Return on Investment

Whether you are a sponsor, exhibitor or speaker; event participation is the most efficient form of marketing for attracting business-to-business (B2B) clients. All other forms of marketing including cold calls; TV, radio, print, and online advertising; public relations; e-news and search optimized websites are successful when they result in the seller meeting the buyer face-to-face. The founding concept of business events is to put sellers and buyers in the same room thereby significantly shortening the cycle. Events require a different set of skills than passive forms of marketing like advertising where once the ad is placed the seller waits for potential buyers to take action. Event sponsorship, exhibiting and speaking is active. Here are 5 ways that event event participation is active like a gym membership: Start with a health assessment – What are your vitals? Understand your assets and liabilities. Which events have been most productive for you? What tools do you have? How’s your team? What resources do you need? What’s your conversion ratio? Do you have a reliable prospect handling methodology? Set clear and achievable goals – “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. Do you have an outcome or destination in mind? What is your definition of success? Are your goals in alignment? Are your goals measurable? Are your goals realistic? Are your goals time bound? Create a plan to achieve those goals – “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” Theodore Roosevelt. What work needs to be done? Who will do the work? When does the work need to be done? What resources are needed to achieve the goals? How will progress be measured? What are intermediate successes, milestones? Use the facilities and sweat a little – “80% of life is showing up.” Woody Allen Are you following the plan? Are you doing the activity? Are you consistent? Is your team following the script? Are you focused on quality execution not the quantity of events? Are you prepared for success? Measure your progress – “If it can’t be expressed in figures, it’s not science; it’s an opinion.” Robert Heinlein Are continuously improving? Do you know your value drivers? Are your weaknesses becoming strengths? Do you have a quick reference dashboard to monitor your vitals? Are you able to make decisions based on facts not fads or feelings? Are you able to logically adjust and improve strategy through the year and year-over-year? Success at the gym and through events is remarkably similar. When you have a good plan, the appropriate resources, good discipline and simple methods of measuring results you will gain the desired outcomes. Feel free to download our latest special report. Event ROI Measurement – Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make.

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: Audience – Who attends the event? Are they a target audience? Where do they rank? Industry Size Stage Geography 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? Balanced year Compliment overall marketing strategy Investment – What’s the value of this event/audience? What is the total estimated cost for our participation? What is our projected ROI? Prospect acquisition cost 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