Next-level ROI: harnessing meeting automation for your event strategy

Working out the return on investment of marketing events can be tricky for businesses. But despite tighter budgets and higher costs, they remain a priority.

 

Traditionally, many event marketing strategies rely on the number of leads generated and brand impressions, and expensive attempts to focus attention on large booth displays, drink stations… anything to attract attention from attendees. Yet a shift is underway as industry leaders recognise the potential of a meetings-driven strategy, powered by the capabilities of meeting automation.

 

The evolution of event strategy: from leads to meetings

 

Historically, event success was often measured by the number of leads generated – the more business cards collected, the more badges scanned, the better. While qualified leads remain valuable, the efficacy of this approach has come under scrutiny. Many businesses have found that a significant portion of leads collected at events fail to convert into actual business relationships that result in measurable sales growth. This has spurred the rise of a new model for B2B events — a meetings-driven event strategy — because ultimately, meetings drive sales, and sales drive revenue.

 

A meetings-driven strategy prioritises quality interactions and makes best use of the team of experts, executives and sales reps your company is footing the travel expenses for. Instead of focusing on flashy displays, giveaways or the experiential aspects of the booth, the focus shifts to fostering meaningful interactions and conversations.

 

This begins as an all-out effort six to eight weeks before the event, with marketing and sales teams proactively pre-booking meetings through inbound and outbound scheduling with qualified prospects and customers and the right meeting types. For example, key customers attending an event might benefit from a sit-down with executives to help move an expansion deal forward, or a prospect might benefit from a demo led by a subject matter expert, which increases the likelihood of conversion.

 

The power of meeting automation in elevating event strategy

 

In order to execute a meetings-driven strategy at scale, the right technology needs to be in place. Combining multiple groups of people, different physical meeting locations and meeting types can be a recipe for disaster without the right technology.

 

Meeting automation is the game-changing platform that empowers marketing and event teams to execute a meetings-driven strategy with finesse. By selecting the right meeting automation platform with the right integrations – such as CRM, marketing automation, event registration, or badge scanning – it allows for teams to seamlessly execute a meetings-driven process that enhances the experience for internal and external participants alike. Advantages include:

 

Ease of scheduling: meeting automation platforms reduce the friction of back-and-forth emails. The right integrations can make it so that your sales teams don’t have to leave Salesforce to book meetings.

 

Multiple meeting types: meeting automation platforms should be able to support different meeting types, be it expert meetings, demos, executive briefings, sales meetings, roundtables, sessions or even booth tours.

 

Custom configuration: to create a seamless experience for meeting managers, onsite staff and attendees, a good meeting automation platform needs to be configurable to your specific needs: matching meeting types and topics to people and availability, along with rooms and any custom approvals that are needed.

 

Inbound/outbound booking: a good meeting automation platform will also have a variety of ways for your teams and interested attendees to pre-book meetings or easily book onsite meetings.

 

Data-driven insights: meeting automation platforms collect a wealth of data, including meetings booked, attendance rates and survey data/notes from meetings. When integrated to other platforms such as your CRM or marketing automation, this data can be tied to campaigns, which track critical pipeline and revenue information. The valuable data provides insights that can inform future strategies and refine the approach for even greater ROI.

 

Maximising ROI through meaningful meetings

 

The shift to a meetings-driven strategy is anchored in the philosophy that meetings and conversations are where deals happen and what drives business forward. Large B2B events or smaller events launched across multiple cities are great forums to execute that idea at scale because of the volume of customers and potential customers all in one place. This can lead to benefits in:

 

Relationship building: meaningful meetings foster genuine connections and trust, laying the groundwork for long-term business relationships. When decision-makers engage in substantive conversations, the likelihood of sales advancing the associated deal increases.

 

Conversion rates: while leads are valuable, the conversion rates from leads to pipeline can be relatively low. On the other hand, meetings that result from a focused and tailored strategy have higher conversion rates due to the depth of engagement and alignment of interests.

 

A customer-centric approach: focusing on meetings allows businesses to adopt a customer-centric approach, tailoring their offerings, content and solutions to the specific needs and challenges of the customer or buyer. This personalised approach increases the chances of delivering value and solving real problems.

 

As companies think about how to get more from their events, a transition from a leads-driven approach to one centered on meetings that advance the sales pipeline should be at the top of their list. Combined with the power of meeting automation, it can be the catalyst for unprecedented ROI growth. 

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Learn more at jifflenow.com

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by Lisa Ng, Head of Growth Marketing, Jifflenow