What is an acceptable return on investment for a corporate event? Many companies struggle to define success when it comes to business events. Indeed, bringing a high footfall is no indication of success. While there is no denying that the volume of visitors will affect long-term success, attendance does not mean business growth. So how come a business event with plenty of visitors fails to produce a positive return?
Here are 5 reasons why your event did not produce the expected result.
You did not set your KPIs
Ultimately, if you are going to measure the ROI, you need to be clear about the objectives. Therefore, the top priority when organizing a corporate event is to define what you want to achieve. Once you understand the goal(s), you can decide on the relevant KPIs to use. Determining the KPIs for each event type can make a huge difference. For instance, if your event is a product launch, you may want to measure leads and conversions and sales value influenced by the event. If you planned a client-appreciation event, then the KPIs should focus on incremental business value.
People got bored
Events are designed to create real interactions with your audience group. Therefore, it is important to consider entertainment and catering. Indeed, people are a limited attention span. You can’t expect your audience to stay engaged for several hours when you fail to provide emotional and physical fuel, such as food, drinks, or even celebrity speakers.
When the audience gets bored at your event, they can leave with a negative impression of the brand. They are also likely to feel not cared for as they get uncomfortable.
You didn’t make branding memorable
Are you launching a new product, or are you using the event to introduce your brand to the world? Branding is crucial to make a long-lasting impression. Unfortunately, more often than not, companies miss the opportunity to use branding as part of the decoration theme. You could utilize branded banners or even custom printed balloons to showcase your logo and brand’s values. As the new player on the market, you need to make sure that everybody who attends the event will be exposed to your colors, logo, and name in many different formats.
There was no call-for-action
This one is similar to not introducing any ROI measurement. Planning the event without letting your visitors know what you expect from them is a wasted opportunity. The call-to-action serves only one purpose: It drives people to perform a valuable action, aka the one you will measure through the KPIs. Don’t let people guess what they should do. Tell them clearly where you expect them to go.
You didn’t make social media noise
You can track the ROI of an event long after the event has come to an end. Indeed, not all visitors would have come to a decision during the event. Additionally, some who may not have visited could still react to the pre- and post-event communication. That’s why creating a social media buzz can help prolong the reach of the event and maximize its return.
Are you ready to bring the event ROI to the next level? Being prepared and planning strategically to capture your audience’s interest and actions will help nurture positive returns.
Remember, however, that attendance and overall event organization also influence your ROI.
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