This Is Not a Test!

It’s an article about testing.

In a recent article in BrandWeek, Karen Gedney was interviewed for some pointers on tricks of the trade in today’s online marketing environment. As the article points out, behind all the buzz about online marketing lies … principals of Direct Marketing 101. The legacy tactics may be in decline – the Age of Spray ‘n Pray is behind us – but testing, digging deep into results and incorporating them into future campaigns or efforts is still what it’s all about.

In my early experience working at Global Business Research, a conference company, we were constantly testing list segments and acting on results. However, I decided to test paper stock – we (and other events organizations – which operated in a “me too” environment) traditionally printed brochures on 80# coated stock. I decided to test uncoated vs. coated – obviously would not have shiny brochures, but would it impact attendance numbers? End of the day it didn’t – a simple A/B between the mail drop produced no variation in registrations; moving forward we saved $ by printing on uncoated stock.

Obviously testing can be more complex – while at Gartner I hired Karen for her creative services for several campaigns for us, including one in which we tested single vs. dual campaign communication for two events running a week apart which had a large audience overlap (another issue for another day).

Today, of course, the Internet has brought testing to a new level – both in timeliness and complexity. Results can pretty much be gleaned in real-time now, and action (if need be) taken much faster. To that end, a couple of quick suggestions on methodology:

• Keep email testing simple, utilizing A/B splits to test subject lines, messaging, offers, etc. independently of each other. Get a grip on one element before testing others. Given the challenges in generating clicks and views via the email channel, I’d suggest keeping it simple – as numbers will be relatively small, you want to have a good sample size from which to make decisions.
• Use your Web site for more complex multi-variable testing. Work with your internal Web team to ensure proper analytics are in place (and work with someone versed in statistics to ensure the test is viable), and use the Web to test headlines, copy placement, images, etc. – with the ultimate driver of course being registrations (although measure of leads generated vs. conversion is also a good metric.) Your site visit numbers will be more robust than email results, so take advantage of the larger audience to gain insight from larger datasets.

In short, use online marketing as a channel – but keep the legacy practice of testing in place as you develop and roll out your online initiatives!

Good luck!

John

P.S. Thanks for all the positive feedback I’ve gotten on http://www.johnsgibb.net. In the process of working on some additional efforts – stay tuned!

Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?

Full Disclosure: I HATE the phrase “Early Bird.” Always have – it strikes me as out of place in a business environment, and more with savings associated with an early dinner. But having not come up with a better phrase (much less one that would be embraced industry-wide) I’ve long since given up the fight to change it.

But a recent – and growing – challenge has been that the Early Bird cash discounts do not generate the results they once did – they have, I would argue, evolved into a commoditized incentive. It's expected, there is nothing particularly compelling about it, and while certain audience segments do register early to gain the savings, it no longer drives the incremental registrations/revenue it once did. This is a shame, as these deadlines have traditionally been strong early indicators of an event’s overall ultimate performance.

So what to do to revive the glory days of Early Birds? We need to move away from a straight cash discount and link it to the prospect whenever possible. A few thoughts:

• As a straight incentive, personalize it as much as possible. Pending audience size and leverage you have with a hotel, I have successfully utilized a "room upgrade" raffle (who wouldn't like the opportunity to walk into a suite vs. standard hotel room?) as one example.
• Given today's challenging environment, another thought would be to appeal to people's sense of social responsibility - while frankly I have not used it as an Early Bird incentive, I have conducted market surveys utilizing a small charitable donation for each response received; this tactic can certainly be translated to a small donation for each registration received prior to a certain date. (The amount/charity can also be called out on site, bringing the organization additional recognition.)
• Content-based incentives – white papers, on-site meet-and-greet with speakers, special networking events all continue to be effective ways to get people to act early.
  The one common denominator of the above, again, is that they are personal – they have direct benefit/impact to the person receiving it (as opposed to saving a couple hundred dollars – a corporate savings, not a personal one.)

One additional note - while early registrations are a key indicator to an event's success, I also suggest you ensure you have an attendee retention strategy in place. Individuals who register early also have a high cancellation rate (as Early Birds are more predisposed to having plans change than a person registering a week or two before an event), negating the good work you do to acquire them. Having the registration team prepared with a talk track, emails in place for individuals canceling online, and a strong ‘buzz’ leading up to an event to keep registrants engaged are all important elements to incorporate into the Early Bird retention efforts.

Best of luck!

P.S. In a fit of self-promotion, I invite everybody to check out – and Tweet (if you Twitter) my new site, www.johnsgibb.net

Developing Win-Win Partnerships with Exhibitors

In a similar vein to enriching Media Partnerships, another low-cost channel a successful Event marketer should fully explore and leverage is partnering with event exhibitors/sponsors [from here in referred to as exhibitors].

