Cvent talks German efficiency
It is estimated that, on average, a business will spend around a quarter of its annual marketing spend on events. Yet, are you doing enough to measure return on investment? David Chalmers, marketing director Europe at Cvent gives some pointers on German style efficiency
This will minimise visitors, delegates and buyers’ travel time and therefore increase the probability of their attendance te ance
. Remember mber the visitor is the most important person, the right visitors will ensure the exhibitors and sponsors follow.
BOOK EARLY: German venues are in high demand due to their well-connected infrastructure ructure, inexpensive public transport and central European location. By planning ahead you can secure the best venue for your target audience.
DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES AND DESIRED OUTCOMES Make sure senior management define clear objectives for the event and what they hope to achieve afterwards. Whatever the reason, clarity is vital at the onset. Try not to merge too many busines ess wish-lists into one event.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE We may think we understand the min
ind-set of the people we want to come along, but don’ t presume. Engage with your audience before you create the event. Do your research via traditional research methods or by social media tools such as Facebook ok and Twitter. Find out what your audience really want from an event. What format elicits the best reaction?
TURN‘ NO’ S INTO AN OPPORTUNITY Even if invitees cannot make your event, it is very important find out why. Perhaps it’ s the cost, location or speaker. You could look at whether they want to have more information on your product and service. It’ s a perfect opportunity to create new business leads even at this juncture. Make sure the registration system is integrated with the company’ s CMS system. By doing so you will be able to start collate information about customers and prospects.
SPREAD THE WORD( PROPERLY) With time and money invested into the event you’ ll want to make sure you get as many people of the right demographic coming along in order to get the maximum return out of your investment. Make sure the invitation is something which can be easily forwarded on to relevant contacts via email and or social media and send reminders.
ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT – MANPOWER UP Make sure you have enough people attending from your company so that they can facilitate lots of interaction on the day; it’ s essential that the home team captures as many business opportunities as possible. You may want to set up a system where people can book appointments to meet specific people or, if appropriate, experts or key speakers at the event
POST EVENT- MONETISE Follow up, follow up, follow up! The feedback form is an essential starting point, but make sure your delegates fill it in- consider getting real time feedback by sending a feedback form via mobile devices.
EW / EN 2016 Germany, The UK Organiser’ s User Guide 9