5 Measurement Categories to Gauge the Value of In-Person B2B Events

I was recently talking with Allison Snow, CMO of Streampoint Solutions, an event technology company, about the resurgence of in-person gatherings in the B2B space. I wondered if that was just my perception or if there is some data to back it up. It turns out, according to a recent report by Forrester, 58% of B2B marketers are planning to hold more smaller, hosted/owned in-person events, “making this the fastest-growing event type.” The report also mentioned that ”budgetary pressures have brought a renewed focus on performance and better ROI measurement (a priority for 95% of respondents).”??

In our research, we have noticed customer expectations regarding events have changed. As a result, it’s important to recognize the measures companies use to determine the value for in-person events also need to evolve. Traditional measures, especially the number of qualified leads generated by an event, are no longer sufficient. Instead, event measures must reflect the entire customer lifecycle and the broader impact on the business.??

In conversations with customers, we’re encouraging B2B companies to establish measures and performance targets that will help them understand the long-term benefits of in-person events and make more informed decisions. This was the backdrop for my conversation with Allison. We’ve captured the highlights of our discussion about how companies can measure events, particularly for B2B companies that have longer sales cycles, and adopt a more holistic approach.?

How to Measure the Success of In-Person B2B Events Beyond Qualified Leads

As businesses pivot back to in-person interactions, we believe there are five key measurement categories that provide insight into the long-term benefits of events and the relationships fostered through these interactions. Measures around attendee engagement, sentiment, brand preference, sales pipeline impact, and customer acquisition and retention provide a comprehensive view of an event's success. Here’s a summary of our conversation and the role each category plays in measuring that success.?

1. Attendee Engagement?

Allison: "I suggest we start with attendee engagement, which captures the level of interaction and involvement attendees have with the event content, sessions, and exhibitors/sponsors.? Registration is the first step to engagement. A powerful registration platform enables you to learn a lot about your registrant’s interests. Use this info to plan an optimized digital engagement strategy for key segments. Of course, when it comes to those individuals who actually attend, look closely at your audience and ask a few key questions. Does the audience profile match your ICP? Does it appear you over-indexed for volume and not value? Once you’ve crossed that hurdle, look more closely at individual session attendance—and be sure to capture questions asked. Those moments are golden. Use them to inform your content strategy overall (if one person has a question, others do too) and reach out directly to that member of your audience with razor-sharp relevance.”?

Laura: "I agree, this is a great starting point. Since measures are important from start to finish, I suggest measures for this stage include the attendance rate of the ideal participant, the ratio of registration to attendance, and average time spent at the event and in various sessions, along with side meetings requested and held, because these measures provide some insight into the depth of interest and can signal potential for deeper business relationships."?

2. Attendee Satisfaction and Sentiment?

Allison: "That’s a good one. Satisfaction and sentiment matter. It’s relatively simple to create and collect post-event surveys to gauge attendee satisfaction and their sentiment toward the event. Use this opportunity to learn, not just get a good grade. Ask what attendees expected but didn’t see. Ask what sessions would have been more valuable. Find out if speakers blew your audience away or left them wanting. This is your cheat sheet for building your next event."?

Laura: "Perfect. To tease out sentiment I’d add what percentage of event attendees had a positive experience. Sentiment can serve as a leading indicator for future business success. A good customer experience can lead to loyal customers who are more likely to recommend a brand, pay more, and provide word-of-mouth marketing.?

3. Brand Perception and Preference?

Laura: "Speaking of brand, brand perception and preference is another valuable category. Tracking things such as participant social media mentions and industry media coverage can provide meaningful insights into the impact of the event on a brand's visibility and reputation."?

Allison: "Good point. We have found a well-executed event can elevate a brand's standing and create a lasting impression on attendees and the broader market. Think of it this way—you want those who didn’t make it to wish they had and those who did to make it a priority next time.? Okay, I know you won’t let us finish this conversation without talking about sales pipeline impact and customer acquisition and retention measures.”??

4. Sales Pipeline Impact?

Laura: "You are so right. Yes, we will want measures that provide insight into the potential impact of the event on the sales pipeline—the next category. In addition to measuring meetings booked at the event and from the event, we’d recommend looking at opportunities added to the pipeline, and value (deal size) and time to close for opportunities from companies that had people at the event.”??

Allison: "We’ve seen customers tie events to their ABM strategies really nicely, and report separately on which target accounts they engaged. Others report on which customers they nurtured. Have a plan to nurture expansion dollars at your events. Very sophisticated customers are seeking to understand correlations between event attendance and customer lifetime value.”???

5. Customer Acquisition and Retention?

Allison: "As we conclude, I want to emphasize that great events are all about relationships. Since we started with a customer category, I think we should go full circle and end with talking about customer acquisition and retention. We always encourage people to assess how many prospects were influenced, how many deals were accelerated, and how many churned customers were re-engaged as well. These are distinct motions, each with tremendous but distinct value.”?

Laura: "Definitely. In-person interactions are a great way to strengthen relationships, leading to faster customer acquisition, higher customer retention, and increased lifetime value. While we only touched on a few measures, these are a good start.”?

Allison: “In-person events are a golden opportunity to deepen relationships and drive sustained growth. Events offer B2B companies the ability to reinforce a brand's commitment to community and customer success. I’m excited to see how companies leverage these measures moving forward."?

Seize the Opportunity to Elevate Your Event Measures Today

If your company is focused on in-person events as part of its program portfolio, consider these broader measures to help prove the commercial value and impact of your events.??

The bottom line: The key to measurement success is to align your events with a customer-centric strategy that enhances the overall customer experience, supports their buying journey, and fosters long-term loyalty.?

What additional thoughts do you have on measuring the value of events???

Need a speaker to help kick off an event? My signature talk, 4 Game Changers for Every Stage of Growth, is an excellent opener. Looking for a full-service event management solution? Talk with Allison about Streampoint.?

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