
everything, including timing for when food
planning your event. From creating Whether you are sponsoring an event or
your schedule, to staffing the right hosting your own, you want to make sure arrives (if you are hosting your own event),
people, and keeping track of that you create and understand your to staff changes throughout the day, and
deliverables, you need to be highly schedule. Because live events have so speaking sessions. Especially at a large
organized and diligent in your many moving parts, a schedule ensures event, your teams will have to be at many
planning efforts. that everyone knows where they need different places at once, so the more
to be at the right time. This includes your detailed your schedule the better. You
internal staff and staff that you have hired. might even have different schedules and
Make sure that your schedule has been schedules for different aspects of the
socialized to the event stakeholders event. As an example, you could have
before the event, and make sure it is in a schedule for the booth, satellite booth,
an easily accessible place at the event. lunch, sessions, photos, and parties.
You might want to print out multiple copies
of your schedule and keep them handy Once you have your schedule created,
while you are at the event. your staff should be trained on it. Set up
a meeting and go over all of the details
and be sure to answer any questions.
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Event Logistics
85
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Event Logistics
86
Technical Help
Lunch Management
Booth
Booth Manager
Scan
Scan
Scan
Demos
Demos
Demos
Meeting Room
Meeting Room 1
Meeting Room 2
Meeting Room 3
Logistics Management
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Event Logistics
87
#DG2EM
Physical Events
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Driving Traffic
89
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Driving Traffic
90
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Driving Traffic
91
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Meeting Scheduling
92
It’s hard to get face-to-face time Reserve space Keep track of meetings in an Excel
or Google spreadsheet with the
Leave a lasting impression
with prospects outside of the office.
Find out which prospects are likely for meetings following headings:
It’s likely that your competitors are going
Once you’ve confirmed that your sales to be at the event too, so reach out to your
to attend the event, and schedule • Attendee name prospects before they do to get a leg up!
them for meetings with your sales reps are attending the event, reserve • Attendee company name
meeting rooms in nearby hotels or at the Stock the meeting room with light
reps. Reserve space and manage • Your company host refreshments, marketing collateral in
a calendar of meeting rooms and their event venue. This will give the reps the • Date
opportunity to talk to decision makers, folders (for easy portability), and hang
availabilities. This may be just what • Time up posters. Then, emphasize to the sales
you need to leave a lasting impression host demos, and give prospects some • Meeting room name and location
peace and quiet away from the event reps that the room should be left clean
that will make your company glow • Notes for the next meeting. If possible, provide
in comparison to competitors. festivities. Make sure that internet and a • Meeting completion (Y/N)
projector are accessible, if needed. wireless internet access, just in case
it’s needed.
Create a calendar of
meeting room availabilities
As more sales reps and executives
request meeting space, be sure to
address and confirm each meeting
request. On the day of the event, know
who is meeting who, when, and where!
Keep maps of meeting rooms handy in
case directions are needed, and a
directory of phone numbers in case you
need to contact a sales rep for
emergencies.
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Megan Campbell
94
#DG2EM
Snapshot
Megan Campbell
95
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Networking Event
Examples
Event
Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears
Location
Dallas, TX
Tickets available
26 tickets
Goals
10-14 prospect companies,
4-6 current opportunity companies
Title
VP level and above
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Content and Thought At thought leadership events you Executive Breakfasts, Lunches,
Leadership Events should consider hosting the following: and Dinners
Content events are focused around • Executive Roundtables: Executive breakfasts, lunches, and A Marketo Executive
high-level thought leadership. Attendees Limit attendees to 8-10 handpicked dinners are sometimes best planned as Breakfast Example
will come to these events for best prospects or customers for dinners part of an event or a launch. Your
practices and industry trends, so make and breakfasts. prospects will love the chance to network Event
sure that your content is not too product- • Happy Hour Networking: Available with their peers, learn about new services, Welcome to the Future: Marketing
or sales-oriented. You want your for everyone that attends the event or watch an influencer speak. You can and Sales in a Brave New World –
prospects or customers to come away to mingle with one another host a small breakfast with 8-10 hot A Breakfast with Phil Fernandez,
with some actionable tips that they can • Invite-only Presentations: These can prospects and customers, or you can CEO of Marketo and Author of
use within their organization. be outside of the scheduled event at create a larger venue with 50+ attendees Revenue Disruption
a local spot near the conference center listening to a speaker of your choice.
