How Tableau's Event Strategy Supported Massive Company Growth
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Written by Sara Estes

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How Tableau's Event Strategy Supported Massive Company Growth

October 9, 2018

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How Tableau's Event Strategy Supported Massive Company Growth
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Written by Sara Estes

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Ask Tableau Anything: All of Your Burning Event Planning Questions, Answered

October 9, 2018

When planning an event, we can all agree that there’s one universal goal -- to ensure that everyone is able to have a fantastic time.


More often than not, accommodating accessibility is usually more of an afterthought in event planning (or not even a thought at all). As event planners, it’s on us to make sure that every component of the events we plan is accessible to every single participant -- no matter ability.


So before you fall into ADA rule-fatigue, Splash is here to give you some simple accessibility tips for  your next event -- everything from venue accessibility to communications.

There’s so much that goes into planning and executing a great event, but if you do it right – it’s all worth it. Nobody knows this more than one of the smartest event marketers we know, Amy Barone, Sr. Director of Marketing Events & Engagement Programs at Tableau and the ultimate Event Optimizer (according to Harvard Business Review).


We chatted with Amy about her entire event strategy and how it contributed to Tableau’s growth from a 2-million to billion-dollar company. Now, she’s here to answer all your burning questions about those nitty gritty event details that you may have always been wondering about.

 

Want to see Amy’s full interview? Watch our latest webinar on-demand here.

What exactly is GDPR and how can you make sure you're compliant?

 

Learn more in this new ebook from Splash and Heinz Marketing.

 

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Increase Trust, Transparency, and Access to Engaging Prospects

1. Understand and Align with Key Company Metrics

1. What tactics did you employ to get people to your Tableau Conference in the beginning (when it was 187 attendees), compared to now (20,000 attendees)?

Amy: Our strategy for our Tableau Conference —our largest annual gathering of customers — has shifted and adjusted over the years, but the main tactics have always been email marketing and direct outreach from the sales team over the phone.


Over time, this has developed into a more sophisticated and integrated marketing effort, leveraging a number of different channels, but we still find that the bulk of our tickets are tied to our sales team’s efforts.

Tableau Event Strategy
webinar goals

By understanding who you’re trying to capture, you can not only target the right people, but  know exactly where your promotions should be coming from.


For example: if you’re trying to nurture net-new opportunities, and create a brand for yourself, you likely should be sending HTML branded communications from marketing. If you’re trying to convert opportunities into deals, you should be automating those promotions from the lead owner or an exec who is involved in the deal.


Bonus: this is also a great time to decide which internal teams need to be involved, so you can start communicating planned follow-ups or any other details early.

2. How do you target an audience for events, outside of your customer base?

Amy: It varies based on the type of industry or whether your company is B2B or B2C.


For us (B2B), if we are trying to leverage events as a prospecting effort, we may take a couple approaches to drive registration from beyond our database. That could be leveraging digital advertising channels such as LinkedIn, creating feeder campaigns via webinars, or other efforts that can help generate a lead list for us to promote the event to.

webinar target audience

First thing's first: any event venue must meet required ADA guidelines! Here are a few things to always double check when it comes to the accessibility of your events:

1. Does your venue provide elevator or ramp access?

 

Some venues will cover accessibility on their website, usually somewhere in the FAQs. However, for those that don’t, just send a quick email to the venue asking about accessibility.

 

2. What do accessible transportation routes to and from your venue look like?

 

If you’re in a metro area, it’s good to check if nearby metro/subway/train stations are accessible. To save guests some time, it’s also a great idea to provide instructions around what the most accessible routes are.

 

Pro tip: If you’re in a major metro area, Google has recently added wheelchair accessible routes to Google Maps on both desktop and mobile. This should make your research into routes around your venue a total breeze!

3. For companies that can measure event ROI, is there any data or insight into how they are attracting the right audiences?

Amy: Sometimes this all comes down to testing.


As the Senior Director of Marketing Events & Engagement Programs at Tableau, my best approach has always been to set a target audience based on our goals, track and measure event performance, try new ideas, and then see what worked and what didn’t. This way, we can continually make improvements to how we approach different audiences for our different types of events.

4. Fair to say that those who’ve drunk the Tableau Kool Aid are more likely to attend events and get more out of it. Do you find that commitment happens before, or as a consequence of your event?

Amy: This is one of those chicken or the egg questions and I’m sure I can find stories that support either theory. What I do know is that Tableau has positively, and in some cases dramatically, impacted many of our customers lives. In a lot of cases, it has gotten personal for them.

Tableau Event Strategy

Our Tableau Conference provides an environment for our customers to express their inner data geek, giving attendees the chance to connect with others who are impacting their organizations, and to inspire them to do more and change the world with data. As we’ve cultivated our brand, we’ve been able to tap into the emotional brand connection that our customers have with our product, which is then amplified at our events.

