Event Engagement Benchmark Report (preview)

1. Event Engagement Benchmark Report (preview) © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Benchmark Report Event Engagement: Sponsored By:

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 6 9 14 20 Introduction Executive Summary Catalog of Events Customer Engagement Enabling Event Engagement Event Metrics & ROI 27 29 30 Acknowledgements About Demand Metric Appendix – Survey Background 22 25 Events Importance & Satisfaction Analyst Bottom Line 28 About Attend TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 6 9 14 20 Introduction Executive Summary Catalog of Events Customer Engagement Enabling Event Engagement Event Metrics & ROI 27 29 30 Acknowledgements About Demand Metric Appendix – Survey Background 22 25 Events Importance & Satisfaction Analyst Bottom Line 28 About Attend

3. INTRODUCTION Marketing has experienced a massive, evolutionary shift in the past decade. Today, marketing effectiveness is synonymous with exploiting current technology, being data driven and emphasizing customer engagement. Technology is the enabler of marketing performance, customer engagement is the objective and data provides the scorecard. Engagement is the common denominator of many marketing goals: greater conversion rates, advocacy, shorter sales cycles and better ROI. The modern marketer does many things, but most of them are in some way, shape or form linked to driving better engagement. Many marketing and sales teams believe that events are a strategy for accelerating the development of customer engagement. Events provide all the ingredients necessary to achieve desired levels of engagement: face-to-face or at least interpersonal interaction with customers, in a controlled setting that is designed to showcase the brand. Sales teams have historically relished the opportunity to interact with customers at events because they can advance relationships and engage more effectively. Events are the broadest, deepest touchpoint for many customers during their buying journeys. With the appeal of events come some unique challenges. No other marketing strategy is as varied, and few others have the logistical burdens of producing successful events. Attend, a provider of online software that simplifies and automates event management processes, and Demand Metric collaborated to determine how effective events are as a strategy for customer engagement and if the resulting ROI meets expectations. The report details the findings of this study. INTRODUCTION Marketing has experienced a massive, evolutionary shift in the past decade. Today, marketing effectiveness is synonymous with exploiting current technology, being data driven and emphasizing customer engagement. Technology is the enabler of marketing performance, customer engagement is the objective and data provides the scorecard. Engagement is the common denominator of many marketing goals: greater conversion rates, advocacy, shorter sales cycles and better ROI. The modern marketer does many things, but most of them are in some way, shape or form linked to driving better engagement. Many marketing and sales teams believe that events are a strategy for accelerating the development of customer engagement. Events provide all the ingredients necessary to achieve desired levels of engagement: face-to-face or at least interpersonal interaction with customers, in a controlled setting that is designed to showcase the brand. Sales teams have historically relished the opportunity to interact with customers at events because they can advance relationships and engage more effectively. Events are the broadest, deepest touchpoint for many customers during their buying journeys. With the appeal of events come some unique challenges. No other marketing strategy is as varied, and few others have the logistical burdens of producing successful events. Attend, a provider of online software that simplifies and automates event management processes, and Demand Metric collaborated to determine how effective events are as a strategy for customer engagement and if the resulting ROI meets expectations. The report details the findings of this study.

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A majority of this study’s participants were in marketing roles in B2B or mixed B2B/B2C organizations that reported revenue growth in the most recently completed fiscal year. Study data was collected only from participants that acknowledged using events as a marketing initiative. The analysis of this study’s data provides these key findings:  Conferences, tradeshows and webinars are the top three event types in which organizations host or participate.  63% of participants utilize four or more types of events, and 21% utilize seven or more types.  The average percentage of the marketing budget that is allocated to events falls between 30 and 39%.  Relative to all event goals, almost 80% of respondents identified improving customer engagement as the most or one of the most important goals for event marketing.  Almost two-thirds of participants report that less than half of their new customers encounter them at an event during their buying journeys.  Less than half of event staffs in this study have access to tablet or smartphone devices/apps to research attendees at events and log interactions. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A majority of this study’s participants were in marketing roles in B2B or mixed B2B/B2C organizations that reported revenue growth in the most recently completed fiscal year. Study data was collected only from participants that acknowledged using events as a marketing initiative. The analysis of this study’s data provides these key findings:  Conferences, tradeshows and webinars are the top three event types in which organizations host or participate.  63% of participants utilize four or more types of events, and 21% utilize seven or more types.  The average percentage of the marketing budget that is allocated to events falls between 30 and 39%.  Relative to all event goals, almost 80% of respondents identified improving customer engagement as the most or one of the most important goals for event marketing.  Almost two-thirds of participants report that less than half of their new customers encounter them at an event during their buying journeys.  Less than half of event staffs in this study have access to tablet or smartphone devices/apps to research attendees at events and log interactions.

5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  Just 28% of companies are using an event management platform to assist with event registration, check-in, email and metrics tracking/reporting.  The number of leads generated – largely a vanity metric – is the top events success measure in use. Less than one-third of surveyed firms measure ROI, and less than half measure engagement or revenue generated.  Those firms that use event management technology are twice as likely to be satisfied compared to those who are not using this technology.  The average ROI for events measured by this study falls within the 25 to 34% range. When events management technology is in use, the average ROI ranges from 36 to 45%. This report details the results and insights from the analysis of the study data. For more detail on the survey participants, please refer to the Appendix. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  Just 28% of companies are using an event management platform to assist with event registration, check-in, email and metrics tracking/reporting.  The number of leads generated – largely a vanity metric – is the top events success measure in use. Less than one-third of surveyed firms measure ROI, and less than half measure engagement or revenue generated.  Those firms that use event management technology are twice as likely to be satisfied compared to those who are not using this technology.  The average ROI for events measured by this study falls within the 25 to 34% range. When events management technology is in use, the average ROI ranges from 36 to 45%. This report details the results and insights from the analysis of the study data. For more detail on the survey participants, please refer to the Appendix.

6. ABOUT ATTEND Attend is an event management and engagement platform that is pioneering the way marketing, sales and customer success teams manage events and interact with attendees. Attend makes it easy to streamline your event process, make every guest feel like a VIP and gain real-time relevant data about your attendees to enable smarter conversations. Attend turns attendees into prospects, prospects into customers and customers into life-long loyal promoters. Some of Attend’s customers include Applause, Localytics, Northeastern University, CBRE and Seismic. The company is backed by .406 Ventures and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.attend.com. ABOUT ATTEND Attend is an event management and engagement platform that is pioneering the way marketing, sales and customer success teams manage events and interact with attendees. Attend makes it easy to streamline your event process, make every guest feel like a VIP and gain real-time relevant data about your attendees to enable smarter conversations. Attend turns attendees into prospects, prospects into customers and customers into life-long loyal promoters. Some of Attend’s customers include Applause, Localytics, Northeastern University, CBRE and Seismic. The company is backed by .406 Ventures and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.attend.com.

7. ABOUT DEMAND METRIC Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 70,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries. Offering consulting methodologies, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence, boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To read the rest of this report, become a Demand Metric member today! ABOUT DEMAND METRIC Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 70,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries. Offering consulting methodologies, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence, boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To read the rest of this report, become a Demand Metric member today!