Showing posts with label trade show event measurement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trade show event measurement. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Measurement Tip 8

Understanding The Critical Success Factors for Event ROI

1) The right participants, 2) the right messages and 3) the right action are the three essential elements of any successful marketing event. Getting these right will deliver a positive return on your event investment and provide you with results you can measure.

I often spend time with clients discussing "Three Critical Success Factors" essential for trade show return on investment. The three elements of a trade show and event marketing program must be accomplished in order to achieve strong results.

1. You must attract enough of the right people to your exhibit or event (i.e. those individuals who can actually benefit your business)- It is essential to identify, by company and title, if not name, everyone at an upcoming event who can improve your results. Next, contact and arrange per-scheduled, face- to- face meetings with these targeted individuals to discuss mutually beneficial approaches to dealing with market opportunities. Attract and "detail" targeted individuals who visit your stand. If you are able to accomplish the equivalent of an important sales call with targeted individuals in your booth, you will reduce your cost of sale. Broaden your idea of a "target" to include suppliers and alliances. Interactions with these targets reduce the cost of materials or logistics and contribute directly to the survival of the business.
The key measure is the number of engagements and meetings with high-value contacts at your event.

2. You must deliver compelling messages that motivate them to act- You must deliver compelling messages that motivate your participants to act. Your messages should be persuasive. Participants must “feel” that taking the next step with your company is the right thing to do. The key measures are the research into perceptions and recall of key messages and the number of participants who commit to a follow-up.

3. You must obtain actions from the participants that tie directly to profit improvement for your company (either an increase in revenue or reduction in cost) - You must have a specific outcome (step in the sales funnel) in mind for these targets and they must embrace it. Remember it is usually what happens after the event that delivers payback. So, your post-event plan is just as important as the event plan. Keeping all of these targets continuously engaged in a communal relationship with your company is essential.
The key measure is the number of visitors who participate in the designated next step.

The short, easy way to remember the critical success factors for an effective event goes like this:

The right people

The right messages

The right actions

If you miss any one of the three, you are not likely to justify your investment in the event. As you can tell, they must be executed somewhat in order. That is why pre-event and post-event activities are at least as important as event execution.

These ROI related success factors were developed from years of working with clients to create a solid bridge between sales and marketing. They are the core of an event measurement and return on investment philosophy. Of course, many other things must also go well for a successful result.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Measurement Tip 7

Use the Payback Ratio to Report and Compare the Value of Your Events

A great tool for conveying the value of your marketing events is the payback ratio. This is the ratio of the total value of estimated revenue, cost savings and promotion value gained through event activity, divided by the event cost. It is expressed as $ Total Value/$ Event Cost, for example $.42/1. The payback ratio serves not only as an indicator of event efficiency, but also as a useful way to compare past, current and future events.

The payback ratio is based upon estimates of the four main categories of value derived from marketing events:

1. Revenue (or gross profit margin) from the Sales Opportunities Afforded by the Event – This element of event value is cited most often, yet difficult to document. Often, many people are involved in many steps required to close a sale. And, the sales cycle may span years. It is possible to estimate probable revenue impact using internal assumptions, such as a “close ratio” associated with well-qualified event leads and an “average value of sale” for sales from those leads. The best approach is to discuss these assumptions with your sales team and get their agreement. It is also best to have the sales team define the “next step” expected of people who become leads through interactions at an event. Use “closed loop” systems such as sales automation, warranties, registrations and other types of tracking aids where available.

2. Retention and Growth of Current Revenue Base - Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is critical for virtually all organizations. Existing customers and their revenue are the usually the most profitable. I have companies criticized for devoting event marketing resources to interaction with existing customers, yet I would suggest this is one of the most valuable elements of a profitable event. Keeping customers up to date, reassuring them that their needs will be met, and thanking them for their business has a direct and measurable impact on retention and profitability.

Just as most companies have a recognized cost of sale, there may be a recognized cost of CRM. A significant percentage of that cost/ value may be accomplished through event activity. For example, a company might spend 5 or 10% of account revenue on customer service/ retention activity. For example, your company might estimate the value of an executive customer dinner held during an industry event,at 1% of your overall CRM effort for those customers for the year. The value estimate would be $.001/ dollar of existing revenue among customers seen at the event. This may not sound like much until you consider that these revenue numbers can be in the hundreds of millions dollars for a large company. For smaller companies, the impact of such an event is likely to be a much higher percentage of the overall CRM effort. Sometimes these event based “customer events” are the major CRM activity for the year, so a range of 20% or more may be reasonable.

Accomplishment of CRM goals is valuable for companies large and small and contributes to event value. Discuss how your company might determine a value of CRM activity accomplished at marketing events. Don’t forget to take credit for the cost savings made possible by using the event as a time and place opportunity.

