3 Valuable Criteria for Choosing the Right Events and Enhancing Marketing Mix

Marketing executives are continually challenged to optimize their event schedule. It’s not just about return-on-investment (ROI).

Assuming that you use a marketing mix, integrating event opportunities with the overall marketing plan will create the highest leverage of marketing resources. Employing a mix of marketing methods allows you to reach a more diverse audience and appeal to them from complementary platforms. Marketing success occurs when the prospect receives enough meaningful touches so as to compel them to express interest or “opt-in”.

When determining your annual event participation schedule you will find it helpful to keep these criteria in mind:

1. Audience – Who attends the event? Are they a target audience? Where do they rank?
   1. Industry
   2. Size
   3. Stage
   4. Geography
2. Schedule – How does this event fit the overall event schedule? How does this event compliment the overall marketing plan/schedule? Will we have the appropriate resources available for this opportunity?
   1. Balanced year
   2. Compliment overall marketing strategy
3. Investment – What’s the value of this event/audience? What is the total estimated cost for our participation? What is our projected ROI?
   1. Prospect acquisition cost
   2. Client acquisition cost

You will undoubtedly find additional criteria that are unique to your situation. The key is to have a solid basis for your decision making and then improve outcomes by quantifying results and adjusting the formula over time.

My Expo & Event Team (MEET) specializes in helping event sponsors, exhibitors and speakers maximize their return-on-investment or ROI.

Feel free to download our latest special report. Event ROI Measurement – Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make