2. Organize your data and simplify data-tracking

webinar promotion tips

5. Sponsorship vs. hosted events – what are the pros and cons of each?

Amy: It really comes down to what the objective of the event is. If you are trying to nurture or build community within your customer base, a hosted event may give you much more flexibility for designing appropriate content, coordinating networking activities, and allowing you to own the message of the event.


If you are trying to create brand awareness and generate leads for a developing audience segment, sponsoring an industry event where you can have a booth presence and speaking opportunity will likely allow you to accomplish those goals more successfully.


Your decision could also be driven by the resources you have to put behind the program, since hosted events often require more budget and resources than sponsoring an outside event.

Your Communications Checklist: What to Include

webinar metrics
Tableau Event Strategy
webinar promo

6. How can event organizers be sure that revenue impact is a result of an event, and not other relationship-building opportunities?

6 weeks out: start identifying topics, content, and speakers, and get logistics in place.

4 weeks out: build promotions - work with designers and writers to craft landing pages and determine the number of touchpoints

2 weeks out: first webinar communication

Week of: last minute promotion for registration, final run-through

Post-event: send post-event emails, route leads ASAP, communicate follow-up and progress internally

3. Is there accessible parking available?

 

Is there parking nearby the event that’s accessible to wheelchairs, canes, and walkers? Can a person with mobility challenges or fatigue get from the parking section to the event venue?

 

4. Is there enough seating and personal space?

 

If you have seating, do you have space for persons living with disabilities? Are you making sure that it’s communicated in your event space that persons living with disabilities get priority seating in a designated area? What about personal space, is there enough space per person in the venue to accommodate those with wheelchairs, canes, walkers, and service animals?

 

5. Did you confirm access days before your event?



Making your event accessible is a big part of it. The other part is making sure your attendees know about all the details so they can prepare ahead of time.

 

There is so much room for upfront attendee communications when it comes to the inclusion and accessibility of your events.

 

Consider doing the following:

 

1. Put accessibility information in your event page footer.

 

Take a look at the example below of an event page that looks great, feels great, and is displaying helpful accessibility information at the footer of the page.

event accessibility

2. Use your RSVP form to gather attendee needs ahead of time.


Your RSVP or ticket order form is the perfect opportunity to help yourself be better prepared, all while assuring your attendees up front that you’re thinking about their needs.


Here are some custom questions you can include in your forms:

• Dietary restrictions

• Requests for interpreting services or assistive listening devices

• Requests for accessible parking or seating

• An open text area asking about other accommodations that will help ensure full guest participation

• If you’re going to be using your attendee’s information to print badges, it’s also a good idea to include preferred pronouns on your form so you can display them on those badges.

Here's an example in Splash:

event accessibility rsvp form

Amy: There are two different ways to measure impact: direct impact and influence impact. The most common way to track direct, or the source of the impact is by capturing the lead source of the opportunity, which you can do easily in sales and marketing automation tools like Salesforce and Marketo.


That being said, most sales require multiple touches between the lead source and the won opportunity, so many organizations have adopted a multi-touch attribution model to assess the types of activities (or the combination of activities) that convert a lead to a customer.


For many of our programs at Tableau, we set a combination of net-new and total lead goals, plus opportunity-won and influenced opportunity-won targets. We also partner with sales to set targets together, leveraging both our automation tools and anecdotal sales data to tell the most complete impact story.

7. Compliance and regulatory factors mean that some industries (such as healthcare) have to avoid hosted events. Can you share any insights into how these companies are approaching ROI measurement?

Amy: Every type of company—regardless of regulatory factors—should be able to find ways to measure ROI, whether they’re able to host events, or have to rely on sponsoring industry or association events such as HiMSS.

Tableau Event Strategy

Typically when sponsoring events, your goals center around either lead generation, brand awareness, or thought leadership (especially if the opportunity can be coupled with a speaking engagement). Sometimes it is about determining what you can do, and creating a plan that leverages events as another tool in your toolkit to achieve your goals. You should approach ROI in the same way that you would for any other campaign, and do your best to measure consistently in order to understand how events impact your results.

Should you ever receive a request that you’re unfamiliar with, you can simply collaborate with the requesting attendee. There is no shame in asking questions - if anything, it shows that you take accessibility seriously and want your event to be as enjoyable as possible for all who wish to attend.


3. Send an email about accessible transportation options.


In the weeks before your event, whip up an email in the Splash Email Sender that let’s all of your guests know how they can best travel to your event. Within this email, take some time to lay out accessible route options.


Take a look at this example:

8. How do you measure the success of a partnership with an outside vendor?

Amy: There are many ways to measure the success of a partnership, but from a high level you should ask yourself: did this vendor deliver on the project or scope of work (SOW) that was expected?


