Engagement: A New Metric to Demonstrate Event ROI

Engagement: A New Metric to Demonstrate Event ROI Presented by

Contents Welcome to the Engagement Marketing Era 04 Determine the Right Metrics 09 Prove ROI with the Right Tools 12 Leverage Your Data Wisely 14 If You Can Measure It, You Can Make It Better 15 Our thanks to the following industry leaders for lending their insights: Adam Parry Editor, Event Industry News Kevin Jackson Director of Ideas and Innovation, The Experience is the Marketing Lindsey Lyle Senior Event Marketing Manager, DoubleDutch 3

Welcome to the Engagement Marketing Era The marketing landscape is changing It s no longer enough to track short-term goals like lead generation and velocity; it s essential for marketers to focus on building lasting relationships with prospects and customers alike. Are they truly engaged with your brand and will they remain loyal to you in the face of constant competition for their attention? New marketing technologies have made it simpler than ever before to reach out to prospects through various channels and track engagement around every element of a marketing campaign; from email opens and clicks to online ad impressions and conversions and everything in between. 4

Digital marketing often suffers from one-direction engagement. Live events are the only way to supercharge a dialogue with your leads, prospects, and customers. Marketing used to be about what you said to people. Now it s what you do for people. You have to come into the business to add value to the lives of your customers and clients. The marketing brands that are doing that in the event space are the ones going forward. Kevin Jackson Director of Ideas and Innovation, The Experience is the Marketing 5

Live Events Are the Ultimate Engagement Channel Effective engagement marketing requires constant connection, and there s no better way to achieve that connection than by hosting killer events. Audiences at events engage both offline and online, through candid dialogue and speaking panels to social media connections and mobile interaction. Through the use of mobile event technology, face-to-face and digital connections align, giving you the power to connect with prospects on multiple levels simultaneously. For you to rise to the top of your marketing organization, it s essential to keep track of event engagement metrics so you have a clear picture of how your program is performing and can demonstrate success to leadership. What we have to do is create experiences that join brands, corporations, and companies to their most important audiences in an experience, so that we create an emotional relationship. Kevin Jackson Director of Ideas and Innovation, The Experience is the Marketing Engagement Matters Successful businesses are founded on the principle of happy customers. Without a satisfied customer base, there s simply no business. The value of engagement is in its unparalleled ability to create deep, lasting relationships, which satisfy the customer and provide mutual value. Without experiences focused on engagement, there s no real relationship, Jackson says. The only way to get those relationships is in a real situation, just like our normal, personal relationships. Anything other than that is just a pen pal or Facebook friend. The value of engagement is in its unparalleled ability to create deep, lasting relationships, which satisfy the customer and provide mutual value. 6 7

People still want that in-person connection. Event programs offer the face-to-face engagement that helps move your leads down the funnel at a higher conversion rate than most other marketing channels. Lindsey Lyle Senior Event Marketing Manager, DoubleDutch 8

Determine the Right Metrics Events are full of unique opportunities to engage with individuals, both face-to-face and digitally, ranging from in-app messaging to real-time social media response and, of course, traditional in-person networking. Take full advantage of the opportunity to build connections by setting measurable goals and tracking the right metrics to watch your event s success unfold, and prevent it from becoming a flop. Before choosing what metrics you ll measure, sit down with your stakeholders to reach a consensus on your event s objectives, and plan your data collection accordingly. 9

Attendee Metrics to Measure Qualitative metrics like the smile on an attendee s face are important, but it s essential for event teams to think like true marketers and look at quantitative data that demonstrates how well they re contributing to your goals, such as: Sales pipeline Measure event registrations, email signups, and attendee referrals to get a sense for which new prospects may become customers or which accounts might sign a larger contract. Metrics that track individuals near the end of the sales cycle include meeting requests, product demos, and product purchases. Attendee engagement See who s committed to your brand by tracking returning attendees from prior events, frequency and sentiment of communication regarding your event, and the total number of sessions attended per attendee through event performance dashboards. Brand building Calculate your event s influence on brand recognition and growth by tracking metrics such as mentions in the media, increased number of followers on social media during the time of your event, influential attendees, and trends in website traffic. Sales Pipeline Event registrations Email signups Attendee referrals Meeting requests Product demos Product purchases # of returning attendees Frequency of communication Attendee Metrics Media mentions Rise in social media followers Sentiment of communication Influence level of attendees Attendee Engagement Attendee session visits Rise in website traffic Brand Building 10

