10 SXSW Experiences That'll Give You Major Event Feels

Leading into Dreamforce, we had early indications that our investment would pay off -- high conversion rates on our promos, good registration numbers, a few landing pages that went viral among a close-knit group of CMOs and tech marketers. And, on-site the momentum continued with better-than-average attendance rates and a line around the block for our flagship event of the week.

While Dreamforce certainly felt like a victory as we packed our bags in SF and headed back to Splash HQ in NYC, we weren’t ready to claim victory until the ROI spoke for itself. One month later, we’re celebrating here at Splash.

Post-event results - one month later:

•$85k in closed/won revenue accelerated by Dreamforce engagement
•9 in-pipe deals accelerated at least one stage in our salescycle
•$370k in net-new opportunity generated
•17 meetings held or scheduled but not yet an opp

Creativity. Grit. Technology.

I don’t think there’s any better way to explain our approach than to share the memo I sent to Splash employees three days after Dreamforce. It’s a little unconventional, but the excitement among attendees, across our social channels, and internally, was contagious when we returned. Everyone wanted to know how we conquered Dreamforce, especially without an official sponsorship.

So, when I returned to my desk on Monday following the event, I sent the following memo to the company.

In my email, here's what I cover:

Our Strategy

Creativity. Grit. Technology.

I don’t think there’s any better way to explain our approach than to share the memo I sent to Splash employees three days after Dreamforce. It’s a little unconventional, but the excitement among attendees, across our social channels, and internally, was contagious when we returned. Everyone wanted to know how we conquered Dreamforce, especially without an official sponsorship. So, when I returned to my desk on Monday following the event, I sent this to the company:

‌• Sync event data bi-directionally on your terms. Advanced control settings let you decide exactly what data is updated. Granular settings allow field, contact, and event-level control to enable the insights your team needs while maintaining data integrity.
‌• Collaborate easily on guest lists. Salesforce, Splash -- it doesn’t matter. Your marketing and revenue teams can collaborate on a guest list directly in a platform they’re comfortable in.
‌• Capture more event data than ever before. Data is seamlessly captured from Splash landing pages, our host app, or our new business card scanner and synced automatically to Salesforce. Say goodbye to manual processes and data loss.
‌• Track event engagement to prove ROI. Easily identify, track, and manage every event interaction at the lead, contact, and account level, enabling powerful revenue reporting from every single event you throw.

Do you have what it takes to leverage event technology? Learn more from Matt Burton in this 20-minute video.

Not only is it helpful to quickly solve any issues (and there are always issues), but it’s also helpful to communicate with your team inside the venue on the status of check-ins. Most importantly, alert your sales team that their VIP guests have arrived.

The last thing you want to think about is hitting capacity. Because hitting capacity for your event would be a good thing… right?

Unfortunately, not keeping track of the number of attendees, and subsequently, violating fire permit laws, is a common problem for many event planners. Avoid this by using an old-fashioned clicker or the Splash App using the “checked out” status -- that’s key for tracking who’s in and out of the space.

Pro tip: have the fire permit in hand and contract printed out. And have another person keep track of how it feels inside the event, whether it’s hot in the venue or too crowded.

A couple good questions to consider asking the venue manager about the space:

• How many people in the venue makes it feel full?

• How many people makes it feel empty?

• Where can lines form?
• How many people can be at the bar at a time? (A typical drink order takes about 2 minutes. Alleviate bar crowds by having cocktail waitresses holding pre-made drinks.)

Sure, attendees may arrive late. Sure, you may still be organizing right up until the last minute. But people will begin showing up 25 minutes after starting time, which means, security has to be ready for the flow of arrivals. Some people will also arrive early and if the door isn’t staffed, you don’t want these people sneaking in before it’s time.

To maintain organization, have a 1:50 ratio between the company and guests. This may vary based on how complex the on-site registration is.

When I was a rookie planner, I remember being very nervous that there were too many RSVPs and the right people wouldn't get in.

As much as the experience at the door matters, remember: a packed event is a good thing. A very good thing. A line makes you look popular, and people don't really mind waiting (if it moves). Much worse than over crowding is UNDER crowding... no one likes an empty room.  And when someone on your team is stressing, tell them to chill. You got this.