What was the last event you went to? Was it a business conference? Or A new product launch? Or maybe just an anniversary celebration?
To you, all these events might sound different from each other. However, for brands who organize these events, for them, the purpose of every event is the same – To engage & entertain their potential customers!
Events are a highly recommended form of marketing for all kinds of B2B businesses. Whether you distribute technology solutions or provide shipping and logistics services, an event can work like a charm on your prospects.
Events not only benefit you and your sponsors but also enrich the lives of your guests. Events inspire, intrigue, teach, and bring together people in a way, unlike any other marketing effort.
But wait, before we jump into the details of what benefits does an event have for your business, here is a small note on what actually event marketing is.
Event marketing is the Strategy, Planning, and Execution of an event for your business that in some way or the other promotes your brand, product, or service. You can either host an event online or in-person or participate as a sponsor or an exhibitor.
For your B2B business, you can do event marketing through something as small as a round table conference of 10 people to something as grand as a product launch that has 1000’s in attendance. The size doesn’t matter as long as you are bringing value to your prospects and brand both. Events work as they’re immersive, entertaining, and memorable. All you have to do is identify the memory you want your guests to walk away with and start working backwards.
As businesses prepare their event strategies and gear up to conduct events to differentiate themselves from others, here are a few reasons to convince you to do the same:
1. Generate Leads & build your database –
Companies invest in Event Marketing as it helps them get leads and interact with them as humans and not as clients. When a person signs up or registers for your event, be it a conference, launch or a small meeting – you know they are interested in your brand, product or service. You can further nurture them into the sales funnel and convert them into customers in the later stages.
A single registration list can give you numerous leads that around your target demographic. If you are the sponsor, you could offer demos, run competitions or get emails of the people who are interested in your product/service to get leads.
2. Get one-on-one customer engagement
Often businesses have a problem that they are not able to get in front of as many leads as they would like. Event marketing solves this.
Events are a great place to engage with leads, customers, and potential inquiries. A single event in a day can help you initiate multiple personal one-on-one interactions. These interactions will not only help you humanize your brand but also build brand loyalty and trust.
Events also provide you with the undivided attention of your prospects, unlike phone calls or emails where the person is busy and distracted during the pitch. With all of their attention in your hand, you can quickly sell or upsell your product/service or brand.
Product Launches, Seminars, Thought Leadership events & Conferences put you in the direct contact of your prospects.
3. Build Brand Awareness
Hosting an event is one of the critical ways for companies to build and grow their brand.
It allows establishing a physical identity, values, and aesthetics of an otherwise digital brand. With pop-up shops and live demos, events create an immersive and engaging experience for the audience. You allow your prospects to get a feel of your brand and what it looks like in real.
The best thing about organizing an event for brand promotion is that people talk about it! Influencers, customers, media, or the guests talk and share about the event in person, press, or on social media. It is a fantastic way to educate people on a larger scale about your brand/product/service. Well, who doesn’t love free publicity?
Tip: Have an event hashtag or a location tag and ask your attendees to share pictures using the same. Later on, you can track the hashtag or the tag to measure the success of your event based on social interactions.
4. Build Credibility and Thought Leadership
Hosting events like conferences or workshops or seminars helps you establish yourself as an expert who is open to teach others. Placing yourself as a thought leader – you know what’s happening in the industry, and you share that value with your customers and prospects.
You can have your company CXOs, executive members or even an influencer to speak at your event. Working with an influencer always creates a positive image of your brand – given you do a background check on them to guarantee a positive PR.
5. Network!
Events give you an excellent opportunity to connect. And we are not talking about just your prospects but people like investors, influencers, or someone who can help you out in growing your business. With face-to-face interactions, you can guide such people through your brand and its values in a more personalized manner. They get a better in-depth understanding of your business which is way more better than an elevator or sales pitch.
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The benefits of event marketing are far-reaching. They provide personalized, face-to-face communication, publicity, social media engagements, and possible business leads.
However, you need to understand every aspect of it before you start planning. Once, the benefits are clear; you can set your goal for the upcoming event and start reverse engineering accordingly. Go ahead, choose a goal, choose a type of event, and start working on it!
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