The concept is simple – for events with exhibitors, all parties have a common goal – to drive as many feet to the event as possible. And exhibitors have a goldmine of information to tap into: internal databases of unique, qualified clients and prospects you would not typically have access to. These clients and prospects are individuals the exhibitor would, certainly, like to meet and greet at the event. You, on the other hand, have the resources, knowledge and bandwidth to effectively communicate to these individuals. To that end, partnering to ensure the exhibitors’ clients and prospects attend the show is a win-win.

Communication channels can be varied; a few samples are:

• A co-branded email, highlighting the exhibitor’s participation in the event.
• A high-impact letter or direct mail piece to some key clients.
• Lead generating Webinars and/or podcasts highlighting exhibitor presentations, case studies, etc. that are part of the event content.
• Web presence on the exhibitor Web site, calendar of events.

One item to include in these communications is a premium to the attendees these efforts generate (i.e. a discount) – another win-win, as it affords good will from you to the exhibitor, and allows the exhibitor to extend goodwill to their client/prospect database.

Do remember that this effort should be one of you, the marketing department, providing complimentary, back-office services as a value add. The effort needs to be seamless for the exhibitor; they should not be expected to spend manhours coordinating or implementing these campaigns. It will be your responsibility to manage the process; the only facet you would need from the exhibitor would be their providing specs for banner ads, the appropriate list segment from their database, etc.

This can be a hurdle in itself – understandably organizations are reluctant to release details of a proprietary database. To that end I would recommend engaging a bonded 3rd party to handle names (assuring exhibitors you would never access the list) and, as SOP, have a standard Usage Agreement (specifying the list would be provided to a 3rd party for one-time use, would be destroyed after use, etc.).

Another facet to keep in mind: experience has shown you need to start working on this early in the campaign. Exhibitors are not events organizations, it typically takes time to educate and build awareness around what you are trying to achieve. It is essential, early on, to communicate this offering, educating exhibitors on why they should participate, and (most importantly) that it is of no cost and effort to them. Developing a flyer/PDF/email detailing all of this is advisable; be prepared to follow up with a phone call.

So schedule kickoff of these efforts early, be prepared for a lengthy process to implement, but persevere - one email/outbound communication to these hidden audiences can be invaluable to tapping into new audience segments and developing new alliances. (As a side note - also falls in the "business development" skill set for your professional development).

Good luck!

Don’t Neglect Your (Media) Partner

In the context of an event marketing campaign, one of the most underutilized channels available to Event Marketing leaders is the media partnership. I’ve heard a slew of reasons for this – bandwidth being key - but none of them override the value that a properly researched and negotiated partnership can deliver.

One thing to recognize is that … right under our noses … the nature of the effective media partnership has changed. Data privacy rules and spam concerns have taken the traditional “name for name exchange” (and logo swap) off the table in many instances.

The end results, however, remains the same: to develop reach into an audience that you don’t typically have access to (a prospect/client/subscription base). To that end, today’s task is how you and Partner X can work together to leverage the benefits you can work together to bring to each other (vs. the traditional ‘what can you give us/what can we give you’ mindset). A few thoughts on how to achieve this:

• Get to know your partner: I say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but these individuals and organizations are business partners who, in doing your research into appropriate partnerships, you have identified as potentially delivering value to your marketing efforts. So get to know them – talk to them, keep in regular contact. Learn their pain points and challenges; think of solutions that – through the partnership agreement – you can offer them. It’s a two-way street – use your side of the road to the best of your advantage.
• Think outside the box: You should of course be keeping up on the latest trends and technologies to round out your campaigns. But what and how can you and a partner leverage together? Back before it became commonplace, one of the best partnerships I had developed involved the partner producing Webinars using our internal resource as the speaker – with the understanding that they would sell sponsorship and keep the revenue. They assumed the cost (and profit), we generated hundreds of leads which consistently led to high conversion rates. Joint efforts on Twitter, microsites, Facebook and LinkedIn groups should all be part of today’s discussion.
• Explore all options: In today’s challenged economy, think beyond traditional organizations as possible partners – there are plenty of groups, consultants, and organizations that would have reach, affinity and access to an audience you are targeting. Explore them as possible partners – what capabilities do they have, and what value can you offer them in exchange … and what value can you develop together? Can they deliver content to the event - and can that be part of the value built into the partnership?
  

This is, of course, a lot of work - and there is a lot of knowledge, negotiating skills, and tenacity involved in getting it right. But plan ahead (rather than do the legwork as a 2^nd tier/last ditch effort) and set expectations for a long-term relationship and you will arrive at developing – and maintaining – mutually beneficial relationships.