Location
At Marketo, we often include content where you can present thought These events typically include both
Menlo Park, CA
as part of a larger networking event. leadership and interact with the networking and thought leadership.
An example of how to do this would be attendees. Additionally, because these get-togethers What
to set aside a location before a sporting • Executive Tracks: These work are so informal, they offer a chance to Content event discussing
event and meet with propects beforehand particularly well if you are hosting your create and maintain relationships. Phil’s Fernandez’s new book
to hand out tickets and present a high- own content event. You can create
Goals
value piece of content. Another example a separate track for your executive
8-10 enterprise customers
of a content event would be participating attendees so that you can ensure
and prospects
in an industry thought leadership event the content is targeted to a C-level
or putting on an executive conference. persona. Title
VP level and above
#DG2EM
Physical Events
Field Marketing Logistics Always personalize each interaction Example Goal Formula
Make sure your field marketing or sales
The key reason to maintain a dedicated
reps call each respondent to confirm your for Field Marketing
field marketing team is the personalization
and interaction that it enables with your company received the RSVP. A personal
customers and prospects. While for a call instead of an email is a special way
traditional tradeshow or conference you to make sure your invitee is always in
the know. After the event, ask the rep
5 Opps
steps. A personalized Thank You goes
Tips for Field Marketing Promotion a long way.
and Follow-up
Keep in mind the following when creating Request that your field marketing or sales
a field marketing event and determining reps write up interesting conversations
who you want to invite and how you want that happened during or after the event
24 Attendees
to follow-up: When you are considering the success
of your event, it is always helpful to have
Let a field marketing or sales rep access to the types of conversations that
5 Accelerated deals
and customers for a more exclusive event. conversations, you might want to consider
While you may want to send out a large changing the venue, time of day, content
email blast for a tradeshow, you will want that was presented, or invite list.
to send personalized text invites from
someone that your invitee already knows.
Since you want the emails to be
personalized, skip the templates.
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100
Eve
n
Foll t
ow-
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Up
Event Follow-Up
101
#DG2EM
Event Follow-Up
The lead list is a critical aspect of any • L ead Scanners: Typically tradeshows At Marketo, we use the following chart
event and lists should be created providing lead scanners will upload all to determine lead status, telling us exactly
either directly after the show (if the leads from the event within 24 hours to how engaged a lead was with us at the
tradeshow only lasts for one day), or a secure portal. Download the CSV file tradeshow:
created every night after the exhibit and upload it into your marketing
hall closes (for a multi-day tradeshow). automation system for quick follow-up. Lead Status Description
• Business Cards: Gather all the
business cards you collected and enter Pending Leads have minimal engagement or no engagement
the most commonly used fields into a at all (could’ve dropped their card in the fishbowl
CSV file. Once all leads have been or got scanned passing by the booth).
imported, add any notes on the cards Review Leads have engaged with Marketo, and we have
into your CRM system. to identify if they fit our buyer profile.
Target Leads have engaged with Marketo, and we know that
they fit our buyer profile.
Lead Sales-ready lead who we believe will be a potential
opportunity.
Customer A Marketo Customer; the list may have originated from
a Marketo Customer-only event.
#DG2EM
Event Follow-Up
Email Follow-Up
103
All email follow-ups should be written Here are our top five event email attending a multi-day tradeshow, you
before the event takes place. Reading follow-up tips: may want to create follow-ups to send
the event synopsis, session 1. Personalize your emails. Highlight what out each day so you can get continuous
descriptions, and blog posts will give event at the tradeshow your prospect engagement throughout the show. For
you a good understanding of the event attended. You might want to create instance, on day one, send out an email
and help you craft a compelling separate emails for leads you generated to everyone that attended your booth
message that leaves a lasting via booth visits, your sessions, or another and advertise your speaking sessions
impression. event like a party or a luncheon. on day one or a must-attend party.
