For the fifth year in a row, events claimed the top spot on a list of the most effective B2B marketing tactics, according to the 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks study. Although events take up almost a third of the typical marketing budget, just 8% of marketers say their companies are highly proficient at developing relationships, utilizing marketing automation, closing deals, and acquiring customer insights at events, according to a CMO Council and E2MA study.
Yet, according to Statistica, 79% of Event Marketers say that they generated sales through hosting events, and 14% said that they generated a 5:1 return from event marketing investments. So how can you make sure that your events are revenue-boosting, not revenue-busting for your company?
Where’s the revenue?
While leads and positive feedback are good indicators that your investment in face-to-face events are effective, the concrete value of your events has to come from their ability to turn more attendees into customers. According to the Event Engagement Benchmark Report, 80% of B2B and B2C companies list improving customer engagement as their top event marketing goal, and that they currently encounter less than 50% of their customers during events. So increasing customer engagement and driving lead conversion are top challenges for event marketers in 2016.
In order to justify your event spend, your CEO requires a high level of accountability from the outcome of your events. Meanwhile, your prospects and customers desire experiences that are tailored to their unique needs and interests. Ironically, misalignment between event ROI and your customer interests occurs because event-generated data and customer buying signals are not integrated with marketing automation and CRM systems. These are problems that, once solved, lead to far more effective results. For example, the average event ROI is between 25-34%, however when event marketing software is in place, the event ROI increases to 36-45%.
In our latest cheat sheet, How to Use Marketing Automation to Drive More Revenue from Events, you will learn how the right marketing and event automation integration will allow you to create a better picture of prospects and customers; increase attendee engagement; and deliver better sales and marketing results from events.
You’ll discover:
- The type of attendee/prospect data that can be captured at events and how to capture it
- How to use attendee data from events to enrich the attendee experience to support your marketing strategy
- Specific examples showing how to integrate your event management platform with marketing automation
- The win-win-win for your attendees, your marketing team, and your sales team
- How to take the next step towards true event ROI
Whether you’re looking to generate more revenue from events or you just want to learn how to deliver a credible ROI on the events you manage, How to Use Marketing Automation to Drive More Revenue from Events can make your 2016 goals a reality.