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Picture this: You’ve just opened up registrations for your event and they’re pouring in. You’re happy everything is working out well for you.
But there’s a dark twist.
The attendees at your event aren’t converting to leads! Imagine all the missed opportunities.
There can be many reasons why your event lead generation activities haven’t fulfilled your lead gen dreams. But, we’re here to help.
In this blog, we’ll analyze how events can be powerful tools for attracting high-quality leads. You’ll learn which event types work best and discover event lead generation best practices to help organizers and exhibitors get the most out of every event.
Let’s make your next event a true lead-gen machine!
Whether you host online or onsite, the purpose for hosting events or trade shows remains constant:
Hosting events is one of the most significant ways to boost your B2B event lead generation. They can bring your target audience together and provide a way to not only attract customers but also build a community.
If you’re still wondering about the potential of events to generate leads, let me walk you through some interesting ways they can be super helpful.
Hosting online and onsite events can accommodate a much wider audience by removing all geographical restraints.
People who can attend onsite can make the journey to the actual venue. Important stakeholders who could not have attended the event for in-person interactions can easily log in online. You can go beyond your local audience to potentially a global one which can skyrocket your business.
This way, you can ensure a bigger and more diverse event attendance and naturally, a larger pool of lead prospects.
Trade shows are one of the best lead generation tactics B2B event marketers can leverage.
At a trade show, visitors explore your service, look at demonstrations, and can close deals right there. Therefore, this significantly accelerates the sales funnel. Otherwise, the whole process can take weeks.
By registering for the event, visitors also pre-qualify themselves long before the event takes place. So, attending your event can take the place of a first sales call — moving prospects through your sales funnel faster.
Events are a powerful way to combine the best of marketing and e-commerce into one experience. On one hand, you can subtly communicate the value of your brand through inspiring keynotes, networking opportunities, fun activities, or anything that happens during the event.
On the other, you can integrate an e-commerce engine enabling visitors to book orders there and then allowing you to generate revenue in a short amount of time.
Generating B2B leads and converting them to sales can be a lot easier if your potential audience can resonate with your brand image.
Relating to a brand or an organization’s ethos can be a lot easier by attending an event they’re hosting. Therefore, events are the key to humanizing your brand and creating real-life experiences for your potential leads.
You can host trade shows, conferences, or even customer dinners to make the experience more personalized for your audiences and create a stronger connection with them.
People love real-time communication and this also applies to their professional interactions.
According to The Social Habit and Jay Baer, 32% of users who have ever interacted with a brand on social expect a reply in 30 minutes or less. Therefore, live videos, tweets, and webcasts are becoming increasingly popular.
Events are designed for such interactions through onsite company rep presence, social sharing, on-demand webinars, live onsite presentations and Q&A sessions, and multiple networking options like chat, networking lounges, onsite meetings, etc.
In the case of B2B virtual events, webinars themselves are great opportunities to develop leads as you can share freebies (like e-books) with visitors to warm them up and then position benefits in an environment with very few distractions.
In addition, events build a lead nurturing environment by taking the guesswork out of things for buying customers and potential prospects.
Post-event reports can shed a lot of light on the event’s performance. They pinpoint statistics like:
These figures can be used to uncover crucial insights.
For example, they can help in improving content for the next event and even your B2B marketing strategies by showing you what worked and what didn’t. You can identify where participation spiked in your webinars, which booth was visited the most, or how many onsite attendees checked in through the app.
They also help to gauge both the quantity and quality of leads generated. The level of engagement is also a key determinant of the lead’s current stage in the sales cycle. This eases the lead qualification process and maximizes event ROI.
An event is not a one-time affair. The leads you generate here can be lifetime connections. You can qualify the leads in a much more efficient way through onsite trade shows by making a real-life connection with the prospects. Faces are much easier to remember than names and that can make all the difference in the world for your sales pitch.
There are benefits of going virtual too: your engagement does not have to end with the event. You can keep the doors to the virtual event open for days after its scheduled time has passed. This allows your content to be available for consumption, storing, and sharing for much longer.
Even if your reps are not available to immediately answer the queries generated by latecomers, you’ve still left the door open for an additional stream of prospects to access your event and reach out for a transaction.
Furthermore, you retain the contact information of prospects and registrants even after the event and can keep the doors of communication always open. Later, you can send educational or promotional material to them and help close the deal.
It can be easy to count the number of likes on a post you made online or the total number of users who opened your email. However, social media or other marketing mediums can hardly tell you the true impact of your collateral and the perception of your customers. This is where events can help!
