Defining success and ROI with live event marketing
Nothing shapes individual preferences and memories more than real-life experiences and that’s why live event marketing continues to be a primary tactic that brands all over the world invest in year-on-year.
It’s no secret that experiential events often require significant budget and resources, but this is easily justified so long as meaningful ROI can be presented back to the business, be that in the form of increased sales or some other key performance indicator.
However, a recent article published in Harvard Business Review suggests that three of five marketers use no tools to measure their event ROI, and most companies are planning and executing their events without specific business objectives.
It’s impossible to demonstrate success if clear objectives haven’t been established from the outset – they’re the bedrock of achievement when it comes to live event marketing – and when you’re investing substantial sums, it’s vital to define what it is you want to achieve.
Think about your objectives…and then think again
Every campaign has desired outcomes, whether you’re a B2B firm or B2C, and it’s crucial to agree what that is before you get started.
With every roadshow truck tour we’ve delivered, we spend time working with our clients to define their objectives before we go anywhere near a vehicle.
It could be getting people through the door; a level of awareness, behavior change; sales uplift; press or social media buzz.
An upcoming project we are involved in for a client in the media sector requires a simple attendance metric, but we are able to go one step further and actually provide an intent measurement, giving additional data that will help prove the success of the project.
Setting SMART objectives if also one of the simplest yet often overlooked ways to ensure your goals will work for you, so don’t be afraid to go back to basics when you’re in the planning stage.
Don’t let relevant data slip through your fingers
The evolution of technology has made it easier than ever to capture all-important data at a live event, so there really are no excuses for failing to do this properly.
It’s possible to record all kinds of information and we often help our B2B clients collate names, job roles, email addresses and additional contact details, but we also endeavor to define who the decision makers are, what kind of budgets they’re working with, which products or services they’re interested in and what timeframe they expect to make a purchase within.
This data can be fed back to the sales team – in real-time if necessary thanks to the advancements of CRM data integration – and then passed on to sales territory managers who can follow up the first interaction when the time is right, armed with all the critical details they need to accelerate and convert sales.
Having the right data at your fingertips helps speed up the sales cycle and as this is often one of the primary objectives of a live event, being able to showcase the support you’ve given the sales team will help provide compelling evidence at the campaign evaluation stage.
Real ROI measurement requires support
Live event marketing is by far one of the most effective ways a brand can connect with an audience but it’s imperative to define what success looks like at the planning stage.
Having delivered a range of successful roadshow truck tours all over the world in the last 14 years, we’ve helped leading brands develop strategic objectives that enable live event marketing campaigns to flourish.
To find out how we could help you get more from experiential marketing, please get in touch by contacting us here.
