Navigating uncertain times is certainly not a new concept for marketers, especially those of us in events, and 2023 is looking to be more of the same. From a strained economic environment, reduced or limited budgets and headcount to rising travel and event costs and attendees who are more selective with their time, we’ll continue to look for new ways to overcome challenges in order to be successful.
We asked our community to share the top challenge they are facing entering 2023, and we gathered a few marketing leaders at a virtual roundtable last week to discuss the top three challenges our community shared:
Meet our panelists:
Here’s a sneak peak on what our panelists had to say about the first top challenge we discussed. Watch the full recording to hear the entire conversation, filled with tips, tactics and insights. .
“When my team and I were discussing strategy for this coming year, knowing that we have a strain on money and resources, we decided that the best plan would be to focus on smaller, more intimate experiences. I’m talking targeted regional events.”
“We looked at our data and decided what specific markets were important to our goals for the year; from that, we could decide where we needed to show up. And we partnered with sales on those decisions to ensure that we are on the same page with our goals.” ***Tune into 23:47 of the on-demand recording to hear our panelists dish on working with Sales and other internal stakeholders.
“Instead of spending the bulk of our marketing resources and budget on large trade show or a flagship event this year, we are funneling our budget across different regions, markets, and events. My events in 2023 are looking to be data-driven and diverse.”
“Going into 2023 my team is being incredibly picky with what events we do, and how we decide what to do really comes down to aligning with leadership and my organization's goals.”
“What are we trying to achieve? Who <are we> wanting to talk to? Some advice for event marketers this year is to watch what your competitors are doing. Are they investing money and resources in a certain conference, and should you be doing the same?”
“If trade shows are a big part of your business and marketing strategy, I think something you should try to do in 2023 is controlling the narrative of your ideal ICP at these events. For example, our team does pre-work leading up to our presence at an event. This means we get 100+ meetings booked before the event even starts. Controlling the narrative is super helpful when you have limited resources and budget available because it helps validate that your event serves a purpose and will prove results.”
“If everything is considered a priority, nothing truly is.”
“When we were looking at our events strategy for 2023 and how we wanted to allocate our resources, it came down to what really matters: what drives our pipeline, and how do we get there effectively and efficiently?"
"We held a bottoms-up budgeting exercise to make sure — from a revenue team standpoint (sales, marketing, customer success) — we aligned on our big goals and how we should focus our efforts in 2023.”
“My advice while determining your events strategy is always to step into your buyers’ shoes. How can you make your buyer/customer/attendees opportunity cost worthwhile? What would be most beneficial for them in these turbulent times?”
“And about allocating your resources, it's important to always focus on what drives your ROI and then layer in the other pieces."
Watch the recording on-demand to hear all the gold nuggets of information, and join our friendly events community if you want to hear what other event and marketing professionals asked our esteemed panelists about their most pressing challenges.