By hosting an event, you can get your customers to start talking about your products and services online. While a paid campaign can help you attract leads, an event can help you make those leads ambassadors for your business.
While events can do all the magic we mentioned earlier, the event format is of the essence. Not all event types are suitable for B2B event lead generation. Here are some formats that can do wonders.
It may sound cliché, but conferences are great for showcasing your expertise to a targeted audience. They are also great for generating event leads offering platforms for thought leadership, panel discussions, and networking.
But, here’s the catch. To maximize your conversions, it is important that you’re not solely dependent on the mere exchange of business cards. It has to be more!
Conference lead generation involves identifying potential clients among the attendees and building strong connections with them. The end goal is usually sales or collaboration. Having a lead capture app can be ideal for this purpose.
These apps allow you to capture leads instantly by scanning attendees’ business cards or the QR code that’s typically mentioned on their badges. The contact information can also be added manually.
Once in the system, you can segment these leads based on their importance, for example cold, hot, warm, and urgent. After the event, these leads can be integrated with your CRM or downloaded as a CSV file.
This way, you can capture leads quickly, add context on the go, and follow up with them right after the event.
While leadership summits happen on a smaller scale than a conference, they bring together thought leaders and decision-makers for a meaningful discourse. This is helpful because you get to interact with a highly targeted audience that has the power to make decisions.
A great way to show your expertise to them is to participate in keynote sessions or panel discussions. This will grab their attention, and help you collect high-quality leads.
Customer dinners are a great way to build a strong rapport with your customers. It allows you to step out of the professional environment into a relaxed and intimate setting. This helps because not only do you get to discuss shared interests but the customers gain trust in you.
For example, vFairs hosts several customer dinners with its clients, and prospects across different countries. These events help us learn from our clients, and build a long-term relationship with them.
vFairs customer dinner at New York City
Peer networking events or industry meetups are particularly useful to create a sense of community. You can organize casual meet-and-greet events from your specific industry. This will help you position yourself as a thought leader since you’re bringing everyone together.
Executive roundtables are closed-door and invite-only events. They bring together senior policy-makers and leaders to discuss specialized topics in a particular industry.
For example, The Executive Series, Climate Week NYC brings together various civil society champions to engage in constructive dialogue around climate progress.
Webinars and workshops are some of the most cost-effective lead generation events. They give you a chance to connect with an audience already searching for solutions to their challenges. You get to deliver real value upfront, whether through actionable strategies, product demos or deep industry insights.
By doing this, you’re not just sharing information, you’re building credibility and trust. The result? You attract prospects who are genuinely interested in what you offer, making lead conversion much easier.
A product launch lets you showcase what’s new and exciting in your business. These events bring in people who are seriously considering buying and want to know more about your offering.
For example, OpenAI’s Dev Day has become very popular for announcing some cutting-edge developments in the AI landscape. While it isn’t exclusively a product launch event, the live product announcements are a significant aspect of it, attracting businesses and developers to experience it live.
Trade shows bring together businesses and customers in one place. Setting up a booth or doing a live demo gives you a chance to talk to a broad audience and collect contact details for follow-up.
IMEX is a great example of how a trade show can be used to generate B2B leads. Different companies leverage this event differently. For example, vFairs participates at the IMEX annually to meet with clients who are interested in 5-star event management technology.
Pro-tip: If a trade show offers a pre-event networking session, you should attend it. It’s your chance to warm some leads way before the event starts.
By choosing the right event type for your industry and planning ahead, you can connect with more potential customers and turn them into leads.
To capture leads at events, you have to start from the beginning and devise a stellar B2B lead gen strategy. Pre-event lead capture strategies, in-event activities, and post-event follow-ups are all important to boost your lead numbers.
Generating and qualifying event leads is an important part of your event planning process whether you’re hosting online or physically. Here are some important B2B lead generation ideas and tips to keep in mind for event organizers and exhibitors looking for in-person or virtual event lead generation.
As an exhibitor, you should understand that you need to start putting in work much before the event begins for effective live event lead generation.
You can plan email campaigns to keep your prospects engaged after they register for the event. Moreover, you can also send emails to potential prospects so they register and show up at your trade show. Use your social media channels to let potential leads know you’re going to be at the event and build their interest.
Bonus Tip: Send emails from your sales rep accounts to make them more personalized for your prospects. Prospects who show up will be delighted to meet the reps and will already have a connection with them through the prior emails.