3. Cost Savings/ Avoidance- Substantial cost savings and expense avoidance may be achieved through trade show activity. Events present “one on many” and "many on many” opportunities. This element of value is the most tangible and traceable source of ROI on an event. Large numbers of people in your "market universe" may be gathered in one place, thinking about the same concentrated range of topics. Prospects, customers, suppliers, allies, analysts, press, executives, sales, product management and marketing are all at a single event, usually at their own expense. The number and types of potential interactions are huge. Your event plan should have specific tactics to maximize the time, place and focus opportunity made possible by the event.

Be sure your activities at your next event are aimed not only at the income side of the profit equation, but the cost side as well. To make these benefits happen requires dialogue with those managers who can take advantage of the opportunity your event provides. They may also help you estimate the value of doing multiple things at an event instead of doing them one at a time in the future at additional expense.

Reporting these results in your event measurement report will add credibility and financial justification for your investment beyond the primary goal of increasing sales.

4. Promotion Value – This is often the least reported source of ROI, but promotion value at a marketing event provides real, identifiable value. Promotion value may be calculated using “ad equivalency” values, which are derived from what an equivalent advertising cost to accomplish a similar promotional impact would be.

It is less popular today to use “Ad Equivalency” values, although I believe it is undeniable that exposure through an event has at least the same value as that derived from paid advertising. However, it is still useful to report promotion value in terms of total impressions made at marketing events and to make comparisons with the exposure of your company versus that of your competitors. “Gross Impressions” are those that fall on the eyes and ears of anyone. “Targeted Impressions” are those that fall on the eyes and ears of those who fit your target profile. The total impressions are the sum of all gross and targeted impressions made as a result of show budgeted activity. These actives often include promotion activities in direct marketing, media, show exposure and exhibit exposure.

Discuss how you might value the exposure generated for your company with those responsible for corporate communications, advertising and PR.

Once you have identified and estimated values for some or all of the four elements of value, add them up and divide them by your event cost. The result is a useful index of event profitability or return on investment.

Using the payback ratio as an index is a great way to convey the value of your marketing events. The payback ratio provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of events and often times helps to more easily facilitate a discussion with executives. Remember to use the payback ratio as a simple measure of success for your event marketing program.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Measurement Tip 6

"Sales Opportunities" Are an Effective Measure of Marketing Success - and May Help You Ease the Gap Between Sales and Marketing

I have often said that the sales team is the primary customer of the marketing team. The marketing function is primarily focused on creating sales opportunities and improving the probability of sale for the company. This is for good reason. In most companies the pressure for sales results is constant. The entire financial strategy for a company begins and ends with the sales forecast and sales results. That is why so many companies put such a heavy emphasis on leads, using the number of leads as the primary measure for trade show success.

For those reasons, most companies would like to correlate actual sales results with event marketing activity. This is possible for some, but impractical for many. Some companies take orders on the show floor. That situation is easier, the measure of success is the total value of the orders written. For many others, sales occur long after the event is over, and often through one of more layers of channels, making it difficult if not impossible to track. Add to that, a multi-year sales cycle. In the defense industry the sales cycle may be a decade or longer from initial engagement to sale. Also, converting a lead to a sale often requires significant participation by the sales team, presenting the question of how much of the eventual sales value is attributable to having made the initial contact and engagement with a prospect at a trade show?

Of course there is a lot more to be gained at trade events beyond generating leads, however for this discussion we will keep the focus on the link between marketing and sales. At worst this link is perceived as a disconnect. At best, marketing is seen to have a direct influence on the level of sales. For example, a call center might be known as a marketing function, but if they write orders they are a sales function. Therefore, it is worth considering if a trade show effort should be evaluated on the ability to generate bona fide sales opportunities for nurturing and closing by the sales team.

The most basic question that must be answered by the sales team is, "What do we want a qualified visitor to do as a result of engaging with us at an upcoming show?". The answer must be a specific step that is feasible and will involve a targeted individual more deeply in the normal sales cycle and to a point where the certainty of a sale can be estimated. So, it follows that the simplest measure of success might be how many real sales opportunities were generated by activity at this event.

To go a step further, we can place an estimated value upon the sales opportunities generated by gathering some additional input from the sales team. To estimate the value of the sales opportunities (aka leads counts) you will need to know two things:

1) What is the estimated percentage of your committed leads (i.e. people who interact with your staff and make a commitment to a specific follow-up action such as a sales visit) that eventually result in a sale? This may be known internally as the "close ratio" or something similar. Ask sales for this number, and remember it will only apply to real leads that represent a targeted individual who actually takes the next step you specified.

2) What is the average value of a sale that results from a committed lead/visitor from this show? Again, the provider of this information is the sales team. They will also explain how they prefer to view this value. Valuation perspectives might include initial contract value, annual value or a continuous service, lifetime value, etc. Service businesses may use the value of revenue over a period such as a year or more.

