Numerous CMO reports over the years have consistently outlined that marketers allocate a significant chunk of their annual budget to event marketing, some estimates reaching as high as 25%.
The reason is simple- along with intangible benefits like brand awareness and networking, events are also a great place for prospecting and even signing some quick deals! Many of our clients have shared a similar story: As they planned to an event, they also checked which of their target companies would also be present and start prospecting them weeks in advance. Most of the time they’d fix a meeting and if all went well, sign a few deals (or at least trials before leaving).
We hear anecdotes like these so often that pre-event marketing has come to be seen as an integral component of event campaigns. Events are chaotic and most attendees already have an itinerary for which booths to visit and which meetings to take. You can’t just expect to show up at an event, randomly bump into people of interest, and sell your product. That’s why you’ve got to have a plan.
Next week, San Francisco is set to turn into a hotspot for business and marketing leaders from across the country. While much of the spotlight will be on Dreamforce that caters to all verticals, there is also the OpsStar event exclusively focused on revenue operations. Attended by 2,500 sales and marketing leaders, it arguably is the best event for Demand Gen and Sales Operations teams to advance their business prospects.
If you are sending a team to OpsStars 2019, you’re looking at a $5-10K investment PER ATTENDEE between a conference pass, hotel, travel and lost productivity costs. But what will you get out of it? Of course, it’s a learning opportunity with countless speakers, seminars, summits, and panel discussions, but we all know the core motivation- connecting to the right people.
Going to OpsStars without pre-event marketing is like going fishing without a hook. Yes, you will see abundant fish but they’ll just slip by you. Get your hook, or better, cast a net. The weeks preceding an event is generally the most productive for prospecting. You are more likely to get responses, book appointments, and as many of our clients have experienced, close a few deals even before you’ve left.
SalesIntel can get you all of the information you need for your pre-event marketing. Our combination of technographic, firmographic, and intent data can help you precisely build target lists which when coupled with our human-verified contact data will enable you to run highly targeted and effective outreach campaigns.
If you do this right, you can easily line up your 3 days at the event with productive meetings and successful deals. And it isn’t just about OpsStar. With SalesIntel in your marketing engine, you are destined to make the most out of every event you attend.
And of course, we at SalesIntel are the most loyal customers of our own product and are doing our own pre-event marketing prior to sending our team out next week. So if you’re going to be attending OpsStars this year and would like to meet with a SalesIntel team member to learn more let us know here:
You can also see us at Dreamforce. To book a meeting, click here
