Not only is Nicole Buraglio an old friend, but she is also the Managing Director of The Collective Group, which is a division of dmg events USA. The Collective Group works with senior marketing executives from Fortune 1000 companies to facilitate specialized private events specifically for CMOs, Heads of Digital Marketing and VPs of Consumer Insights. In her many years of marketing experience, she’s found the magic mix to attract the right attendees. With no further ado, here how she would characterize that success:
—————————————————————————————————–
Event marketing has evolved quite substantially over the past 10 to 15 years. I remember the days of sending my email copy and lists to a third party to distribute (only after asking them to slice and dice my data 10 different ways to ensure I was staying within budget) and asking an outside webmaster to correct a typo on the website. It never took less than a week or so for all this to transpire, but once the messaging was out, the calls-to-action were successful. People responded and registered for my events.
How times have changed. Now, if we haven’t taken care of something yesterday, we get thrashed by someone. And who’s paying attention to our interruption marketing anyway? Constant inundation of electronic messaging can make even the most focused person cross-eyed and confused.
So, where do we go from here? We go back 20+ years – that’s where. We revert to good, old-fashioned marketing efforts. Grass roots relationship building. If you don’t know what I am talking about you’re doing it all wrong.
Building solid connections with your target audience or Relationship Marketing – a blast to the past for some and a complete difference from the norm for most Millennials – is the ultimate strategy from long-term loyalty from customers. Look at what the major brands are doing – can you even imagine what would happen if someone took away your Amazon Prime?
This can work for events too, but it’s going to be harder than pushing a button to send a blast email. You’ll need to change your strategy but it will pay off, if you work at it.
How do you start?
Start by developing Brand Ambassadors. Find attendees who are loyal to your brand and can spread the good word throughout the industry and maintain a close relationship with them. Invest in them, talk on the phone on a regular basis. Find meetings you both attend and connect in person. Create a group they can be part of (more than an Advisory Board) or work with them one on one. Use their voice through your social channels and make it worth it for them to promote you through face-to-face interactions they have with their peers. The concept works on the exhibitor/sponsor side too.
Along the same lines, pick up the phone to get ground level intelligence about your market. When was the last time you called your attendees and asked them how things are going, what they like and dislike about your event or whether they discuss your events afterwards? The post-show electronic survey doesn’t cut it anymore. This interaction should be a daily occurrence. Assign your marketing and conference teams the task of calling 5 to 10 people per day to get feedback. It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to an hour and makes a world of difference. The benefit of doing this goes both ways, not only for you, as you gain valuable feedback, but also for them, as people love to know that you value their opinion. This can be an easy first way to develop enhanced attendee loyalty.
There are of course, many other ways of embarking on the project of enhanced attendee acquisition and loyalty. Pick one and get started or your show may be relegated to the Dark Ages!