Six ways to maximize the ROI of your B2B events
1. So, what’s in a name?
Whether you’re looking to foster engagement, generate revenue, or recognize your best supporters—it all starts with a compelling concept. Ideally, your selected name should authentically reflect your goals, target audience, and brand voice—and have what we call “legs.” That means it has the adaptability, longevity, and versatility to work across various contexts and initiatives.
2. Get everyone on board.
To help make your event a success, ensure your key stakeholders and ambassadors are part of the process. By socializing your concept internally, you can gain feedback and buy-in. From there, you can begin developing your event messaging, talking points, and agenda—all of which should tie back to your goals.
3. Bring your concept to life.
Promote the event with a results-driven marketing campaign aimed at getting butts (and a lot of them) in seats. Emails, websites, videos, social media, mailers, and anything else that reinforces your key messages can play a role. Ensure your plan is integrated, properly timed, and filled with communications that inform, educate, and inspire.
4. It’s all about the details.
When it comes to the event itself, how participants feel matters most. By carefully curating the experience, you can make them feel like the honored guests they are. Compelling content, poignant videos, fun swag, and even customized glassware, napkins, or other details will keep your guests thinking about the event (and your organization) long after it’s over.
5. Don’t lose sight of why you’re there.
Whether you’re raising money for a good cause or promoting a new product, make it as easy as possible for your guests to take action. Remember, everyone is there for a reason—make sure it’s front and center.
6. After the event, the real impact begins.
Events take time, money, and energy—not only on your part, but on your guests’ part, too. After it’s over, keep the momentum going by asking for a meeting, donation, or whatever the logical next step might be. It could be as simple as crafting a thank you email or writing a note of gratitude. Personal touches like sharing event photos can help build goodwill, strengthen relationships, and maximize ROI.
Case Study
Merrimack College’s 75th Anniversary
To help celebrate their milestone anniversary, Crackerjack collaborated with Merrimack to name and develop a year-long campaign, Because We Believe, which provided ample flexibility to communicate their campaign goals.
Because we believe
…in a brighter tomorrow
…in a more diverse and inclusive campus
…in making a difference
…in a better future
Among the many projects, we built a microsite showcasing 75 stories, created a museum-quality interactive timeline, produced custom swag, and created digital and physical collateral to commemorate their various anniversary events. We tied it all together with a special 75th anniversary logo, tagline, and branding. The result? A cohesive, memorable campaign that was uniquely Merrimack.
Tip of the month
The three-word rule ✏️
Are our brains hardwired to more easily remember three-word slogans? (e.g., Just Do It, Taste the Rainbow). It seems that way. In fact, a study in the Journal of Business Research reported that the most-recalled slogans are three or four words long. So, when it comes to event names, remember: keep ’em short.
Oh, snap!
When we get emails for that “other” Crackerjack company…
“I was ecstatic to open a brand-new box of Cracker Jacks, but to my surprise, I opened a box which had only 9 pieces of my favorite caramelized popcorn. I did enjoy the nine pieces, but I am so very disappointed on this day.” – An unsatisfied customer