In just one year, i drove 8x ROI in 1/3 the amount of events i attended.

I came in to manage events halfway through the fiscal year for my company, and immediately made an impact. And, event strategy was only one small part of my position.

The Result

Before

June 2022 to June 2023

26

Tradeshows

$42,732

Total Value of Opportunities

$1,131

Value of Opportunities Won

AFTER

June 2023 to June 2024

8

Tradeshows

$41,237

Total Value of Opportunities

$8,268

Value of Opportunities Won

How I Did It

The previous event strategy was about volume, more than quality. Every show we could have a booth at was booked, and the sales team was sent in to work the show with little guidance and support, resulting in low-quality or no leads.

We also relied on expensive convention rentals, haphazard sourcing and astronomical T&Es, which meant that in 2023, we were nearly $111,000 over event budget.

Skills Used:

  • Event Marketing Strategy

  • Budget and Forecasting

  • Audience Research

  • Internal Team Leadership

  • Resource Management

  • Tracking and Analytics

  • Field Marketing

First

I conducted an audit of events from 2023. I scoured files for receipts and expenses, and plugged in a more accurate spend against the budgeted amount.

I then pulled reporting in SalesForce for total MELs, MQLs and Closed Won Deals from shows, and looked through retro notes for feedback on audience and attendance to get a picture of what we historically got in ROI from these shows.

Second

I ruthlessly cut events that did not perform well for our brand out of the running, and focused on renewing at shows that were a good audience fit and had resulted in opportunities for us historically.

I also averaged the expected cost for show necessities based on historical data and location, and made an interactive forecast matrix that would tell us our show cost depending on the number of staff we brought, and where it was.

Third

I downsized on T&E expenditures, and expanded on company-owned equipment to cut exorbitant rental costs. I then built a partnership with the sales reps who would be joining me, prepping them with details about the show, logistics and equipping them with custom lead collection assets (like business cards with QR codes and their own lead scanners.) I met with sales leaders and downloaded all the information about what worked, what didn’t work, and ideas they had for event strategy.

I then switched our focus from having a booth everywhere, to investing in experiential booths at shows that would be winners for us. Nicer booth set-ups, swag, interactive demo stations and plenty of material to hand out.

Sample Budget

Here’s the actual budget comparison from Q1 2023 and Q1 2024. Using the tactics outlined above, I reduced the overspend in Q1/ Q2 2023 from $34,190 over budget, to $14,835 under budget in Q1/Q2 2024, as well as surpassing our MRR goal.

  • Budgeted in Q1 2023: $111,930

  • Total Cost of Q1 2023: $145,845

  • Budgeted in Q1 2024: $188,639

  • Total Cost in Q1 2024: $161,027