Exhibitor and Sponsor Metrics to Measure Sponsors are the lifeblood of many events, so it s essential to keep tabs on how well they re meeting their own goals to ensure they return and re-up their investment, such as: Sales pipeline Keep watch on the number of contacts, demo requests, and meeting requests your exhibitors collect during the course of the event. Not every lead will result in a sale, but qualified leads are an important indicator of success. Brand building Measure your total increase in sponsorships annually, as well as media mentions of your sponsors in conjunction with the event. Keep track of sponsor sentiment to know how your sponsors feel about the event, as well as attendee sentiment toward the sponsors. Use this data as leverage during the sponsorship sales process! Sales Pipeline # of demo requests # of meeting requests Increase Increate in sponsorships year-over-year # of contacts collected Exhibitor/ Sponsor Metrics Quality of contacts collected # of resulting sales Media mentions Sponsor sentiment analysis Attendee sentiment analysis regarding sponsors Brand Building 11

Prove ROI with the Right Tools With a combination of defined roles and cutting-edge technology, event marketers can produce a clear picture of their event s success, demonstrating ROI and utilizing valuable feedback to improve future event planning. Set Expectations First, assign responsibilities and expectations to everyone working on the event. From the start, each marketer, organizer and event specialist should have a clear picture of their responsibilities and goals as individuals, as well as a team. Ensuring accountability at every stage of the event planning process keeps tasks on schedule and helps you to avoid snags that may set you back in the long run. New event technology is like giving Picasso modern day Photoshop there are so many more tools and so much more insight. [The event marketer] already knows what his attendees are going to want before planning the next event. He has insight into areas where they can provide an improved return on investment for attendees and sponsors. Adam Parry Editor, Event Industry News 12

Equip Yourself with the Right Tools Today s event technology empowers marketers to analyze data on the spot, using complex algorithms that provide valuable insights into event performance. Keeping a pulse on the event from start to finish allows for real-time response and impact on the experience. Use your event app to collect qualitative data by prompting attendees and sponsors for quick event feedback. Utilize this strategy throughout the event cycle for fresh, focused insights, and again after the event is over to get a thousand foot view. 13

Leverage Your Data Wisely Now that you have valuable insights in front of you, take advantage of them! Don t sit back and relax just because your current event performed well. Understand why your event performed well, and what you can do to replicate its success in future events. Identify the areas that could use improvement, and apply those changes to your next event early into the planning process. 14

If You Can Measure It, You Can Make It Better Events aren t just an opportunity to showcase your brand and your product. Successful events have real impact on your business, from increased revenue and shortened sales cycles to heightened brand sentiment and buzz on social media. Today s event marketers have a unique opportunity to become tomorrow s CMOs, and it s time to reach for the stars and get more from your events. Now that you know what you need to consider while setting measurable goals, read Rise of the Event Marketer to learn how to make your way to the C-suite through event marketing. Successful events have real impact on your business, from increased revenue and shortened sales cycles to heightened brand sentiment and buzz on social media. About DoubleDutch DoubleDutch provides mobile applications and performance analytics for events, conferences and trade shows for more than 1,300 customers, including SAP, UBM and Urban Land Institute. Founded in 2011, DoubleDutch was recently named to Inc. 5000 s list of fastest-growing private companies, AlwaysOn s Global 250 best-of-breed private companies in SaaS and Enterprise, and Forbes list of 10 hot companies to work for in San Francisco. DoubleDutch is based in the Mission District of San Francisco with regional offices in Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong and Portland. 15