Nearly half (49%) of CMOs say B2B events are now more critical than pre-pandemic, according to Forrester. And they will remain critical.
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, our ability to understand and act on customer intentions is the key to maintaining a competitive edge.
What if the secret to that advantage hides in plain sight within the data generated by your events?
Let's explore how AI, sales, marketing, and event technologies extend far beyond the event itself, offering the capture of powerful buying signals that can propel your business forward.
The Power of Signal-Based Strategies
Signal-based selling is revolutionizing how businesses interact with potential customers.
At its core, the approach identifies and interprets data-driven customer behaviors—signals—that indicate buying intent. Companies can prioritize prospects demonstrating genuine interest by focusing on those signals, making sales efforts more targeted and effective.
Imagine concentrating your resources on high-potential leads, saving time, and significantly increasing your chances of closing deals.
Applied to events, the promise of signal-based strategies becomes even more exciting.
Events: A Goldmine of Buying Signals
Every stage of an event—before, during, and after—presents unique opportunities to gauge your attendees' interest and accelerate their journey from prospects to buyers.
Each interaction, from registration to post-event surveys, generates valuable data that drives conversions and maximizes impact.
For marketing executives managing extensive event programs, the potential is staggering: AI can create a sustainable competitive advantage by capturing a large quantity of buying signals per event across hundreds or thousands of events around the globe.
Types of Buying Signals
To effectively implement a signal-based strategy, it's crucial to understand the various types of buying signals:
- Interest signals show a basic level of engagement, such as social media interactions or survey responses. Though not necessarily indicating strong buying intent, they can drive top-of-funnel awareness and provide insights into buyer education needs.
- Pipeline signals demonstrate more concrete steps toward a purchase, such as attending a product demo immediately after an event session or requesting to speak with a salesperson during an event.
- Readiness signals indicate a customer is in the final decision stages. These signals might include discussions about the budget, inquiries about the decision-making process, or attendance at implementation-focused conference sessions.
- Barrier signals can point to roadblocks or opportunities for further engagement. A sudden halt in communication might signal a loss of interest or an internal issue that needs addressing. Alternatively, it could indicate that the attendee requires more education and is still in the awareness and interest phase.
Implementing Signal-Based Event Strategies
To effectively apply buying signals from your events, consider the following strategies:
- Employ data analysis and transformation. Implement robust customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, and customer data platform (CDP) systems to capture crucial information and analyze behavior patterns. Use predictive analytics to evaluate which signals most often lead to sales.
- Invest in intelligent event technology. Use software that captures data at every step of the event cycle, including check-in, polling, surveying, and event apps. Ensure the solutions integrate seamlessly for real-time monitoring and action.
- Use AI-powered insights. Use AI to assess buying signals and create actionable insights. Orchestrate data flow to capture, respond to, and understand attendee signals leading to buyer behavior.
- Train your team. Equip your sales team with the skills to recognize and respond to real-time signals during events. That human touch, combined with technological insights, can be a powerful driver of success.
- Customize your approach. Tailor your event marketing and sales strategies based on the specific signals you're tracking. Use those insights to align multiple buyers on evaluation teams at different buyer journey stages.
- Harness first-party intent data. Integrate intent data into your marketing automation system (e.g., Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua) to identify and prioritize high-potential leads. Augment that process with event data to capitalize on in-person connection opportunities.
The Future of Event Marketing
By embracing AI, data, and signal-based solutions across sales, marketing, and events, marketing executives can navigate the evolving B2B landscape and drive significant revenue growth.
The latest intelligent event apps use AI and event intelligence (EI) to turn each attendee interaction into rich buyer insights. These technologies enable dynamic assessment of buyer engagement, providing marketing, sales, and customer success teams with an ongoing stream of insights.
Use the derived insights to refine interactions and experiences for each attendee or buyer, creating a personalized journey that meets buyers where they are and drives higher-quality results more quickly.
Note that the cumulative effect of processing signals from hundreds or thousands of events creates a widening gap between those who adopt this approach and those who don't. That compounding advantage can establish a lasting edge in your industry.
Bottom Line
In an era where understanding customer intent is paramount, signal-based event strategies offer a powerful tool for businesses looking to stay ahead.
By employing advanced event technology and AI-powered insights, you can transform every touchpoint of your events into opportunities for deeper understanding and more effective engagement. Signals from hundreds or thousands of events can guide your personalization efforts, meet buyers where they are, and drive higher-quality results more quickly.
The latest intelligent event apps use AI and event intelligence to turn each attendee interaction into rich buyer insights. Signal-aware event technology enables you to continually assess your buyers' engagement, providing your marketing, sales, and customer success teams with an ongoing flow of insights to refine interactions and experiences for each advocate.
