by David Brull
Event marketing will never go away. In fact, it’s gaining importance to exhibitors, even with so many other distractions out there.
According to The State of Customer Marketing 2017, a survey of over 200 marketing leaders (primarily from B2B companies), companies identified three key areas for success in customer marketing efforts: relationship building, communication and customer satisfaction.
The third area, customer satisfaction, is fast becoming a key metric when exhibitors determine event marketing ROI.
The State of Customer Marketing 2017 suggests what we all already know: customer satisfaction matters! Organizations reporting moderate to significant revenue from customer marketing are two and a half times more likely to report high levels of customer satisfaction. Not a surprise. But the question is, how do you build to that level of satisfaction?
The answer, in part: event marketing.
Whether it’s a trade show, an exhibitors’ private event, or a road show, events help drive people from prospect to customer, allowing the exhibitor to build that relationship to one that will stand the test of time. That’s why customer satisfaction is today’s hot metric for every live event. Even better, it can be measured and tracked.
People buy from people. It’s all about the relationship with staff. It is very easy in today’s digital world to reply with an email or text message, but face-to-face conversations are how exhibitors build lasting relationships and friendships. When customers are away from their offices at an event, it is easier for them to focus on building relationships without outside distraction. It’s also easier for the exhibitor’s staff. That’s the real power of events. Whether it’s scheduled meetings in the booth, or a dinner after the event closes for the day, those interactions allow customer satisfaction to improve.
Good customers today want more than a transactional relationship. Exhibitors should strive to give them that at every event, and should plan and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
David Brull is Vice President, Global Accounts for kubik. Opinions are his own. He can be reached at David.Brull@thinkubik.com.
