The Critical Role of Events in a Slowing Economy

The global financial markets are in a correction. Business is slowing. There are supply chain concerns. It's clear we need to make some budget cuts to maintain profitability. Events are expensive. Let's start there.

We've all seen this movie before, but no matter how many times we see it, the ending does not change. The fact of the matter is, companies that make arbitrary, reflexive cuts to their event programs take longer to recover, are less profitable, and grow slower than their competitors.

Events are the only sales and marketing tactics that have the ability to address your entire sales funnel. Trade shows drive awareness and consideration. Proprietary conferences create preference and conversion. User group events build loyalty and advocacy. Depending on how you architect the experience, any single event can accomplish all of these things. And while events may be expensive, they generate the highest return on investment.

When the winds of growth weaken, the last thing we should do is take down the sails. If anything, we should raise more sails to capture every possible opportunity for growth. Why cut back on sales, when that is the very thing your company needs most? Why divest in marketing, if marketing provides a launch platform for sales? Why turn a blind eye to your existing customer relationships, when those relationships sustain and grow your company more than all other activities combined?

When we take down our sails, we find ourselves adrift in dangerous currents. Even though we may feel we're in control because our hand is on the tiller, we are vulnerable to a single rogue wave that can capsize our business.

So how do we reduce costs to maintain profitability, while investing in continued growth? I'm not suggesting we simply keep our current tack without navigating these waters responsibly. Here are five things you can do to weather the storm.

1. Measure – If you don't already have a measurement program in place to understand the contribution of each event, and events as a whole to your business, brand, marketing and sales objectives, start now and act quickly.
2. Review & Optimize – Look at all the events in your portfolio, and examine the role of each to your objectives. Understand their performance against each of these objectives. Balance and rebalance to ensure you have the right number, type, frequency, and cadence of activities to drive growth. Eliminate under-performers, increase investment in those activities that are working, and look to identify new tactics which fill gaps, or capitalize on new opportunities responsibly. Pay attention to the right mix paid, owned, and earned media to address your current reality.
3. Re-Imagine the Experience – Go deep into each event. Is there an opportunity to improve its performance against one of many objectives by rearchitecting the format or overall experience for attendees? How does it integrate into other marketing activities? Is it attracting the right attendees in the first place? What is the content? How is the content deployed?
4. Leverage & Syndicate Content – An event is a point in time, a customer relationship is points over time. The event is the stone that causes ripples, which become waves. How does each event tell its chapter in the overall story? How are you leveraging and syndicating content over the course of the year?
5. Measure Again – Managing your events portfolio is a constant, iterative process. Ensure you are measuring the right things (success against objectives first, then diagnostics). Reinvent measurement as you go.

There are many ways to reduce costs in your event program, without sacrificing growth. These tides will turn. The wind will pick up again. The seas will calm. The question remains, will you be found tattered and adrift at the storm's end? Or will you sail through triumphantly as sun breaks through darkened skies? Be diligent. Be smart. Be strategic. Keep your sails raised and your hand on the tiller, and you'll fare far better than your competition after the storm.