Event marketing and creating excellent experiences help you build and connect with your audience. Events establish trust and authority with your guests, resulting in conversions throughout the funnel.
Nonetheless, many event marketing professionals fail to show ROI. We’ve compiled a list of steps you can take to drive conversions throughout the event funnel, allowing you to demonstrate the ROI resulting from your efforts.
Step 1: Invite and Accept Qualified Guests Only
Inviting qualified guests does some of the event marketing legwork for you. These ideal attendees are most susceptible to your product marketing and more likely to result in conversions.
Which segment of the conversion funnel are you appealing to? Are you looking to increase customer engagement, close opportunities, drive new leads, or something else? Knowing your event goal helps determine who qualified guests are.
From here, create a list of requirements for guests and screen them in advance.
Step 2: Host Different Events for Different Conversion Stages
Tailor the event you host to the stage your attendees are at, whether top, middle, or bottom of the funnel.
Base your events on customers’ primary challenges or functionalities they care about most, and ensure the experience is hyper-personalized. This approach best results in conversions and effective product marketing.
Remember that many of these events can also be hosted in virtual or hybrid formats, so choose an event marketing platform that can accommodate this. Not sure which one to pick? Check out EventEngage.
Top-of-the-funnel attendees have little knowledge of your brand, so the following works well:
– Networking events
– Speaker opportunities
– Awards ceremonies
– Roundtables
These event styles allow you to position yourself as an authority in the space from the get-go.
Middle-of-the-funnel attendees are already considering your product but need to be convinced. The following event types best drive them down the sales pipeline:
– Trade shows
– Event sponsorships
– Workshops
These event styles present your brand in contexts where attendees are already knowledgeable about the industry. From here, you can position yourself as the most viable solution.
Bottom-of-the-funnel prospects already have a relationship with you, so the following events work best:
– VIP events
– Roadshows
– User conferences
– Product demonstrations
Product marketing and driving customer success are at the forefront of these events. They best serve those who already know your brand.
Step 3: Offer Personalized Acompaniament During the Event
While many aspects of event marketing can be automated – registration, pre-event communications, workflows – hyper-personalized experiences during the event cannot, regardless of the funnel stage.
Understand your attendees’ main challenges based on their funnel stage and offer customized solutions at your event that they can apply immediately. Ensure your team can answer people’s questions.
Lastly, nurture leads after the event with relevant communications and CTAs – more on those next – to encourage action.
Step 4: Create Strategic CTAs
Creating strategic CTAs for different funnel stages is an excellent way to drive conversions. Place CTAs in pre- and post-event communications and during the event where possible.
For top-of-the-funnel events, prompt attendees to download content that allows them to assess their needs and challenges. Equipping them with this means you can position yourself as the best solution.
Middle-of-the-funne1 event marketing CTAs can encourage guests to view content that compares your brand with others. You can position your strengths and demonstrate that your solution is the best.
Bottom-of-the-funnel attendees should see CTAs that encourage them to get in touch with someone from your team, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
Of course, these are just ideas, and the CTAs you create for different prospect stages are almost endless. Understand your attendees’ challenges as a function of where they are in the funnel; from there, create CTAs that allow you to position yourself as the ideal solution.
Step 5: Find the Perfect Event Marketing Platform
You can’t effectively drive conversions without an excellent event marketing platform.
Your all-in-one platform should help with marketing, branding, accessibility, registration, customization, networking, and more. All of this is personalized based on the funnel stage of your attendees and will help you with product marketing and conversions.
Wondering which event marketing platform to use? Look no further than EventEngage. We’ll help you drive conversions and demonstrate ROI at a fraction of the cost. Learn more today!
