In-person events are a cornerstone touchpoint for many, but as the pandemic continues, major business events have been cancelled or postponed. This will come at great cost to marketing budgets and can have a lasting impact on revenues and sales.
In the US alone, the loss has been estimated at over $500 million, with in-person events being crucial to many companies’ business. More than half of US marketers said that in-person events and tradeshows were an effective channel for driving conversions.
Events were seen as more effective than digital channels like email, at 48%, product demos, at 39% and the company website, at 34%.
From the same survey, 41% of respondents would have increased their event marketing budget in 2020.
Event changes and cancellations began in earnest in February for the organisers, sponsors and attendees of these events, these disruptions represent potential business losses down the road. The potential awareness usually garnered through speaking opportunities and media exposure cannot be regained. Critical prospect and customer meetings have been cancelled—this lost touchpoint could stall pipeline velocity for B2B companies. This isn’t just a dent in marketing budgets, but potentially can have a lasting effect on sales.
Companies will have to be creative on how to continue engaging event attendees without an in-person engagement. Marketers need to remember the fundamentals of good marketing and devise next steps that account for the target audience and what the event’s goals were.
- Go digital and be nimble. As more events get cancelled, the likelihood that replacement touchpoints will be digital is high, which is what we saw with several companies that cancelled physical events and opted to host virtual conferences instead. The challenge for companies will be being nimble enough to move away from their event strategy—often months in the making and fully paid for—and pivot to produce digital content or engagements that can still influence the intended audience.
- Consider direct mail. Direct mail pieces could be a unique option that still offer a personal, in-person touch.
- Measure everything. These cancellations can provide a great opportunity for marketers to A/B test whether their events are as crucial as they presumed: Money is invested into marketing and holding events under the assumption that they will nurture business opportunities and engage current customers, but what happens if cancellations don’t have a major impact? Will that prove that the events were not as necessary as previously expected?
For now, companies need to make sure they are prepared to ensure continuity of business.
