Deliver Sales Quality Event Leads with These 5 Pre-Event Tips

According to a survey of B2B marketers, 83% of event marketers prioritize lead quality over quantity – which has been an increasing trend every year. So it comes as no surprise that more than 57% of B2B companies identify “converting qualified leads into paying customers” as a top funnel priority.

While most event marketers are likely to agree that lead generation tops the list of their event objectives, translating this goal into an executable strategy can be a challenge for even the most seasoned event planner.

Here are five lead-generating tactics to get started designing pre-event campaigns, promotions, and survey questions that are likely to generate warmer leads and increase the ROI of pre-event marketing.

1. Pre-Event Campaign

Go beyond the generic ‘We look forward to seeing you’ message and grab the attention of attendees with a buzz-worthy campaign before the event. Contests and other interactive activities can engage attendees and steer them toward your event website.

Spread the word through social media channels, the company blog, and a targeted email campaign. By driving traffic to your event landing page with a pre-event campaign, you can generate leads and boost registration conversions.

2. Surveys

Sharing a short survey for attendees to complete prior to the event serves three purposes:

• Uncovers valuable information about your prospects to help the Sales & Marketing team target its message during the event.
• Interacts directly with your prospects, creating a dialogue and fostering engagement, which ultimately helps move them through the pipeline.
• Asks questions specifically related to attendees’ wants and needs with respect to the event, so you can tailor the event to better meet their expectations and create an engaging attendee experience.

3. Powerful Registration Forms

Intelligent online registration forms are much more than a tool for signing up attendees for your event. Customizable registration forms enable you to create unlimited fields to collect attendee data. By understanding attendee interests, preferences, and buying motivation, event planners can tailor the attendee experience and massage the marketing message to maximize lead generation and ROI.

4. Event Websites

Creating a compelling, easy-to-navigate event website is an important piece of the pre-event lead generation strategy. A well-designed, branded site that creates a sense of urgency in support of your event marketing campaign will build awareness of the event and increase conversion. In addition to providing details about the event, your event website is a valuable lead generation tool. By highlighting the unique value proposition of your event in conjunction with a registration call-to-action and social proof (e.g. testimonials from previous attendees and photos from previous events), you will generate interest and convert prospects into paying attendees.

5. Email Marketing

Targeted email blasts are key tools in generating leads prior to an event. In addition to save-the-date messages, email marketing can be used to transition marketing-qualified leads to sales-qualified leads. Using nurturing techniques such as promoting your pre-event campaign, disseminating surveys, and teasing relevant content to your target audience, you will maximize engagement and move prospects through the pipeline.

Strategies that target prospects before, during, and after an event have their own unique benefits and are part of a comprehensive lead generation strategy to drive revenue and generate positive event ROI.

Ready to learn more about delivering high-quality event leads? Download our whitepaper here.

The Attendease event management and automation platform can help you meet your pre-event lead generation objectives with powerful registration, integrated marketing tools, and an advanced publishing engine to build engaging event websites.