Oh I’m feisty today! Already telling you that you’re doing something wrong! Well, you probably are and I’ll tell you why.
Event marketing in 2017 should offer a host of new varieties and flavors, owing to the fact that it has practically no prescribed rules and regulations which can confine its scope. In 2017, event marketers will be forced to come out of their traditional ways and engage with their customers through more spontaneous interactions and innovative promotional ideas.
Here are the three things you are doing wrong at events:
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You have no sales strategy. This is my biggest pet peeve when it comes to event marketing. Going to events means you need to have the right booth, collateral, technology and information that will appeal to your target market. This is what most companies do right actually. BUT (and this is a huuuuge but) - what then? The mistake is that companies think that the marketing will sell. WRONG. The marketing does not sell. The people standing there are the ones that sell. Marketing cannot replace eye contact, handshakes and conversation. Every event should have a sales strategy attached to it. Have your sales team come up with realistic expectations for each event. Have them come up with the measurements of these goals so you can measure success. Is the goal to increase leads? Get business cards? Have breakfast meetings? I don’t know! But your sales team should and they should have a strategy for every event they attend and it should be measured. A free trip to the Vegas event is surely fun for the team - but work needs to happen and leads need to be found and converted. Events are EXPENSIVE. But if you can convert one or two leads - usually that pays for the whole thing. Make sure there’s a SALES STRATEGY for every event so you’re not wasting money and time..
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You don’t place value in having the right booth, collateral, technology and information that will appeal to your target market. These event booths are changing rapidly. If you’ve got the one booth that looks like it’s from 1992 - you’re likely going to get passed by. Marketing is the package in which your products and services reside. Unless you’re trying to be retro - you need to update your materials every few years.
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You have the wrong freebies. Believe it or not - this matters. Putting thought into what you bring to handout can mean the difference between being woefully forgotten or cleverly remembered. Appealing to doctors who like to golf? Get some golf balls. Appealing to outdoorsmen who like to camp? Get some swiss army knives. What about animal lovers? Nice leashes could do the trick. It’s going to cost you - so don’t get 29000 of them. Get a few and have your team hand them out to people who seem like they are good leads to follow up on. Which would point you right back up to the first item on this list - have a sales strategy.
And please remember - the event marketing and collateral you build should grab attention and give your sales teams the right conversation starter to get going. Don’t do it wrong a second longer. Mobilize your marketing and sales teams and reap the rewards.