Take your B2B event from good to great with these six expert tips
Conversion is king in the B2B events game. Over the last 20 years, we’ve helped household name businesses increase conversions. In this article, we thought we’d outline a few factors for success to help you get the more from your next event. Let’s dig in.
Identify your objectives
Before any work goes into hitting your targets, you need to define them. This means gathering the right information about the right audience. Begin by establishing whether you want to:
- Sell a product
- Build relationships
- Share thought leadership
- Launch a new product or solution
- Provide entertainment
Build a themefor your target audience
The most successful events are thematically catered to be part of the wider industry zeitgeist.
When considering your theme, ask yourself:
- Who is the target audience?
- What current business issues are they facing?
- What value does your company provide in overcoming those issues?
- Who has your company helped already?
Choose a speakerthat adds value
The most successful events always include a customer speaker who offers insight guests will find useful. Try to include a customer speaker, an industry expert, a thought-leader, or a famous figure renowned for their subject knowledge.
Speakers provide guests with the strongest and most compelling reason to attend.
Match the locationto the size of your guest list
With enough lead time, a powerful agenda, and strong industry speakers, our C-level events achieve acceptance rates as high as 1 in 30. That said, the goal should always be to overfill. This allows for cancellations, no-shows and non-target registrations. A more niche offering may result in a smaller demographic and, consequently, a smaller event.
Ensure you have enough lead time
Running an event with enough lead time is a major factor in building a well-attended event. Your target audience can be a combination of busy, distracted, and impatient, so the first attempt at outreach may not work for every target. Time is your ally. Use it wisely.
Learn something new
A B2B event is about sharing business ideas, discussing challenges, and discovering opportunities.
It all starts with introducing yourself. Here are a few tips to make sure you are open to learning.
- Have your 2 minute and 30 second pitches ready, so you don’t spend too long monologuing
- Research the event theme well in advance
- Research the audience or guests so you know what expertise they bring
- Prepare a list of questions
In summary
Ticking off each these six points will take you closer to an event that converts. After 20 years in this game, they’re the foundations of our success, and we hope they can be the same for you. Happy hosting!
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Chief Wine Officer events
Chief Wine Officer has been putting together iconic B2B events for over 20 years. If you’d like to learn more about wine tasting and discover world-leading business insights at the same time, why not join one of our networking experiences?