More on Culture - Controlling your Reality

To continue last week’s thought on culture in an events marketing organization, I’d like to delve into the culture and dynamics – and how to control them – on a marketing manager’s level. Ironically enough, a couple of days ago there was a question I answered on LinkedIn that was a perfect lead-in: a person querying as to the level of autonomy a marketing manager typically gets to produce their own work. The scenario was a common one – multiple rounds of edits, perceived lack of support and micromanagement from upper management, and, overall … frustration.

Last week I discussed ways to address these results from a top-down approach – for those on the front lines I’d suggest a few key behaviors and strategies to create a positive environment:

Know your content: Typically the marketing manager is not providing content – there are either internal or external (or a combination thereof) individuals responsible for that. But if you are marketing it, learn it to the best of your ability. Come to meetings prepared to discuss themes, issues, speakers and sessions with knowledge. This will absolutely increase your value to the project in the eyes of others. I’m not suggesting becoming a content guru – but get your hands around it.

Develop a timeline: You know your optimal drop dates. You know how long it takes things to get done. Work backward and develop your timeline – including respectful and ample time for individuals to review and comment. In that vein, do take the bull by the horns …

…Manage your process: Tableset expectations. Let people know when they can expect to review, when you need it back, and that once back in hand, you will circulate FYI copy.

Communicate, communicate, communicate: Frankly one of the key skills I’ve had to polish over the years, but one of the most important. Outwardly communicate pertinent information about the campaign, trending, production process, etc. to the team on a regular basis. Communicate issues and concerns to your supervisor – they are there and paid to tackle larger issues; let them do their job.

In a nutshell, in the fast, multi-task pace of events marketing, it is your responsibility to gain respect of the team, which will benefit you both short and long-term. Gain respect through showing interest and knowledge, demonstrating process and management skills in the context of the campaign, and communicating both cross-functionally and vertically.

Corporate Culture: What’s in the Petri Dish?

The culture at any Events group is a unique dynamic. It’s working in an environment that is fast-paced, multi-task oriented, and requires different functionality to manage multiple products which are in various points in their lifecycle. A lifecycle which is particularly short – I’ve been in environments where they have been from three to eight months from inception through completion.

Given such a pace, I have not seen a lot of opportunity for introspection on how culture – from a top-down level or on a peer level – can and does impact the marketing function on a structural level. To that end some thoughts on organizational structure for marketing executives on various levels of the org chart.

First, senior management absolutely needs to be a strong advocate for the marketing function for the Events group to thrive. An event has several voices contributing to its success – from logistics to content to sales to marketing; senior marketing management needs to ensure their team is perceived as an equal player, not an internal service provider. A few quick questions to ask yourself:

• Is your team provided the proper voice at the inception of event? Your team not only should have metrics regarding the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, channels, etc. – they should have – and should be encouraged to undertake gathering – information on facets such as marketplace trending, and verbatim testimonials. Information which should roll up into the earliest strategic planning meetings. If your team is getting a hand-off on a campaign after dates, themes, and settings have been determined – which I have seen in multiple settings – the timing is too late; you need to ensure their strategic and tactical knowledge is influential throughout.

• Does your team influence decisions impacting all facets of the attendee experience? Marketing is assigned with driving revenue through attendance and sponsorship – too often, without influencing experiential facets of attendees and sponsors. Note I say influence – obviously other groups can – and should – have control over these elements. But your team members should revue and comment on these elements to ensure brand communication (and communications in general) are consistent.

• Is your team engaged with the on-site experience? If not, they should be. I have been in environments where this is both encouraged and an afterthought. And where it is encouraged the results are invaluable and speak for themselves. The on site experience: having your team members talk to attendees, gaining testimonials, attending sessions, interacting with sponsors first provides you knowledge which is otherwise not easily gleaned through other sources, and secondly develops and hones key skills of your team members – enabling them to further learn subject matter, and to better interact and communicate.

I’ll jump into ideas for marketing managers themselves next time (I’ve promised myself not to go too long on these!) But the central message for senior management is simple: Be an advocate for your team – continually monitor to ensure they are being properly utilized to best benefit the events group as a whole.

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

One third of this blog’s followers to date (OK, one of three followers … we’re just getting off the ground) commented on the DMA’s Web Page regarding pending state-by-state Do Not Mail legislation – including recently introduced legislation in Connecticut, New Jersey and California .

The DMA is obviously fighting such legislation. And I’d suggest proactively keeping abreast of the situation in particular states, although it does appear bills highlighted address consumer mail vs b2b. Stay tuned...

However – let’s make this a call to action to be proactive and continue to strive to ensure offline communications is targeted, specific and relevant. As is the case with effective email communications, for example, now would be the time to explore internal methodologies for developing and maintaining offline opt-in lists. "Spray and pray" (a phrase I detest) is behind us; as much as we can move towards delivering messaging which is germane to the recipient (i.e. include relevant content or drive-to-Web for relevant content in print communications), the less we will be faced with the “junk mail” label.