Join any business development or marketing team and events are likely to be a key part of their strategy. Whether just visiting, purchasing some event space or exclusively hosting an event, it is likely that your new team will be investing a lot of time, money and effort in industry-specific event attendance.
But what is the true purpose of businesses investing in this marketing channel? Is it simply an excuse for a ‘jolly’? Or are there real and tangible benefits of attending events?
A marketer spending marketing budget is one thing. But for the entrepreneur, spending money which could be otherwise used on any other aspect of their business, the true benefits of event attendance must be clear before making the decision.
Benefits of attending events and conferences
Without a doubt, there are many reason businesses and entrepreneurs decide to invest in event attendance. Depending on your goals and your overall approach and commitment to planning your time wisely, the ROI of event attendance can be great.
Raising brand awareness
Despite recent trends for boosting brand awareness through the use of digital marketing techniques such as organic or paid social media. Live events can be just, if not more, successful at helping brands increase their brand awareness.
Just like previous digital marketing trends have led to website visitors becoming ‘banner blind’. Where social media spaces have become saturated with advertisements and branded content, this has led to many users and potential customers becoming ‘ad blind’.
Events provide businesses with a much higher quality platform on which to build brand awareness. Not only are brands that are present at events have a more human and therefore more trustworthy presence, but when events are carefully selected, the audience is also highly targeted.
From an individual point of view, attending and speaking at events can complement online marketing activities such as guest posts and whitepapers. As an entrepreneurs profile is raised, this in turn grows the brand awareness of their business.
Networking
We aren’t here to bash digital marketing and sales techniques, as they truly do have their place when used wisely. However, another area in which events excel in helping entrepreneurs to grow their business which is arguably more effective than their purely digital counterparts is networking.
Attending specific industry events lets you easily meet, talk to and build relationships with individuals who are important to your business. This is because industry events usually host a mix of potential and current customers, competitors, suppliers and other influential stakeholders.
Although it is often very possible for an entrepreneur to find these individuals online (on LinkedIn for example). It is much more difficult to catch their attention, connect and build a strong relationship with them through digital means.
Direct sales
Arguably direct selling at events is not suitable or possible in all industries. However, attending events often allows entrepreneurs to generate substantial leads and even make direct sales. In many cases, other businesses or individuals will attend events specifically looking to solve an issue or remedy a challenge which they are currently facing.
Regardless of whether you operate in the B2B or B2C space, this offers great opportunities to entrepreneurs who can position themselves at events as a solution to those issues.
Events also make direct sales much simpler. By putting yourself or your sales person directly in front of your potential customers you can quickly build rapport, rapidly answer objections and undertake a detailed showcase of products or services.
This is particularly powerful in the D2C space where it is often difficult for relationships to be built and direct sales to be made outside of in-person events.
Research
One benefit of events which entrepreneurs often overlook is the ability to quickly and precisely undertake competitor and industry analysis.
By using a combination of conversations and observations you can pick up on the latest changes and trends in your specialist area. You can also understand what your competitors are currently focusing on and how your current and potential customers are responding to that.
Events allow entrepreneurs to discuss potential products, services or brand changes with customers and understand the desire for those changes.
Benefits of organising events
So, it is clear that attending events can be a great option for businesses and entrepreneurs to boost brand awareness, grow their networks, bring in direct sales and undertake critical research which will help them grow their businesses.
But what about taking this one step further and hosting your own event? Not only does this allow you to tap into the benefits highlighted above, but also brings more to the table.
Putting the brand centre stage
Attending or partaking in an event lets you tap into a fraction of the attention that the event is getting. The percentage of attention you grab is usually dependent on how much you pay the event organisers to expose your brand.
Running your own event can put your businesses centre stage. It also gives you control over who (if any) other businesses also get a share of the attention you have earnt through hosting the event.
Hosting your own event allows you to control the direction of the event. Although it should not be too salesy in nature, lining the content up with your offering is a smart way to ensure success.
Opportunities in options
Running your own event may seem like a massive investment for any business. However, there are ways you can save money and still leverage many of the benefits of hosting your own events.
For example, running a webinar can help your business develop brand awareness and position themselves as a thought leader. This saves you the upfront costs involved with running in-person events such as venue costs, logistics and ticket sales.
Undertaking a webinar can generate impressive ROI for your business. It can also act as a low-cost test option, letting you understand potential audience size, the best performing content and most popular speakers before investing more heavily in a live event.
Experiential power
In recent years we have seen consumers shift from desiring and purchasing products towards experiences. This has created a unique opportunity for businesses which provide their potential customer base with experiences and make those experiences part of their brand story.
In the B2C space, experiential marketing allows businesses to add personality to their brand and even generate on-site direct sales. One great example of this was in 2016 when the Ghostbusters movie was released and a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was built in Waterloo station.
This created huge attention on social media around the launch and allowed Forbidden Planet to tap into this excitement, selling cinema tickets and merchandise on site.
B2B businesses can also tap into experiential marketing. Take for example the event hosted by GE, the Healthymagination showcase. This event allowed GE to immerse potential customers and other stakeholders in their latest products and innovations, building brand awareness and further securing their position as an industry leader.
Clearly, attending and running events are a great way for businesses to create sustainable growth. By undertaking this marketing channel brands and individuals can grow their networks, increase brand awareness and position themselves and industry leaders.
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