Your sales team is the face of your brand. They should be well acquainted with the goals of participating in the event, and the value proposition of the product/services they’re going to pitch.
More importantly, you should equip them with comprehensive training about the tech that will be used during the event. For example, they should be well-versed with the lead capture app. In case of a virtual event, they should know everything about the platform where the event is being hosted.
Virtual event platforms have various elements. They include exhibit halls, networking tools, and much more. So it is easy to get confused. Make sure your sales team is secure from any awkward encounters.
Creating the right messaging for your sales team is also very important before the event whether they’re looking for virtual event leads or in-person lead capture. They should understand what the pain points of their potential customers are to help them see how their product solves their issues. The clearer your messaging is, the more convincing your case will sound.
Your sales team can work more efficiently if they use event technology that helps them streamline their processes. Event tech like online meeting schedulers, chat queue options, event mobile apps, and lead capture apps can be fantastic tools to create efficient, fast, and effective real time lead generation, lead capture, and qualification processes.
Sales teams can often need help with how to get B2B leads at an event. You can’t send them in without an SOP.
There should be a process they can follow whenever they engage with a potential customer. This could include a well-prepared elevator pitch, methods of lead capture they should use, taking notes, marking the leads according to their potential, and lead follow-up methods.
Selecting the right event format is the most important aspect for you as an event organizer. Imagine if your audience is spread across the continents, and you set up a physical event. It’s likely to be a hassle for people to join it physically.
Here’s how you should go about selecting the event format. First up, think about the purpose of your event. For example, is it for education or for networking purposes only. Based on your goal, decide the format that’ll do the most justice.
For example, if the purpose is education, then a virtual event can be effective. However, if the purpose is networking, then physical or hybrid events will have the edge.
Next, you should evaluate your audience. This includes their geographical location, position, and their preferences. For example, if you’re hosting a C-suite summit, then hosting an in-person event would be ideal in most cases.
Finally, it also boils down to your budget and resources. Know the kind of complexity your team can handle.
Based on all of these factors, identify the most suitable format for your event. This will help you build an experience your audience will love.
Marketing your event before it launches is a sure-shot way to make potential leads show up at the event. You can do lots to attract more registrations and then help them convert to leads. Create a stellar event landing page to streamline the registration process and use social media to boost engagement at your event. Email marketing can also help with lead generation in B2B marketing by attracting more attendees and exhibitors.
Webinars and live sessions are not only important for sharing information but they can be great ways for virtual conference lead capture as well! You can plan an engaging and informational webinar for all potential attendees before your event. People who attend the webinar can get a special discount to register for the event.
Moreover, you can use the webinar registration data to find potential leads for your event. Send them specialized messages or a special gift to make sure they don’t miss out on attending your event.
During your pre-event activities, polls, and surveys can help you gauge the overall impression of your event on exhibitors and event attendees. Run polls for potential leads and ask them how they feel about the event session lineup, ask for suggestions on what they’d like to see more of, and how likely are they to register for the event. You can use social media platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook to do a little research and finetune your event plans accordingly.
When the big day arrives, you need to ensure you don’t waste any time and resources over cold leads. Instead, you should be able to identify the most urgent and hot leads and focus on convincing them to take a demo and move things forward.
Here are some event lead generation ideas for B2B conversions during the event.
To make your booth stand out, focus on creating an inviting and engaging space. Choose a location with high foot traffic, and design your booth to be visually appealing with clear, easy-to-read signage.
Make the experience interactive by including stuff like product demonstrations, games, or hands-on activities. This encourages attendees to stop by and engage with your team. Offering giveaways helps keep your brand in the minds of visitors long after the event ends.
Your lead retrieval mechanism has to be solid from the beginning. It should allow you to easily capture a lead, score it, and then analyze it later. You can use a several lead retrieval app for the process.
Remember to create a mechanism to score your leads at the same time. For example, you can rate each lead out of 10 and prioritize follow-ups accordingly. The higher the rating, the more interested a lead seems to be in your product at the event.
Once your leads are scored based on the level of their interest, you can draft curated strategies to target different segments accordingly.
Lead qualification can be a tougher process than lead generation at times, especially if your sales reps didn’t add any lead context. Many times, the event sales rep and the account executive who gets in touch with the prospect after the event will be different people.
Therefore, it is a best practice for sales reps to take notes for each lead they capture at the event. It can help anyone else who is following up with the prospect later. They can do it quickly within the app if they are using one.
Video content like product demos or brochures with key points about the product can be great tools for event lead capture. Many times, what can’t be demoed through a plain conversation can be shown in a video.