For starters, a strong contract or master service agreement (MSA) is helpful for longer-term partnerships. We’ve also added SLA (service level agreement) language to most of our contracts so that we are clear with our vendors on expectations and what success in our partnership looks like. Also, a really clear SOW and change management process can help ensure everyone is on the same page.

9. What do you look for when you’re sourcing an outside event production company?

Amy: When working with an outside event production company, there are a number of table stakes to consider. They should have a proven track record producing similar types of events, be able to deliver successfully within budget, and achieve your vision.


But I typically look for more than that. I look for a company that understands my vision and can amplify it, as well as a team who easily fits right in with ours and can help create a final product that is better than we imagined.

4. Disclose any specifics in your pre-event communications.


In terms of accessibility, it’s better to over-communicate. It's extremely important to note the following in your pre-event communications to your attendees:

10. Do you use promotional giveaways at your events? If so, how do you evaluate their success?

3. Determine Your Actual Event Investment 

Event Marketing Budget Decisions

Amy: After trying a number of different tactics, we’ve found that creating engaging booths that help tell our product story have really been the most successful approach, especially at large trade shows.


It helps us prioritize time in the booth with attendees who are actually interested in learning more about our product versus feeling like they need to put in some face time just to get some swag. This also ensures that the leads we’re passing back to our sales team are people who are truly interested in our product.

Tableau Event Strategy

When I do decide to invest in promotional items, I try not to purchase obvious throwaway items or things that are never going to make it in the suitcase back home (promotional items can be very costly). It all comes down to evaluating your goals and whether or not there is sufficient return potential on the item investment.


Want to get Amy’s full interview? Watch our latest webinar on-demand, which also includes an in-depth look at the state of event marketing from Harvard Business Review.

• Use of flash photography

• Any sort of strobe lights or flashing images that may cause seizures

• Distinctly amplified sounds/music

• The use of fog machines/any other chemicals or smells that may make your space inaccessible to individuals with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) or Idiopathic Environmental Intolerances (IEI)

• Whether or not interpreting services will be provided for various speakers, panels, talks, etc.

• Whether or not you will be providing assistive listening devices for hard of hearing attendees. (Fact: these are fairly inexpensive!)

• Disclose all additional/optional parts of your event. This pertains to social activities off site, recreational activities, and more. If an activity is not fully accessible, communicate those details in advance so individuals living with disabilities can determine their interest and ability to participate.

See how they built it:



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

event-team-collaboration-app

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.

5. Let your speakers know about any special accommodations beforehand.

 

The speakers at your event should know about any special accommodations so they can be prepared. Some accessibility notes to provide speakers may include some of the following:

5. Dos-and-Donts for Not Breaking The Law: Keep Count Of Your Attendee Numbers

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.)

• Speak clearly (ideally facing forward without covering your mouth)

• Avoid acronyms and colloquialisms as much as possible

• When addressing someone specifically, ask for his/her/their name and pronouns to confirm

• Specify when you’re finished speaking

• If there is an interpreter, avoid addressing them in a conversation with a hard-of-hearing attendee. Always look at/address the participating attendee.

Bonus Details:

Want to be an Event Optimizer like Amy? Check out the 6 attributes of elite event marketers.

Timing: Start Door Duty an Hour Before Event

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.

Become an advocate

Staff Up: The Golden 1:50 Ratio

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.

Making your event more accessible and inclusive is the first step. It also opens up a space to begin a much-needed conversation around accessible event planning and becoming an advocate.


This may require some thought and work, as it will probably force you to rethink how you typically throw events and do business around your events.


Part of this rethinking might also include reaching out to your attendees both during and after the event to see how things went and if they were comfortable, informed, and able to fully participate. It’s a great idea to get feedback and continue to improve your planning practices around accessibility.


Once you’ve thrown some events with these accessibility tips put to the test, we also encourage you to educate others within your business and within the event planning and marketing community! It’s up to us all to create a conversation around accessibility in order to spread best practices and throw events that are that much more inclusive and, in turn, that much more extraordinary.

Do you have any accessibility best practices from your own events? Let us know in the comments below!

We surveyed event planners and they shared their biggest planning mistakes. See the surprising results.

Veterans know: there is no such thing as too many RSVPs

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.

author

Sara Estes

Sara is a Content Marketer at Splash, where she assists with content strategy and creation. As a Midwest native, she's slowly but surely getting used to East Coast life – typically by searching for her latest favorite restaurant in NYC.

About the Author

Ben Hindman is co-founder and CEO of Splash, the country's fastest-growing event marketing platform that helps businesses and brands more effectively market through their events. An event planner turned tech entrepreneur, events are in Ben’s DNA. Prior to starting Splash, Ben was the Director of Events at Thrillist, where he produced large-scale events from concerts to mystery fly-aways.

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