Event Planning

Event ideas and guidance.

 
Creating a Buzz-Worthy Launch (4).png

RE-Imagine the status quo

In software, many companies offer user conferences; gathering advocates and industry influencers to generate ideas, cultivate a community, and inform product development. However, when volatile industries get hit with a downturn, travel can be one of the first line items cut. When faced with that situation, rather than cancelling our user conference or accepting low attendance, we re-imagined it as a three-city series and took our content on the road. We invested more, saw more clients than any year before, and got more user feedback during one of the hardest years to date in our space. Additionally, our commitment to serving, understanding, and celebrating clients was clearly demonstrated.

Creating a Buzz-Worthy Launch (3).png

ESTABLISH Structure for Volunteers

After organizing countless non-profit events, I’ve witnessed the same tragedy over and over: under-utilized volunteers. If volunteers aren’t assigned specific tasks, they won’t contribute at their highest level. Often the one or two people in charge of the event are burdened with the majority of work, while volunteers pick up pieces along the way. I frequently see an “all hands on deck” approach to all efforts from fundraising to logistics, but its rarely effective. Dividing the event committee into specific groups aimed at achieving specific goals (for example: Advertising Committee, Ticket Sales Committee, etc.) will increase volunteer engagement and result in a better executed and more profitable event.

Creating a Buzz-Worthy Launch (1).png

View B2B events as your first “toucH”

In business to business marketing, tradeshows are still very much a thing. Too often, organizations pay a lot of money for 2-3 days of engaging with potential buyers but fail to execute a follow up strategy to close the deal. Frequently, leads are handed off to sales (instead of nurtured by marketing) and those that don’t have an immediate need get lost. The most effective way to realize a return on your B2B event is to develop a post-event nurturing strategy before you attend. Have your follow up content and materials ready to ship out, capture every lead into a database of contacts, and funnel leads into marketing campaigns relevant to the conference content. Short-term sales may not result from a tradeshow, but a long-term relationships will. Learn more on the blog.

Give advocates a Stage

A PR strategy should be built on thought leadership and customer appreciation — and that manifests when customers present on your behalf. Whether attending a tradeshow, hosting a conference, or delivering a webinar, we always seek to put our clients on stage to share their story. Careful consideration of the topic, the audience, and the individual client is critical in every speaking engagement. It is essential to craft a careful ask that is inline with their organization or personal ambitions and delivered with thoughtful consideration on preparation milestones. And, don’t let the message stop at the audience in the seats. Work with your client to share their story on all platforms — blogs, whitepapers, case studies, video, etc. Ensure they understand how appreciative you are and how important their message is to you.