When commercially conceived and executed, B2B events can be an effective marketing tool for generating sales leads. Since 2020, event marketing has undergone a fundamental shift with the digitisation of events. A few years on, digital events remain integral to many organisations’ marketing strategies despite the reintroduction of in-person events.
However, amid increasing data demonstrating event marketing’s potential as a revenue generator, many organisations still approach their events through the lens of ‘event planning’ rather than the commercial lens of ‘event marketing’.
Event commercialisation must be premeditated
To achieve commercial success from an event (such as a seminar, webinar, workshop etc.), organisations must commence ideation and plan with their sales goals in mind. The end commercial objectives must form the baseline of an event strategy.
Without a solid, commercially-focused strategy for pre- and post-event sales and marketing efforts, events are little more than a waste of resources. Unfortunately, many leaders rush into event implementation based on a “great idea.” But, when questioned about sales follow-up and nurture campaigns, they are at a loss to explain how they plan to commercialise the event. Even if the event itself is, in fact, a terrific idea, the commercialisation is often an afterthought.
Instead, leaders should foster pre-event collaboration between the sales and marketing departments. The post-event sales outreach must not be an afterthought. You must plan it strategically before the event so marketing can develop the necessary support for the sales team.
Pre- and post-event sales and marketing activities
Marketers can design a marketing strategy aligned to the sales team’s requirements by considering the post-event sales efforts. Marketers can segregate materials to address the needs of individual registrants directly. Marketers must divide their efforts into those that registered but did not show up and those that attended.
Adopting a strategic approach can help an organisation’s sales team commercialise the event and achieve revenue targets. In the example of a webinar, here are some key considerations:
- When will the sales team contact the participants post-event?
- What resources and assets would aid sales representatives in their follow-up calls?
- Is a drip email campaign necessary for all participants?
- Are additional materials/drip email campaigns required for individuals who registered but did not attend the event in its entirety or at all?
Additional post-event steps
You must execute all post-event operations with a rigorous and well-organised strategy. To maximise current and upcoming events, organisations must consider the following steps:
- If sponsors, partners, vendors or influencers are involved in an event, demonstrate appreciation via email or social channels where appropriate. In addition, thank relevant team members and speakers who were instrumental in orchestrating and executing the event.
- Gather feedback from team members who attended the event. Assess which aspects of the event worked well and which did not. Seek feedback from attendees via surveys and questionnaires.
- Record and analyse data such as the number of invites sent, attendees, leads generated etc. Were projections achieved or missed?
- Share relevant event highlights on social media, such as short videos of speeches, which may ignite interest in future events from relevant audiences.
- Ensure relevant data is added to the CRM for salespeople to follow up. Ensure salespeople establish relationships post-event rather than hard sell new leads.
Ensuring the commercial success of your next event
Was the most recent event of your B2B organisation commercially successful? Resonate specialises in B2B marketing. We understand and appreciate the value of events to B2B marketing success. We can strategise with you, plan the event, develop an aligned marketing strategy and devise a complete set of marketing tactics for your next event. We also know that the B2B marketing agenda must enable the sales team to succeed. We work with this in mind. Get in touch via the contact form to discuss the commercialisation of your organisation’s next B2B event.
