Intro to Eventing: What's the Value of Events?
When discussing events and eventing with our partners and customers, we often hear a common question: “Is there any real value behind this complex, and often costly, activity?”
Technical conferences and topic-focused get-togethers have become the new norm for many fast-paced industries. They are supposed to gather like-minded individuals and organizations within a specific ecosystem, sparking collaboration and driving measurable outcomes. But is this true?
According to our event enthusiast, Fun Man Andy, the answer is (at least) threefold.
1. Define your goals - know what you want to achieve
The first step to driving value from an event is identifying what you want out of it. Every event has a primary goal set by the organizing side, but that doesn’t mean their goal overlaps with yours.
Is your goal to boost brand awareness, or perhaps you want to engage directly with potential customers? Each purpose requires a distinct approach and specific key performance indicators (KPIs).
For instance, if the aim is to create a loud presence, the focus might be on engaging content, high visibility, extensive social media coverage, marketing materials, and swag for the attendees.
In addition, the goals help identify if one showcases oneself as a genuine Thought Leader & Subject Matter Expert or just "some clown in a Rainbow Jacket" (Andy's own words, speaking from experience). It may surprise some people that both of these have merit and are often the same when well thought out.
2. Tactical planning – building your way towards your goals
Once you know your goals and establish realistic performance indicators, it’s all about creating a plan to meet them. It’s critical to tailor your plans around desired outcomes.
You want to make noise and be seen, positioning yourself as a thought leader? This could mean investing in creative and curious booth setups, storytelling, and consistent promotion across platforms.
Alternatively, if the goal is to meet customers (and partners) and generate sales leads, the approach will require more profound engagement, from networking sessions to dedicated pre-event and post-event efforts to ensure meaningful follow-up.
3. Follow-up - where the actual value of your efforts lies
Often, the most overlooked yet crucial part of any event is the follow-up. All the lead generation and customer interaction at events mean little without actionable post-event strategies. The success of these events truly lies in the continuation of conversations that started at the booth.
As Andy summarizes it:
“The sales team needs to be well-prepped and ready to take action post-event; anything less is a missed opportunity.”
4. Bonus point - the unexpected positives for the team’s morale
Every event and within every team we’ve been with, there is a bunch of technical folks who are allergic to the event experience. They find it a bit scary and very uncomfortable. Sometimes they're just indifferent to it all. It’s a sales and marketing job, after all, right?
But there is a very unexpected twist: your tech teams would thank you for bringing them onsite. We see how team members from IT and development teams are being “dragged” to significant conference events expecting a waste of time, and three days later, their mindset is completely changed. Meeting with customers and users of the apps they develop shows them the tremendous value of their day-to-day jobs. It brings out the real purpose of their efforts, which is no longer just “developing an app”; it’s “resolving these customer struggles.”
In essence, events are a strategic investment – a chance to make noise, build partnerships, and cultivate valuable relationships outside and within.
In the next four weeks, we will break down each of the mentioned outcomes and give real-life examples from our work with customers, partners, and employers.
Before you go, we are releasing something HOT 🌶 and eventful on our website very soon, so make sure you check it in the upcoming days.