Sales reps should always have marketing and sales enablement resources on hand to use at any event. They can help prospects get a better idea about the services and, if it’s physical collateral, they can even take it with them for referencing later.
Most of the attendees at your event aren’t there to immediately buy a product. They are more likely interested in a panel discussion or a live speaker session that lured them to the event. So, it is important to make sure that they are getting relevant content that aligns perfectly with their interests. All you need to do is provide value to your attendees first and then go from there.
It’s your job to facilitate the interactions between the exhibitors and the attendees. To make it efficient, you can assign a unique QR code to all the attendees. These QR codes can be placed on their badges or inside their event app.
On the other hand, equip the exhibitors with a smart and secure lead capture app. This way, contact exchange will be just scan away.
Organize networking sessions, speed-meeting events, or exclusive breakout rooms to help exhibitors connect with high-value prospects and attendees. This ensures no potential connection slips through the cracks.
You can also enable AI-powered matchmaking. This cool feature connects people based on their profiles and shared interests. This can implemented for both virtual and in-person events. It’s a great way to skip the awkward hellos and get straight to business.
Equip exhibitors with data-driven insights about attendees, such as demographics, interests and session participation, so they can tailor their pitches accordingly.
For example, if you’re hosting a tech conference, and you get to know that most of the sign-ups are for AI-related sessions. You can share this information with the exhibitors, and they can use this information to highlight the AI aspect of their business in greater detail.
After the event is over, you should take your time to analyze how the event performed, knowing what worked and what didn’t. Take into consideration everything you and your sales reps experienced and noticed at the event as well as engagement statistics.
This can be a great way to debrief post-event and ensure your sales team is even more prepared for upcoming events.
This one goes without saying but following up with a lead after the event is over is crucial so your lead generation efforts don’t go to waste. Also, remember that a follow-up delayed is a follow-up denied! Make sure you get back in touch with your event leads within a few days of the event while the memory of the conversation they had with you is still intact.
A follow-up can be equally important as the event itself and you should have a clear action plan for it. Send prospects additional resources, links for your company website, and any more relevant information that you can.
So, your prospect didn’t show up at the event. Now what?
A good sales rep will always have a plan B for when prospects are playing hard to get. You should always have contingency plans in place if that happens. Try to get on a call with them, email them to know that they were missed, and send them a link to a session they missed at the event that would’ve been beneficial for them.
After the event concludes, analyze the data you’ve collected throughout the period. Use measurable metrics to assess the event’s performance, such as:
These metrics provide actionable insights, helping you optimize future events for greater success.
Gathering feedback from both exhibitors and attendees is key to understanding the success of your event. By collecting insights directly from these groups, you can better understand their experiences and discover areas where improvements can be made.
This feedback can be gathered through surveys, interviews, or informal discussions, and should cover everything from event organization to specific content preferences.
Maximize the value of your event by sharing recorded content, such as keynote speeches, panel discussions, and breakout sessions. Event content is often one of the most valuable takeaways for attendees.
You can also use AI to repurpose your content. For example, AI can help you create shorter videos or reels from your video content, or turn it into informative blogs, social media posts, polls, etc. So it’s like hitting 10 targets with one shot.
Not all registrants will attend the event, but they should still be engaged. Reaching out to those who didn’t show up is essential for maintaining relationships and keeping them interested in future events.
You can reignite their interest and provide a reason for them to attend the next event by sharing highlights, recorded sessions or even exclusive content.
With events, the options for lead generation and lead nurturing are endless. If you clearly present the message you wish to portray and match this message to your event and audience, you stand a very high chance of turning attendees into valuable prospects.
If capturing leads is the primary goal of hosting an event for you, consider an event lead management platform with a lead capture app.
Event lead management platforms have features like event registration and ticketing tools, analytics tools, and lead capture apps that can help improve the lead generation experience for your sales team. They can add a layer of efficiency to your event planning and ensure that your sales team has everything they need to capture leads effectively.
Run targeted online ads, use lead forms on your website, or host webinars. At events, engage with attendees using tools like QR codes or lead capture apps for instant connections.
A great example of lead generation is collecting contacts by hosting a webinar. You can gatekeep the registrations through an easy-to-fill registration form.
It’s the process of connecting with potential customers during events through conversations, demos, or games, and collecting their details for follow-up.
Set up lead capture forms, automate emails, or run evergreen ads. Tools like CRM systems or chatbots can help you capture and nurture leads without constant manual effort.
Syeda Hamna Hassan
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