Personalize your emails by including
name, company, or other unique details 100%
about that particular prospect. If it is a
hot prospect, have the follow-up email
come directly from the sales rep or the 80%
person from your company who had
the most interaction with him or her
at the tradeshow. 60%
#DG2EM
Event Follow-Up
Email Follow-Up
104
3. Include a compelling offer. Once you piece of content, or encouraging him 4. Use pre-show intelligence to determine • T ext vs. HTML: Depending on the
have your lead’s attention, you want to to enter a contest or to attend a party. your post-show follow-ups. What event and context, we will test text
present something compelling to take Always ask for the next move! Also, emails and messaging worked best vs. HTML. A text email will often
that person to the next step. It isn’t make sure to consider your audience. during your pre-show touches? Review appear more personalized and
enough to just thank an attendee for You want to send different offers and reports about deliverability, downloads, generally work best for field
visiting your booth. You want to also follow-ups to those that attended and and who responded. Be on the lookout marketing events while we find
continue to engage her by offering a those that did not attend your tradeshow. for a particular subject line or content HTML works best for larger events.
asset that resonated. • Offers: Try out different offers based
on your personas, if they attended
5. Always A/B test. Testing is the best way the event, or where you scanned
to determine what is and isn’t working. or picked up their business card.
A/B test throughout your tradeshow We try contests, different pieces of
follow-up and continue to optimize. This content, videos, and other compelling
works great for a multi-day event, but calls-to-action to gauge effectiveness.
also helps you create better follow-ups • Graphics: The look of an email can
each and every time you do an event. affect the conversion rate. At Marketo
At Marketo we A/B test numerous we test everything from button
aspects of an email: placement and header to different
• Sender name: We will test whether graphics in order to determine what
we get a better open rate for emails appeals visually to our audience.
being sent from Marketo Events vs.
the name of someone on the sales
team.
Dreamforce 2012 Mid-Week Follow-Up
#DG2EM
Event Follow-Up
Lead nurturing and lead scoring Nurturing Conference Nurture Tracks Include Event Content in Nurture Tracks
processes are critical to a So you got someone to register and attend You can also nurture conference attendees Don’t overlook all the great content assets
comprehensive event lead your event. What now? Lead nurturing is in a special mini track. This can a good idea that can come out of a tradeshow. You can
management strategy. After someone the process of building relationships with if your conference goers are not very include speaker slide decks or recordings
attends an event, you want to make qualified prospects. But it’s not about familiar with your company and its offerings. into your regular nurture tracks. Or create
sure she remains engaged with your calling a lead every two weeks to see if he To run a mini track, create a series of a whitepaper, ebook, or infographic from
company and is guided down your is ready to buy. Rather, it’s about sending follow-up emails featuring content specific one of your company’s speaking sessions.
funnel to eventually become a timely and relevant messages to stay top to the tradeshow such as speaker slides, You can also write a series of blog posts
customer. Lead nurturing and scoring of mind while also equipping the buyer and other relevant content pieces. Once about the conference and use them in
are critical to remaining top of mind with data needed to make an informed the contacts have gone through your mini your follow-up and nurture emails.
with your prospects and ensuring that decision when he is ready to buy. track, you can add them back into your
your sales teams are calling them at normal lead nurture tracks.
the right time. Example: John Smith registered and
attended a webinar on content marketing
best practices. He obviously has an
interest in content marketing and would
like to learn more. Following up with a
sales pitch, rather than information, can
be detrimental to the buying cycle and
can immediately turn off a buyer. To help
him solve his pain, keep your company
top of mind, and be seen as a valuable
resource, send him relevant information
about his interests. For more information
lead nurturing, take a look at our Definitive
Guide to Lead Nurturing.
#DG2EM
Event Follow-Up
Scoring
Lead scoring is a shared sales and
Stage Signed Up Attended Engaged at Show Notes
marketing methodology for ranking
leads in order to determine their sales- Lead Behavior Lead Behavior Lead Behavior
readiness. Here are some behavioral Score Score Score Score Score Score
scoring attributes that are most commonly
used for events: Early 5
Late 5 5 10 10 Late stage means
At Marketo, we score leads based the conference is
on their level of engagement at the event: marketing
• Attended automation
= 0 points or 5 points – depending focused.
on where leads are in your pipeline
• Visited Booth (No Engagement) Marketo Event Lead Scoring Chart
= 0 points
• Visited Booth (Engagement)
= 5 points
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107
ROI o
Event f
s
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ROI of Events
108
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ROI of Events
Metrics Up Front
Your goals should not be limited to Build a model up-front to understand the
registration and attendance numbers. sensitivities of your event ROI on various
The best goals will get into pipeline metrics. For instance, if you hold an event
and revenue impact. that is well-attended but by the wrong
people, you will increase your costs
without impacting revenue. Your model
may show that the percentage of qualified
attendees tends to be a high indicator
of success. (This sensitivity may only
be relevant for physical events, as virtual
events are less costly.)
