Top Mistakes with B2B Event StrategiesHow to avoid common mistakes and stay ahead in the B2B event marketing game.
Taking advantage of B2B events can bring your brand to the attention of your customers. Every day, consumers are bombarded with pitches and advertisements, so you need to make your event stand out. Increasingly, companies are seeking ways to stand out from the crowd, and event marketing is an excellent starting point. In addition to providing new channels and methods for connecting with future and returning customers, event marketing allows you to collect customer data from other sources. This allows you to get to know them prior to the event so that they can be treated as individuals rather than just part of the crowd.
There are, however, some marketers who do not get every event right. Events are often misunderstood, and people make mistakes. Event marketers of the future must stay ahead of the event marketing game in order to succeed. What is the best way to do it? How should we go about it?
In this episode, Jonathan Kazarian points out some of the top mistakes event marketers make and shows you how to avoid them.
Jonathan Kazarian is the Founder & CEO of Accelevents, a leading virtual and hybrid event management platform recently recognized by Inc. 5000 as a top 200 fastest-growing private company in America.
As CEO, Jon is focused on leading the company’s vision of helping event organizers and marketing professionals transform their events through innovative technology solutions.
As an industry thought leader, Jon actively publishes insights on the events landscape and frequently speaks at industry events such as EventMB’s Event Tech Innovation Summit, BizBash Live, and INBOUND.
Jon also chairs the board for the Fall Formal fundraiser benefiting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Outside of work, Jon has a passion for anything on water — sailing, boating, scuba diving, and kiteboarding.
Podcast Timestamps/Outline
01:13 – Introduction
01:56 – About Jonathan Kazarian
03:55 – Mistakes that Jonathan often sees people make at events
05:12 – Is content the answer?
07:57 – Brand awareness call-to-action vs. Lead generation call-to-action
09:39 – Levels of engagement and the relationship funnel
14:24 – A holistic approach to events
18:43 – Scoring mechanisms
20:01 – Fit and expectation setting. Where should somebody start?
22:04 – Intent data
25:19 – Being smarter about data
28:05 – CMO tenure and turnover rate
31:59 – How organizations can control their destiny
35:00 – Picking a tech provider
35:51 – Unrealistic expectations
37:38 – Where should B2B marketers start first with event strategy
40:19 – Connect with Jonathan Kazarian
Memorable Quotes
“If you get it right, events are going to be your number one lead generation channel.”
“People think that technology is going to be the be-all, end-all solution for them. It’s not.”
“It all has to be a holistic program.”
“You should be thinking multi-year out in terms of your event programming.”
“Scoring in itself does not necessarily tell you what they’re interested in.”
“It’s not just the intent part; it’s also knowing how we actually follow up with them appropriately.”
“Events make up 25% of B2B marketing budget.”
“Events are an incredible way to bring your customers together, to keep them feeling part of your community, to reengage with them, to retouch them, to create opportunities for organic conversation.”
“Events puts your customers in front of your prospects.”
“You need a technology partner that’s going to be there in real-time to answer your questions for you.”
Episode Links and Resources
Jonathan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkazarian
Accelevents website: https://www.accelevents.com/
Digital activity ROI assessment: https://b2bdm.com/digital-activity-roi/
More episodes related to B2B events: https://b2bdm.com/whats-new-for-b2b-events-in-2023/
