The Event Grader
- 💸 Cost: Free
- ⏱️ Time to finish: 60 Seconds
- 📏How you’ll be measured: The depth and breadth of your event portfolio, how you prep and collaborate with other teams, and what data you’re using (and how you’re using it) to drive your ROI strategy
- 🚶 What you’ll walk away with: A grade for your events’ role in driving overall business revenue strategy. Actionable tips for where you can optimize or what to try next
Your final score
0/100
We’ve also sent a copy to your email!
Stage 1-2
Stage 1-3
Stage 1-3
Stages 1-4
All Stages
Your event strategy is getting started on the right track! Here are some steps to jumpstart your event program growth:
- Partner with sales to personalize pre-event communication using registration data. Personalized outreach will always help increase show rates.
- Integrate events into other aspects of your go-to-market. Accelerate your pipeline by inviting those new leads to a dinner or a webinar!
- You’re just getting a handle on all that juicy registration data. Use it to craft unique experiences for every attendee inside your events.
- Collect and track attendee insights at the account level; an umbrella view of how all your events perform (compared to each other) will help you develop an understanding of what resonates with different audiences. ☂️
Your events strategy is well on its way to driving revenue for your business. 📈 Consider these steps to continue growing your event maturity:
- Use your registration form as an opportunity to help you craft unique event experiences based on attendee preferences. For example, add a question to your registration form asking the biggest challenges your guests are facing, then create in- and post-event content based on that topic.
- Try some new event types! The more you test, the more you can double down on what’s working.
- Introduce multi-step registration. No one likes a long form, but boy do organizations like registrant information. Break your data gathering into multiple steps to balance both goals and improve the quality of your registration data. 🧘
- Look into creating bespoke experiences for different attendees. Leverage preferential, content, and experience insights from past events to personalize communications and tailor the event experience.
You’re running the Popeye of event strategies. 💪 To enhance your output even further:
- Look into creating bespoke experiences for different attendees, leveraging preferential, content, and experience insights from past events.
- Provide real-time fit and intent data, host enablement sessions, and engage with buyers before the event.
- Be sure to set up integrated revenue campaigns to align events with strategic business initiatives. From there, track how events are influencing new business and helping to retain existing customers.
- Include events in the annual planning process for your entire go-to-market team. Own your events portfolio’s place as a strategic driver for business growth.
Ok, you might be an actual event wizard. To make that magic go even further:
- Integrate events into every revenue campaign, strategically implementing them as a center of gravity for content creation.
- Design campaigns in conjunction with events: repurpose event content on your blog, social, and in outbound cadences to create a drumbeat effect in the market.
- Include events in the annual planning process for your entire go-to-market team. Own your events portfolio’s place as a strategic driver for business growth.
- Consider creating a sub-brand for your event series so your audience can spot your (amazing) content from a mile away.
- Find ways to keep your community activated between events, like inviting the same audience to webinars, crafting a related email nurture cadence, creating a Slack group, or inviting them to a community on LinkedIn.
You’re such a professional we feel weird talking to you without our suits and ties on. 👔 To continue thriving:
- Events are part of how you grow your business and create a brand that people love. Find ways to keep your community activated before, during, and after your events.
- Focus on unique and new types of experiences to keep your events fresh and engaging.
- Explore event partnerships with other companies to grow reach and find new audiences.
Keep reading for a detailed point breakdown and personalized recommendations
Question 1
How do you measure the success of your events?
Your Choices
Recommendations
Looks like you’ve got a strong focus on event specific success metrics— and that’ll get you far! To go even further, consider expanding how you measure to include leads generated, pipeline created, or revenue closed; these metrics will help paint a clearer picture of your events’ value to your business as a whole
Not sure how to grow your measurement tactics from here? Check out our on-demand webinar, Metrics that Matter.
Not sure how to grow your measurement tactics from here? Check out our on-demand webinar, Metrics that Matter.
You’ve incorporated both event specific revenue and new business into your event success measurements—nice! As a next step, tracking
your event’s performance deeper into the post-sales stages would be a great area for you to explore.
Not sure how to grow your measurement tactics from here? Check out our on-demand webinar, Metrics that Matter.
Not sure how to grow your measurement tactics from here? Check out our on-demand webinar, Metrics that Matter.
Congrats! You’re effectively using events to drive revenue for your business, and you have a good grasp on how to track it. Pro tip: Connecting your event registration platform directly to your CRM can help you automate that attribution tracking.
Not where to go now that you’ve mastered ✨elite✨ event measurement? Check out some new ways to apply your event data with our guide, Unlock your Event Registration Data.
Not where to go now that you’ve mastered ✨elite✨ event measurement? Check out some new ways to apply your event data with our guide, Unlock your Event Registration Data.
Question 2
What type(s) of events does your company host?
Your Choices
Recommendations
There’s no time like the present to start building your events program! Try starting small with a webinar or intimate dinner. Whatever format you choose, finding a simple way to bring prospects and customers together to learn and connect is a guaranteed win.
Just jumping into organizing events? Check out these great event planning books to help you get started.
Just jumping into organizing events? Check out these great event planning books to help you get started.
Congrats on getting your events program started; that’s the hardest part 🎉 From here, you might want to consider diversifying your event portfolio. Experimenting with other event formats can boost engagement, and you may find some formats contribute to growing your business more than others.
Need a confidence boost before jumping into new event types? Check out our guide, Event Preparation Secrets from some of the World’s Best Brands.
Need a confidence boost before jumping into new event types? Check out our guide, Event Preparation Secrets from some of the World’s Best Brands.