In planning for next year’s event cycle, take time to make an appointment with the sales team and jointly define the measures of success for your event marketing program.Effective targeting and attraction are prerequisites to an effective sales activity. These are within the domain of marketing. Engagement is the activity that begins to span the marketing and sales functions. Engagement should result in moving well-targeted individuals directly into an important step in the sales cycle for a company. Prospects reached through marketing activity must commit to a step (action) that the sales people agree is an important step in their process. If this agreement is reached, the proverbial gap between marketing and sales will be erased.

To summarize, here are few suggestions: 1) keep to emphasis on selling. 2) focus your marketing activity on two things a)defining and finding targets and b)engaging and interacting with them in a fashion that results in participation in a specific action that your sales team has defined as the next step. Then, count your success by the number of sales opportunities generated and assess the value of your investment using the estimated value of those opportunities.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Increasing Quality of Leads and Eventual Results at Trade Shows and Events

The following was my response to the question, "What's everyone doing about the POOR lead follow-up problem. Industry statistics indicate that LESS than 20% of leads ever get followed-up. Are YOU in that ball park?" in the Trade Show Help forum on LinkedIn:

This is an important topic! One way to increase quality of leads and eventual results (including the follow-up ratio) is to get participants to commit to a specific "next step" (best defined by sales). Too often, there is no "next step" defined and correspondingly there is no commitment by anyone for a specific follow- up.

An effective next step can be either human contact or automated interaction that moves the participant closer to a sale. For example, consider a qualified visitor at a construction show who completes a "test drive" in a heavy equipment simulator. That experience must ultimately result in a visit to a dealer, as they are the only ones who can actually sell equipment. The immediate "next step" however may be to get the prospect to sign up for the associated "concierge program" for test drive participants. This package (web based) steers the prospect to the dealer with motivating benefits in hand such as a discount, preferred financing and/or free optional equipment, etc. Getting the prospect to enter the program is the next step at the event. Tracking "goal conversions" identified with each step the prospect takes once enrolled provides the results tracking.

Whatever the next step for your business or product is should be a step in your sales cycle. Visitors who are signed up for the next step are much more certain to receive follow-up.

This is one example among many. What I have found is the concept of commitment (agreement) is central to the certainty of follow-up.

What are you thoughts on ways to improve lead quality and ensure effective follow-up? Email me edjones@constellaitoncc.com me if you would like to discuss.


Ed Jones

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Measurement Tip #3

To determine marketing success, you should identify and report these exhibit metrics: 1) who visited, 2) why they came, 3) what they learned and 4) what your visitors plan to do as a result of their visit.

Although many think of an exhibition as a place to put a number of products and services on display to a large number of people, the real value comes from making contact with individuals who are qualified to do business with your company. These people may be prospects, customers, suppliers or other participants in the profit equation of your business. Therefore, in order to identify and justify the value of an event marketing activity, it is essential to know and report who visited your venue and what outcomes are expected as a result of their experience. Marketing exists to create sales opportunities and to increase the probability of sale. In order to create sales opportunities, your program must target specific individuals and persuade them to act in a manner that benefits your company.

To understand the effectiveness of your marketing program it is important to know why participants came to visit and what they learned during their stay. This informs you regarding the effectiveness of your targeting and attraction campaigns and identifies the elements of the event experience that were most successful and likely to influence a visitor’s decision to act on your behalf.

The answers to the four questions listed above can be determined in a variety of ways. A common practice is to conduct live, post-visit intercept surveys. They help you understand how well you connected with your target audience. Intercept surveys provide accurate demographic profiling of visitors to your exhibit or event. This includes targeting criteria such as industry affiliation, company type, company size, individual responsibility, job title, buying readiness, and purchase intent. Post-visit intercept surveys also identify what the participants learned (if anything) and most importantly what they intend to do as a result of their visit. This data can even provide a forecast of expected sales driven from the participant’s view.

More sophisticated measures are possible using post-event survey techniques that pull from the entire event audience which includes those who visited your exhibit or event as a subset. You can identify changes in purchase intent, brand preference, brand fit and Net Promoter* scores for example. These metrics help you understand a lot more about the effectiveness of your marketing activity in creating positive change in perceptions among your target markets that result in an increased probability of sale.

Another method is to utilize technologies such as localized scanning techniques that provide real-time visitor identification and tracking of their movement. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for example, can provide real-time activity reports on session attendance, time on the show floor, and in-booth activity by product interest and for post-event analysis.

Understanding what your visitors plan to do as a result of their visit is one of the most crucial elements. A qualified lead should be committed to take a pre-determined action that sales has defined as a step in the company’s sales cycle. A tight definition of a qualified lead will provide a strong metric regarding generation of sales opportunity.

There are many metrics that are important to exhibit and event managers. As far as ROI is concerned, determining who came, the persuasiveness of their experience and their intent to act provide the clearest measures of effectiveness.

*Net Promoter Score is a registered trademark of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld