Research Center >> February 2008

CONFERENCE NEWS: The Hidden Secret to a Fistful of Leads
Why more and more B2B decision-makers are flocking to association conferences.
by Custom Media Solutions

With pressure building on corporate marketers to show return on investment (ROI) to their bosses, the word out on convention row is not to ditch events and trade shows altogether, but to go after smaller events, such as association trade shows, where top decision-makers have the opportunity to sell their products to a group of attentive niche audience members. BtoB Magazine along with Forrester Research recently conducted a survey of nearly 370 marketing professionals. Laura Ramos, VP at Forrester and the principal author of the report, noted as more CFOs and CEOs are being held responsible for market spend, they are looking to “smaller, more targeted events” because they “are proving to be more effective.”

As reported in BtoB Magazine, Kerry Smith, president of the Event Marketing Institute, agreed, “What's happening is that attention is trickling down into events … marketers are looking for a business outcome that's measurable.”

BtoB's 2008 Marketing Plans and Priorities survey found nearly half of top business decision-makers (49.5%) will increase their event budgets in 2008, but that increase will be directed towards smaller, more focused events for senior executives.

Another survey conducted by MarketingProfs and Forrester Research of nearly 500 top decision-makers (of whom 43 percent were from the Business & Industry sector) in late 2007, found similar results. While respondents said they used a wide variety of tactics to achieve their goals, a full 72 percent use trade shows. From the standpoint of generating leads, almost half (47%) thought small events and executive breakfast/seminars were highly effective. The report also revealed when it comes to communicating brand/company messages, more than half of respondents believe that Executive Breakfasts/Seminars (52%) are highly effective.

Show organizers are increasing revenues through unique sponsorship opportunities and custom events that help companies make more tactical and meaningful relationships with attendees. As reported in expoweb, the hottest market sectors for exhibitions in the next few years, forecasted by Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), include professional services such as finance, retail (particularly apparel), communication and information technology, transportation, sports and entertainment and building and construction.

And if finance is a hot market sector, you know AICPA’s conferences are a great bet to boost your marketing portfolio. Here are some of our leading conferences that are back by popular demand and you don’t want to miss:

Clive Over, director of corporate marketing communications at chip maker Atmel, summed it up best in BtoBonline.com: “a small number of people go to them [association tradeshows], but we are guaranteed a high level of quality in terms of leads.”

So what are you waiting for? Contact Patrick Slater or Michael DeWitt today and get the ball rolling.