You’re tapping into a few different event types; you’re well on your way to developing a diverse event portfolio with options for all types of attendees. Make sure you’re aligning your event formats with event goals and the customer journey, and keep checking in on your event performance to see if one format in particular is a champion with your audience. Now may also be the right time to think about how you can keep your community engaged between events!
Need a confidence boost before jumping into new event types? Check out our guide, Event Preparation Secrets from some of the World’s Best Brands.
Need a confidence boost before jumping into new event types? Check out our guide, Event Preparation Secrets from some of the World’s Best Brands.
Nice work building a robust event portfolio 🥳. With more than 5 different types of events in your roster, now’s a good time to consider how you’ll amp up the event experience in each. You may also want to think about how your events ladder into other offers and campaigns, both to add value for your audience and to create a funnel for your Sales team.
Ready to make sure all those events are adding value for your Sales and Marketing teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Ready to make sure all those events are adding value for your Sales and Marketing teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Question 3
How do you leverage event data to generate more revenue?
Your Choices
Recommendations
All data’ed up and nowhere to go! It’s time to start putting your event data to work. Work with your events and marketing teams to start getting a baseline idea of what metrics matter to them. From there, you can continue growing your data output to partner with sales and customer teams to boost business metrics that matter.
Want an idea of where to start? Check out our blog, 8 KPIs to Smash your Event Targets.
Want an idea of where to start? Check out our blog, 8 KPIs to Smash your Event Targets.
You’re dipping your toe into the waters of using data to generate more revenue; nice 😎. Make sure to pull in other teams to understand how data can help them, too; alignment with Sales and Marketing will help you improve event planning, identify topics for event experiences, and generate better conversations leading up to and after the event.
Not sure how to get cozier with your Revenue teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Not sure how to get cozier with your Revenue teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
You’re effectively using data to generate revenue. Now, make sure you’re enabling your sales team with pre-event data that may help their conversations leading up to, during, and after your events. Even better, ensure the data they need is easily accessible in your CRM.
Not sure how to get cozier with your Revenue teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Not sure how to get cozier with your Revenue teams? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Ok, we see you data expert. Way to leverage your event outputs to their greatest extent. A good next step would be to ensure your event data automatically syncs with the marketing automation and CRM systems you use. From there, your Revenue teams can use it to prioritize lead and customer follow-up post-event.
Want to make sure your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Want to make sure your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted? Check out our guide, Integrated Revenue Campaigns for Event Leaders.
Question 4
How many events (in-person, online events, and webinars) does your company host per year?
Your Choices
Recommendations
If you’re just getting started on planning your first event, you may want to consider starting small to get your feet wet. Depending on your event goals, an intimate dinner or networking event may be a good starting point.
Want to start with a friendly audience? Consider running a customer event! Here are 6 types of customer events that can help move your retention stats forward— and give you a confidence boost as you jump into your events program.
Sounds like your events program is gearing up! Consider adding more events without breaking the bank (or your sanity) by hosting small dinners or micro-experiences. Repeatability is your friend here; document your playbook so you can increase frequency without increasing effort. Remember, shorter digital events are a totally valid way to add opportunities for your audience to connect without spending too much time and money!
Need help getting that playbook started? Our conference planning checklist is a great jumping off point; just choose the elements you need for the event type you’re planning to run.
Need help getting that playbook started? Our conference planning checklist is a great jumping off point; just choose the elements you need for the event type you’re planning to run.
You’ve got your hands full with all those events! Identify the formats, audiences, and content types that are delivering high-ROI and double down on what’s working. It may be helpful to find ways to make your events repeatable, like having an event template you can clone and use for similar events. Experiment with new event formats.
Need help getting that playbook started? Our conference planning checklist is a great jumping off point; just choose the elements you need for the event type you’re planning to run.
Need help getting that playbook started? Our conference planning checklist is a great jumping off point; just choose the elements you need for the event type you’re planning to run.
Somebody’s very busy. Nice job using events throughout the entire year! See how your events fit together and consider creating a micro-brand for similar events like roadshows or webinar series.
Need help building an event brand? We’ve got you. Check out our 3 tips for crafting an event brand identity.
Need help building an event brand? We’ve got you. Check out our 3 tips for crafting an event brand identity.
Question 5
How do you plan your event strategy?
Your Choices
Recommendations
Remember, intentional planning and interdepartmental collaboration are your friends in making events feel more fun (and less chaotic). Align your events with marketing and sales goals as far as a year in advance; that way, your events have the best chance of making an impact on company revenue.
Want some more ideas for smoothing out your event planning? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Want some more ideas for smoothing out your event planning? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Way to get ahead of it! Sounds like you’re well on your way to integrating events into your go-to-market strategy. Align events with annual company goals and broader campaigns to maximize your events’ potential.
Need some fresh ideas for your event planning? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Need some fresh ideas for your event planning? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Dang! That’s some elite-level event planning! Your events drive company revenue and involve key stakeholders; from here,
make sure executive leadership participates in events too, and do your own PR by regularly sharing data on your events’ revenue impact.
Need some fresh ideas for your event planning playbook? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Need some fresh ideas for your event planning playbook? Check out these 9 event marketing podcasts to get tips from the best and the brightest.
Question 6
Which teams do you work with before and after your events?
Your Choices
Recommendations
Never event alone; there’s always benefit in educating different teams on how events can
help reach their goals.
Looks like you’re really making friends with other teams; way to nail the cross-department collaboration! There may still be other avenues to bring the entire organization into your event strategy.
You’re the king of collaboration 👑. Now that everyone’s on board, create a shared dashboard to track event performance for different team goals.