Face-to-face marketing--like trade shows and conferences--is not sexy. It’s not digital. It's "old school." But it’s still huge. Why? Because business sales and marketing depends on personal contact. This session explains the continued importance of face-to-face in B2B marketing today, and introduces 3 under-leveraged F2F marketing tactics, where, with a little effort, you can vastly improve your event marketing productivity.

1. Face-to-Face
Marketing Rules
Ruth P. Stevens
@RuthPStevens
www.ruthstevens.com

2. Trade show
industry growth:
2014: 1.8%
2013: .8%
Center for Exhibition Industry
Research
Are business events dead?

3. How many B2B marketers
use face-to-face?
91%
Regalix study, State of B2B Event Marketing 2015

4. Perennially the largest B2B budget item
Laura Ramos, Forrester, Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014

5. Trade shows top B2B spend in U.K.
Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, The B2B Barometer Report, 2014

6. Marketers name events “the most effective”
Regalix study, State of B2B Marketing 2015

7. Successful for both awareness and
lead generation

8. “Most effective” for content marketing

9. Types of events used by tech marketers
Type of event Usage
Customer events 47.9%
Trade shows 26.6%
Event sponsorships 11.5%
Partner events 7.0%
Digital events 5.3%
Other 1.7%
Kathleen Schaub, IDC CMO Advisory Service

10. Even young people crave face-to-face contact:
90% of young professionals plan to attend a show in next 2 years
Somewhat
Likely
Neither Likely
Nor Unlikely
Don’t Know
Q5A If you are given the opportunity, how likely would you be to actually attend one or more exhibitions in the next two years?
89%
C
92%
C
63%
90%
F
94%
F
66%
CC
A
B
A
B A
B
F
F
D
E
D
E D
EAttended All
n=219 [D]
Attended Some
n=283 [E]
Attended None
n=98 [F]
Attended All
n=194 [A]
Millennials Generation X
Attended Some
n=313 [B]
Attended None
n=93 [C]Total
Sample
n=1200
Top 2 Box % 87%
Very Likely
Somewhat
Unlikely
Very Unlikely
Letters indicate a significant difference at a 95% confidence level
CEIR, Power of Exhibitions
in 21st Century

11. Media are additive, over time

12. Face-to-face is how businesses buy

13. 3 POINTS OF LEVERAGE

14. 1. Strategy
• Put the event to its best use.
• Know why you are there. (Set objectives.)
• Select metrics consistent with your
objectives.
– Make them specific.
– Put them in writing.
71% of exhibitors go to a trade show without
any specific objectives. Source: CEIR

15. 2. Training
• The individual IS the message.
• Event interaction is a learned skill.
• Staff training can triple productivity.

16. 3. Follow up
• The event itself is only the beginning.
• Capture contact information.
• Plan for fast and relevant follow up.

17. One final thought
• Think strategy—as well as tactic.
–How should F2F fit into your mix?
–What do you want out of it?
–How to integrate business events for a
consistent, seamless customer
experience.
–Evaluating results. Pick impactful metrics,
and organize data capture.

18. Thank You
ruth@ruthstevens.com
@RuthPStevens