#DG2EM
ROI of Events
to be Measurable
The best event programs incorporate In order for your program measurement
intentional measurement strategies to be accurate, you may need to include
in advance. That means you should variances in your testing strategies.
define what, when, and how you will Through testing, you can determine what
measure during your initial planning methods work best for your business.
phase so you have a benchmark to An example of measureable variances
work with. is inviting a segment of your database to
the event, and then comparing revenue
from that cohort versus the people you
didn’t invite to see how well your event
performed.
#DG2EM
ROI of Events
When it comes to measuring ROI, Good: Basic Progression Progression Checklist for Events
every company is unique in their level
of sophistication and what they want Measurement Tradeshow
to track. But where do you start? By measuring the progression statuses üü Attended
Below are three different levels of your attendees, you can determine üü Visited booth
of measurement based. metrics such as invited, registered, üü Watched demo
attended, and no show. Make sure you are üü Attended multiple tradeshows
measuring these basic metrics, if nothing üü Attended speaking session
else. Take a look at the chart below
showing metrics for one of our events. Live Streamed Events and Webinars
You can see that we invited 1,815 people, üü Registered
50 attended, and 62 were no shows. üü Viewed
üü Commented during
üü Asking questions during
üü Reviewed follow-up recording
üü Rated event
Good üü Clicked link inside
üü Viewed multiple times
Other Behaviors
#DG2EM
ROI of Events
Better Best
Pipe only counts if Opp created After Attend Date
New
61 $1,779,544 12 $320,974 $130,682 $2,142 13.6
Business
#DG2EM
ROI of Events
Allocation Note that the calculation of pipeline can • P erson A attended Seminar A and
At Marketo, we look at two main metrics be subtle depending on how you allocate Trade Show B
when measuring ROI for various pipeline to the various marketing programs • Person B attended Trade Show B
marketing programs. They are: that influence an opportunity. At Marketo, • Person C was sent Direct Mail C
we look at two allocation methods.
1. Investment per Target. This is a First-Touch Pipeline (FT Pipeline) allocates In this case, we would allocate $50,000 to
straightforward measure of top-of-the- the entire opportunity to the program that Tradeshow B and $25,000 each to
funnel efficiency. Lower investment- sourced the primary contact for a deal. Seminar A and Direct Mail C, as follows:
per-target means we’re building our While that can be useful, we pay more
database with qualified potential future attention to Multi-Touch Pipeline (MT
customers. These targets are not yet Pipeline). This approach allocates the $100,000 Revenue
leads or opportunities, and typically pipeline and revenue across all the
need significant lead nurturing before marketing programs that successfully
they are ready to buy. influenced any person attached to an
2. Pipeline to Investment Ratio. This is the opportunity. For example, let’s say a deal
“one metric to rule them all” since it worth $100,000 recently closed, and $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
shows how well your marketing there were three contacts involved in the
programs are driving what sales really deal.
needs: pipeline.
#DG2EM
ROI of Events
#DG2EM
7 Common Event Marketing
115
Mistakes to Avoid
You need to cover lots of details when it comes 1. Never go in blind!
Make sure you plan, plan, plan, and
• W
here: Location is key. Know where
the event is located, where your
to events and the best way to do that is to be over- plan some more! Set proper expectations booth is located on the show floor,
prepared! That said, it’s easy to make many for the event, including training for your
staff, reviewing messaging, and doing
who is located next to you, how you
and your staff will get there, and get
mistakes when planning or hosting an event. your research on the exhibitors prior to know some local hot spots.
Here are some common ones to avoid and some to arriving. Details matter. It is a big
investment to attend a trade show,
• When: Don’t show up late for set up!
Go to the event at LEAST an hour
ways that you can be as prepared as possible! so make sure that everyone is on top before registration begins to ensure
of their game and you know the who, that there are no loose ends. Keep
what, where, when, and why way an event agenda handy so you can
before the actual event. manage booth staff during high and
• Who: Know who is going to be at the low traffic times.
event, both internally and externally. • Why: So your company is 100%
A well-trained staff member can be the certain that exhibiting at trade shows
key to a successful event, and a poorly is essential to brand awareness,
trained staff member can be your engaging pipeline, and closing
undoing! Knowing who’s who at the business. Or is it? Did previous trade
event is critical to targeting. Consider show ROI influence your decision
printing out an exhibitor list, highlight to exhibit? It must absolutely make
your customers and prospects, and business sense to make the
then come up with a plan of action to investment, so do your homework
get the most out of your interactions. before signing up.
• What: Many exhibitors don’t define
their purpose at an event. If you are
there to hand out collateral and
stress balls, you probably didn’t plan
for success. Make sure you define a
purpose for being at the event, along
with relevant goals. Understand the
audience and why they and you are
there, and then position yourself
accordingly.
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Mistakes to Avoid
2. Know the amount of staff you need. 3. Know when a conversation 4. Don’t forget relevant conversations.
Ever attended a tradeshow where you is dragging on. This is a tough one, since there is so
feel like the staff outnumbers you five to Ideally people will be lining up at much going on at an event. Let’s say
one? Nothing looks worse than a bunch your booth to talk with you about things are going great and you’re
of guys in their company Polos sitting your product. Don’t keep ‘em waiting. having conversation after conversation.
around and checking their iPhones If conversations last for more than five Will you remember what was said in the
every 30 seconds. Not only does that minutes during the peak traffic times, first conversation, even though it was
decrease your productivity, it cuts the you are going to miss many more awesome? Sales reps cringe at the
amount of real estate you have to hold conversations. If you feel the discussion idea of a lost opportunity. Make sure
decent conversations with prospects. is worth continuing, schedule a follow- your staff logs the key points of each
On the other side of the spectrum, you up call. After all, you’re at the show to conversation, either on the back of the
want to make sure you have enough represent your brand, not to conduct prospect’s business card or on a sheet
resources to effectively represent your a full discovery call. of paper you can staple to the card for
brand and engage with prospects. Just reference. Additionally, if you have an
remember – while the quantity of staff iPad scanner, you can log the details
counts, the quality matters most. You directly into an app. This will make it
want at least one product or service easy for you to insert notes into your
superstar present to field the more CRM system for targeted follow-up
technical and granular questions. based on your conversation.
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Mistakes to Avoid
5. Never miss a deadline. 6. Stand out from the crowd. 7. Always follow up in a timely manner.
We all know tradeshows are expensive. It doesn’t matter if you have the One of the most critical factors for
The cost of missing discount deadlines prettiest booth – if it doesn’t draw turning your trade show participation
will come back to bite you in the place traffic, you will not be returning next into revenue is your lead management
that it hurts most: your wallet. Many year. What have you done to promote process. The best time to plan for
events offer early-bird specials for your presence at the event? Think of follow-up is before the show. The
registration, shipping, hotels, A/V and ways to create a buzz. This can be in longer a lead sits untouched, the colder
electronics. If you procrastinate, you the form of social media, booth swag and less interested she will become.
may end up paying double the price. and other giveaways, or launching a Develop a systematic lead handling
So plan early, bookmark or print your new product, service, or feature at the (collection and retrieval) system, set
exhibitor kit, and make sure you stay event. Remember, other exhibitors timelines for follow-up, and measure
on top of all deadlines. and sponsors at the event are trying the results. It is critical that marketing
to connect with the same audience. own this piece of the process, so hot
Make sure you give that audience leads will be distributed appropriately
a reason to seek you out. and sales can prioritize their time and
follow up promptly.
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sion
nclu
Co
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We didn’t say it would be easy, but, we said it once and we will continue
to stand by it: done right, events are a worthy investment and a critical part
of your marketing mix. After all, they offer a unique way to reach and engage
with prospects and customers about your brand and offerings. While today’s
buyers increasingly tune out commercials, avoid online advertisements,
and delete promotional emails, events can get them fired up about who
you are and how you can help them. With a well-planned and executed
event, you can create a shared experience worth remembering.
We recognize that events may be one of the most complicated programs for you
to pull off. But keep this guide handy and you’ll sail through your checklist in no time.
You’ll better handle everything from planning and execution to measuring the results
of your event marketing – and making changes that help you get more from each
future event.
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Carol Tang
Senior Marketing Operations Specialist
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